Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | Release Date: April 21, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
11
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
IGNMatt DonatoApr 18, 2023
The Covenant isn’t Guy Ritchie’s best, but standout performances from Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim as bonded heroes save an otherwise bloated military thriller. Read full review
55
Paste MagazineJesse HassengerApr 19, 2023
Ritchie’s film is less infatuated with displays of All-American bodily sacrifice than movies like Lone Survivor and 13 Hours, but it still keys into a kind of performative, manly anguish. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriApr 21, 2023
For much of its running time, director Ritchie’s war movie manages to be topical, suspenseful, and moving. But partly because the story is fiction, Ritchie takes a few genre liberties that threaten to undermine the sincerity of his tale. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comRobert DanielsApr 21, 2023
If The Covenant were only an interrogation of the hollowness of American exceptionalism, as its first hour suggests, it’d be among the most honest portrayals of the country’s role in the region. But Ritchie eventually awakens from his stupor, pushing this combat-action flick to gonzo territory. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithApr 20, 2023
Mr. Ritchie has fashioned a simple, meat-and-potatoes action thriller, in the same category as “12 Strong” (2018) and “Lone Survivor” (2013). Yet unlike those films, this one is pure fiction, which both untethers it from reality and imbues it with a certain free-floating meaninglessness. Read full review
50
ColliderChase HutchinsonApr 20, 2023
Though possibly well-intentioned, the execution of The Covenant ensures its narrative and thematic potential is drowned out in the roar of gunfire it becomes far too enamored by. Read full review
50
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottApr 18, 2023
Tempting though it might be, it’s not fair to say Ritchie’s film gets lost in translation. But by the same token, when it’s all over, it doesn’t quite feel as if it has entirely lived up to its covenant with audiences. Read full review
50
SlashfilmWitney SeiboldApr 18, 2023
There is a great deal missing from Ritchie's film. "The Covenant" is almost aggressive in its complete lack of wartime litigation. While the harrowing nature of a soldier's experience is laid bare, the meaning of the actual, prolonged quagmire of the Afghanistan occupation will be lingering in the back of most audience's minds. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonApr 18, 2023
Ritchie’s tendency for swaggering overkill proves especially ill-advised for the serious story he wants to tell about how the US turned its back on those who helped its War On Terror, resulting in a hollow paean that’s far more convincing as a generic shoot-’em-up. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubMurtada ElfadlApr 19, 2023
Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant offers marginal entertainment value. It’s a film that seems afraid to offer any ideas about its setting and characters beyond the minimum. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleDex Wesley ParraApr 19, 2023
Time and time again, Ritchie proves to be an effective action director. When it comes to writing the picture, less so, and The Covenant stands as another reminder of that sturdy dichotomy. Read full review
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