Relay
Bleecker Street Media | Release Date: August 22, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
85
The Daily BeastNick SchagerAug 19, 2025
Like the best of its genre, it affords tantalizing entrée into a universe lurking just below society’s surface to which few are privy, and stages engrossing cloak-and-dagger games between players who know the rules and, more dangerously, how to break them. Read full review
83
IndieWireDavid EhrlichSep 13, 2024
Smooth but vulnerable, clever but anonymous, desperate to provoke a human response but willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, “Relay” isn’t out to set the world on fire, it just wants to be a hand-crafted thriller that communicates a real sense of personal investment. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinNov 12, 2025
While a late twist may potentially dismay, it also allows Mackenzie to raise the stakes in a battle of wits whose participants previously felt more like opponents than foes. It gets personal – nasty, even – and this ice-cool throwback suddenly bursts into flames. Read full review
80
Time OutChristina NewlandOct 31, 2025
Relay is an old-school thriller with a drum-tight script and real style. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawOct 30, 2025
There are some very coolly orchestrated scenes in the big city and Mackenzie ratchets up the tension in style. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleAug 26, 2025
Relay proves there’s still more room for smart, punchy cloak-and-dagger options. Read full review
80
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiAug 24, 2025
It’s got everything — tense chase sequences, anxious and wary phone calls, and heart-to-hearts between Sarah and Ash that underscore their characters’ need for true connection. There have been so few exceptional thrillers in recent years, but Relay is certainly one of them. Read full review
80
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiAug 22, 2025
Any movie that reminds you, simultaneously and favorably, of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation and Michael Mann’s Thief is doing something very right — even if it looms a lot lower than those towering works of genius. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicMeredith G. WhiteAug 20, 2025
At just under two hours, "Relay" keeps you on the edge of your seat, guessing at what's coming next. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriSep 13, 2024
Mackenzie and his cast dance around and through this drama so elegantly and delicately that the twisty, generic ending feels like even more of a letdown than it might have in a more ordinary picture. The details are not worth getting into, but Relay is the rare movie where I might recommend leaving ten minutes before the end. Read full review
75
Washington PostTy BurrAug 22, 2025
Until it goes kerblooey in the last 15 minutes, “Relay” is the very model of a modern genre thriller: Taut, tight, squeezing the maximum of suspense and character detail from the minimum of gestures. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreAug 22, 2025
Ahmed, poker-faced start to finish, puts us in this guy’s shoes and in his head when his best laid plans are derailed, his “control” is shattered and his identity endangered. It’s another great character turn by a star who’s gained his leading man status the old fashioned way — by giving one raw, layered and compelling performance at a time. Read full review
75
The Film StageJared MobarakSep 13, 2024
I only wish the third act didn’t devolve into generic action set pieces that ultimately leave the quieter, cerebral intrigue behind. Read full review
70
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsOct 30, 2025
Even if it does eventually crumble to pieces, it’s a really strong thriller for the large majority of its runtime. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla DargisAug 21, 2025
Relay, a slick, sneaky thriller that’s elevated by both the actor and the director, David Mackenzie, makes it clear that Ahmed also has a silent-era performer’s gift for feverish stillness. Read full review
70
ColliderRoss BonaimeAug 21, 2025
Relay is a tense, edge-of-your-seat ride that reminds you that they do still make them like they used to, it’s just, unfortunately, not nearly as common anymore. Read full review
70
Paste MagazineJesse HassengerJun 9, 2025
A paranoid thriller that sneaks in its character study so stealthily that it takes a while to realize who is actually being studied. Read full review
70
Screen DailyRobert DanielsSep 13, 2024
Mackenzie’s film works best when it believes in its audience. And it feels tantalisingly close to greatness when it allows the relationship between Ash and Sarah to simmer. The pacing is so unhurried, and the script has such deliberate mechanics that the film remains enthralling, despite an overbearing score. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzAug 22, 2025
This is a good movie. But it seems to be at odds with itself. And if you think back over how the story was set up and how it built towards its final section, you may conclude that it doesn’t quite play fair. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineRocco T. ThompsonJun 9, 2025
Set to the rhythms of a pulsing, ultramodern New York milieu, the film, at its best, wrings real tension and excitement out of the simple exchanging of clandestine messages and sensitive information. Read full review
60
EmpireHarry StainerOct 28, 2025
With Ahmed and James’ connection holding it together, this is a tight, tense throwback to the paranoid thrillers of yesteryear that just about sticks the landing. Read full review
60
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzAug 20, 2025
As nice as it is to see New York play itself or watch Ahmed and Worthington run circles around each other, the entire caper is rendered unsolvable by one big, meatheaded twist that undermines everything that came before. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeSep 13, 2024
The best parts of Relay harness the details of Ash’s brokerage. Mackenzie’s direction is never tighter than when he’s focused on message relays, burner phones and the bureaucracy of the post office. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeSep 13, 2024
The subdued carefulness of the buildup gives way to rote, poorly staged action and a twist that might fill in a few plot-holes but leaves us otherwise dissatisfied. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubRory DohertyAug 21, 2025
Rather than discovering anything novel or liberating about the hostile, modern battleground of America, Relay‘s compelling set-up becomes overly dependent on typical rug-pulls and action beats. Read full review
58
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodSep 13, 2024
Ultimately, the biggest disappointment with “Relay” isn’t the big twist, you see that coming a mile away. The issue is the execution of everything thereafter is almost comical. Read full review
50
Film ThreatAlan NgAug 21, 2025
The biggest downfall of Relay is the ending. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesAug 21, 2025
This one’s not going into the conspiracy thriller pantheon, but for the duration of its tense, terse 112 minutes, it scratches the itch. Read full review
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