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The Wizard of the Kremlin

2026

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews

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54

USER SCORE

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RELEASE DATE: May 15, 2026

The Wizard of the Kremlin

Movie Details & Credits

Vertical | Release Date: May 15, 2026 | Not Rated

Summary: In the chaos of post-Soviet Russia, rising KGB officer Vladimir Putin (Jude Law) joins forces with master manipulator Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano) to reshape life behind the Iron Curtain, using violence and deception to change the world forever. Putin and Baranov’s reign of chaos begins with lies and corruption, and quickly escalates toIn the chaos of post-Soviet Russia, rising KGB officer Vladimir Putin (Jude Law) joins forces with master manipulator Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano) to reshape life behind the Iron Curtain, using violence and deception to change the world forever. Putin and Baranov’s reign of chaos begins with lies and corruption, and quickly escalates to assassinations, tyranny, and eventually all-out war. … Expand

Genre(s): Drama, History, Thriller

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 152 min

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Metascore

Critic Reviews

100

New York Magazine (Vulture)

Bilge Ebiri

Sep 1, 2025

I found its thundering journey through several decades of recent Russian and world history revealing and (perhaps more importantly) enormously entertaining. And by utilizing Law’s charisma to approximate Putin’s anti-charisma, it gives us a villain who is chilling and believable. I can’t wait to see it again. Read full review

80

The Times Kevin Maher

Sep 1, 2025

The film bounds ambitiously through fifteen years of the Baranov-Putin alliance. Read full review

70

Next Best Picture Cody Dericks

Aug 31, 2025

Despite being overwritten in places, the screenplay is the real star of the show in The Wizard of the Kremlin. Full of astute observations and dryly humorous quips, it’s gratifying to listen to. Assayas’ film is catnip for followers of political machinations, even if more casual viewers may find it as unconquerable as Russia has proved to be over the centuries. Read full review

60

Variety

Owen Gleiberman

Sep 1, 2025

Even as The Wizard of the Kremlin flirts with being a movie of ideas, it flits in and out of things. It rarely stays in one place long enough to let us suck in our breath at how Putin’s Russia heralded what may turn out to be the new autocratic world. Read full review

58

IndieWire Ryan Lattanzio

Aug 31, 2025

It’s not a thriller, it’s not really a comedy, and it’s unlikely to start a revolution despite a cruel jolt of a final shot. Read full review

42

The Film Stage Savina Petkova

Sep 1, 2025

The film’s whole narrative set-up reveals itself flimsy and unconvincing––it doesn’t take much to realize that a conversation between a political advisor and a political expert could never in a million years be so toothless and dull. Read full review

38

Slant Magazine

Ed Gonzalez

Sep 16, 2025

Olivier Assayas’s knack for fostering insight through irony is nowhere to be found in the film. Read full review

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Negative:

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User reviews are not available for this movie until May 15, 2026.

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