Wasp Network
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): June 19, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
15
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesGlenn KennyJun 18, 2020
There are times in which Wasp Network feels like a John le Carré tale drenched in Miami sun, or even a serious-minded “Top Gun” variant. But it’s also a provocative demonstration of how strange life can get when the political and the personal intertwine like roots of a mammoth tree. Read full review
77
Paste MagazineDaniel ChristianJul 6, 2020
This may not be Assayas operating at the peak of his powers, but there’s no use in denying the thrilling efficiency that propels the overstuffed yet nimble two hours of Wasp Network. Read full review
70
VarietyJay WeissbergSep 1, 2019
It leaves viewers gratified by the filmmaking bravura and the sheer pleasure of watching this superb cast in top form, but also feeling shortchanged. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJun 19, 2020
One can see the craftsmanship and skill with actors that Assayas has honed for the last three decades in the film’s best moments, even if it adds up to something of a disappointment when compared to the majority of his filmography. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChris BarsantiJun 18, 2020
The final product feels like more of an interesting and beautifully filmed anecdote than compelling political and human drama. Read full review
60
CineVueJohn BleasdaleSep 4, 2019
It might be that there’s a meatier version of the film – a Carlos-style miniseries perhaps – but as it stands, shifting between a lighthearted caper and more consequential political tragedy, Wasp Network is an entertaining fumble. Read full review
60
The GuardianXan BrooksSep 2, 2019
The film is glossy, illuminating and frequently exciting. What it lacks is an emotional charge and a fine-grained texture. We need to invest in these people in order to understand their decisions – and care about the consequences of these. Read full review
60
Screen DailyLee MarshallSep 1, 2019
The latest film from the prolific Olivier Assayas’ makes for a genial, lolloping ride, but it’s also one that will frustrate those with little patience for the script’s casual attitude to coherence. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneySep 1, 2019
The heart of this complex material for too long remains elusive to Assayas, and he locates it too late to give the choppy drama cohesion. That's not to say Wasp Network is dull or uninvolving. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyMary SollosiJun 19, 2020
Visually, the appeal of Wasp Network is undeniable — all warm, colorful, open spaces, elegantly shot and peopled with beautiful actors. The intrigue could have used some of that heat, too. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyJun 17, 2020
The initial hour is a tightly wound piece of directorial surveillance in Assayas’ trademark style, fluidly tracking the obscure motives and movements of the characters. The rest is a lot less compelling. Read full review
50
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJun 22, 2020
The story can’t keep still, shifting from year to year and place to place, and, whereas "Mr. Jones" appalls you into wanting to know more, Wasp Network is so temperate in its political approach that you start to forget what’s at stake. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 22, 2020
There’s too much to Wasp Network, much of it good, to dismiss it out of hand. But it only takes an hour of this two hour-plus movie for us to figure out Assayas wasn’t the right writer-director to pull it off. Read full review
50
SlashfilmMarshall ShafferJun 18, 2020
Assayas becomes so subservient to the sheer volume of events and information he must bring to life that the film completely subsumes any sense of personal style or voice. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJun 18, 2020
Deadly serious people are involved in deadly serious business in “Wasp Network,” and there’s an air of importance and urgency to their every move, and we should be utterly immersed in this story — but we’re not. Not even close. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesCarlos AguilarJun 18, 2020
It covers a lot of ground in a skin-deep manner that’s more useful as an intensive overview of the events — if you manage to keep track of who is working for which organization at any given time and why. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonJun 17, 2020
A mostly absorbing but strangely inert espionage drama that could have been a heart-pounding thriller. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichSep 1, 2019
An overstuffed espionage thriller that bites off more than it can chew and never manages to find its footing, Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network is an exceedingly rare gaffe from one of the greatest filmmakers of the last 30 years. Even so, his restless genius can still be felt percolating below the surface and struggling to come up for air. Read full review
45
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeSep 1, 2019
When Ramírez and Cruz, or Moura and de Armas, are on screen together, addressing the human cost involved in spycraft, Wasp Network becomes much more interesting. When it veers away from them, the film seems mostly comprised of conversations in restaurants, where new characters and organizations are constantly being introduced. Read full review
42
The PlaylistChristina NewlandSep 1, 2019
There’s intricate, and then there’s messy. In a story of unspooling complexity and multiple double-crosses, the biggest trouble with Wasp Network is that it can be flat-out confusing. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTy BurrJun 17, 2020
The thrill of watching an Olivier Assayas movie is that you often have no idea where it’s going next. This time out, it seems, neither does he. Read full review
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