The Ipcress File
ITV | AMC+ | Release Date: May 19, 2022
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
ColliderRemus NoronhaMay 18, 2022
Season 1 Review: The Ipcress File isn't your garden variety spy story, nor is it a gloom-and-doom picture of horrible people doing horrible things. It's in the balance between those two extremes that The Ipcress File manages to fit itself — and while it's far from perfect, this is definitely a show that'll have you waiting with bated breath every week for the next thrilling episode. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneNina MetzMay 25, 2022
Season 1 Review: It’s an intricately plotted series that doesn’t glamorize spy work so much as make clear just how awful it can be. The betrayals will always get you in the end. Read full review
80
Reason.comGlenn GarvinMay 29, 2022
Season 1 Review: The drama is engaging, but fans of the book should prepare for a wildly different story. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushMay 19, 2022
Season 1 Review: With international conspiracies and brainwashing adding to the intrigue, this File's a keeper. [23 May - 12 Jun 2022, p.7] Read full review
80
Radio TimesFlora CarrApr 8, 2022
Season 1 Review: Whether or not you're a fan of the Michael Caine film, this TV version has both the pedigree and big-budget feel to recommend it. And even if you're familiar with the famous plot, there may just be some surprises in store. Read full review
80
The GuardianStuart HeritageApr 8, 2022
Season 1 Review: One of the adaptation’s pleasures is also its peril: it invites us to compare Joe Cole’s interpretation with Caine’s. Fortunately, Cole is a Harry Palmer for our times. ... It’s not a showy performance, but all the better for that to punch up his rare bons mots. Read full review
80
iRachael SigeeApr 8, 2022
Season 1 Review: Cole’s Palmer is fiercely intelligent, occasionally flippant, and liable to push people’s buttons. It’s a fine performance, if a little detached for an everyman hero. Read full review
80
The IndependentNick HiltonApr 8, 2022
Season 1 Review: Even if it can’t fully replicate the low-fi charms of the very best Cold War potboilers, its vintage sense of fun ought to be a crowd pleaser. This is about the gentlest, warmest depiction of the Anglo-Russian permafrost you’re likely to encounter. Read full review
67
The PlaylistBrian TallericoMay 13, 2022
Season 1 Review: It’s interesting to see Lucy Boynton given a role that didn’t really exist in a source material that wasn’t exactly good to female characters, but the lack of urgency sometimes feels like it’s working against everyone involved, sometimes stuck between replicating the style of the ‘60s and appealing to an audience in the 2020s. Read full review
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