The Wizard of Lies
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: May 21, 2017
Metascore
67

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26

Critic Reviews

  1. Las Vegas Weekly
    Reviewed by: Josh Bell
    May 18, 2017
    60
    While the movie spends comparatively little time on the thousands of people Madoff defrauded (acknowledging them in a couple of brief but intense montages), it conveys the severity of his crimes in the devastation of his immediate family, showing how he did lasting damage to the people he loved most, and none of them ever understood why.
  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Daniel Fienberg
    May 11, 2017
    60
    Featuring an enigmatic lead performance by Robert De Niro. ... Wizard of Lies is a much odder thing, a character study without a conclusive answer to be revealed on its subject.
  3. Reason.com
    Reviewed by: Glenn Garvin
    May 20, 2017
    55
    This is all well and good, and might have made a good episode of Showtime's barbarous Wall Street drama Billions. But, having expressed every cogent thought in its head in the first 50 minutes, Wizard drags along for another tortuously repetitive hour and half, a long day's journey into utter banality.
  5. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    May 19, 2017
    50
    In the end, you are of course left with no sympathy for Bernie Madoff--that’s to be expected. But you also have no greater insight into who he is and why he did it.
  6. Los Angeles Daily News
    Reviewed by: Rob Lowman
    May 19, 2017
    50
    The film is a bit too long. Wizard of Lies has some worthwhile moments, but it never seems sure at what it’s trying to be.
  7. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Hank Stuever
    May 19, 2017
    50
    The Wizard of Lies is determined to play things straight and footnoted, which would be fine if viewers had tuned in for a documentary. When what we’re really here for is De Niro, Pfeiffer and some drama. Things don’t really get good until a flashback to a company dinner Madoff threw for his employees the summer before everything came tumbling down.
  8. Boston Herald
    Reviewed by: Mark A. Perigard
    May 18, 2017
    50
    The film jumps erratically across the years to show how Madoff’s arrest in 2008 for a $65 billion Ponzi scheme ruined his family, depicted here as much victims as those who trusted Madoff and lost their fortunes. Yet it’s as if you are watching the work of a first-time director who read about his craft off a flash card.
  9. Variety
    Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    May 17, 2017
    50
    Like a number of recent TV movies emanating from HBO, this film is dutiful without being essential.
  10. The Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Kristi Turnquist
    May 15, 2017
    50
    Despite the sad fates of members of the Madoff family, The Wizard of Lies fails to summon much pathos or deliver much insight into Wall Street's get-rich-at-any-cost ethos.
  11. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Chuck Bowen
    May 15, 2017
    50
    The Wizard of Lies doesn't refute that armchair outrage, which probably isn't possible or desirable anyway, but it's so pointedly lacking in empathetic imagination that one wonders why Levinson made the film, which bears less of a resemblance to art than a book report.

Awards & Rankings

76
#76 Most Shared TV Season of 2017

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 34 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 34
  3. Negative: 3 out of 34
  1. The3AcademySins
    Aug 29, 2018
    2
    The Wizard of Lies takes a really interesting concept and a key moment in financial history and turns it into something that is completelyThe Wizard of Lies takes a really interesting concept and a key moment in financial history and turns it into something that is completely boring and trying way to hard to "be artsy" without really understanding Bernie Madoff as a person. I personally cannot stomach this movie, even with Robert DeNiro's performance. My favorite scene is the scene of the family drama at the wedding before it all came crashing down. That scene was clear, emotional, and honest, and nothing else in this movie is any of those things.… Full Review »
  2. 3ebfan511
    Jun 5, 2017
    7
    Solid but not amazing look at Bernie Madoff and his "ponzie" scheme. Its a little slow at times and runs long, as its like a procedural lookSolid but not amazing look at Bernie Madoff and his "ponzie" scheme. Its a little slow at times and runs long, as its like a procedural look at how some of the things unfolded (but still very interesting.) It also almost...made me feel sad for some of his family members as it deals a lot with how things affected them as well. I would say it could have delved deeper into who he was, but it did show me a little more about his personality and it was definitely worth seeing.… Full Review »
  3. DarthSidious63
    May 21, 2017
    4
    If you want to watch a better Bernie Madoff biopic last years Madoff was superior than The Wizard of Lies. Granted Robert De Niro was betterIf you want to watch a better Bernie Madoff biopic last years Madoff was superior than The Wizard of Lies. Granted Robert De Niro was better than Richard Dreyfus as Bernie Madoff but the story was so dull. It barely touched the rest of the Madoff family.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »