IMDb 7 2025 HD

Relay

Relay

2025
Action Drama Thriller
112 min R USA
6.9 / 10
7 IMDB

A broker of lucrative payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals who threaten them breaks his own rules when a new client seeks his protection to stay alive.

Personnel // Cast & Crew

Director David Mackenzie / Stu Feldman / Danny McGrath / Sean Hind
Starring
Riz Ahmed / Lily James / Sam Worthington / Willa Fitzgerald / Eisa Davis / Matthew Maher / Victor Garber / Jared Abrahamson

How Viewers Describe This Film

Common themes and sentiments

tense morally complex sleek psychologically dense understated clinically distant intellectually engaging suspenseful well-acted thought-provoking narratively familiar paranoiac

Reviews

A
Anika Sharma
Feb 26, 2026
4.0 / 5
4.0

'Relay' succeeds as both a taut thriller and a sharp societal critique. It visualises the often-invisible pipelines of power and capital that silence dissent, making abstract corruption disconcertingly tangible. The dynamic between Ahmed's broker and James's client crackles…

D
David Chen
Feb 26, 2026
3.0 / 5
3.0

As a concept, 'Relay' is fascinating, but its execution feels somewhat remote. The film's clinical approach to its subject matter, while aesthetically polished, creates an emotional distance that is hard to bridge. Riz Ahmed is, as ever, compelling,…

C
Chloe Bennett
Feb 26, 2026
4.5 / 5
4.5

This is a masterclass in sustained, paranoiac tension. 'Relay' constructs an utterly believable shadow economy where truth is a commodity. Riz Ahmed's performance is a career highlight, a portrait of a man realising he has built his own…

M
Marcus Thorne
Feb 26, 2026
3.5 / 5
3.5

'Relay' functions as a proficient, high-gloss thriller with a compelling central conceit. The performances, particularly from Ahmed and a steely Lily James, lend necessary gravity to the procedural plot. However, the film occasionally treads familiar ground in its…

E
Eleanor Rigby
Feb 26, 2026
4.0 / 5
4.0

A sleek, nerve-jangling descent into the machinery of modern corruption, 'Relay' is elevated by a brilliantly understated Riz Ahmed. As the broker whose calculated world unravels, Ahmed conveys profound unease with mere glances. The film smartly avoids cartoonish…

FAQs

The title 'Relay' cleverly reflects the protagonist's professional function. He is not the originator of corruption nor its final target; he is the crucial intermediary, relaying payments and information to maintain a fragile, unethical status quo. Metaphorically, it speaks to the passing of a baton of risk and responsibility. When he breaks protocol, he effectively drops the baton, disrupting the entire relay race of secrecy and compensation, which promises catastrophic results for all runners involved.