Monday, 25 August 2025

REVIEW: Relay (2025 FIlm) - Starring Riz Ahmed, Lily James and Sam Worthington



Review by Jon Donnis

David Mackenzie's latest, Relay, takes the familiar shape of a corporate thriller and folds it into a taut character study, powered by a magnetic turn from Riz Ahmed. At the centre is Ash, a fixer who hides behind elaborate rules, burner phones and the anonymity of relay services, keeping dangerous corporations and desperate whistleblowers at arm's length. His code of secrecy works until Sarah Grant (Lily James) arrives with a plea not just for money but for survival, pulling him into a game where control slips quickly from his hands.

The first half is brilliantly paced. Mackenzie builds tension through quiet exchanges, suspicious glances and the steady drip of information. Ahmed's Ash feels lived-in, a man too clever to be caught yet too haunted to ever be free. The scenes with his AA sponsor, played with understated warmth by Eisa Davis, give the story a grounding it badly needs. Lily James plays Sarah with a fragile urgency that makes her more than just a plot device, and Sam Worthington, as the relentless Dawson, keeps the stakes high without straying into caricature.


Where the film stumbles is in its final stretch. The twists pile up to the point where they lose their punch, with the last reveal in particular feeling unnecessary. At nearly two hours, it could have done with a tighter edit, especially in the final act where momentum falters. Some supporting characters, like Hoffman and Rosetti, are functional but never especially vivid, which slightly blunts the impact when their roles become more central.

Even with its flaws, Relay has enough invention and nerve to stand out. Mackenzie's eye for detail, New York streets alive with menace, the sleek anonymity of corporate offices, the weight of a simple phone call, keeps the suspense grounded. More importantly, Ahmed holds the film together with sheer presence, making Ash both calculating and deeply human. It's his performance, and the uneasy moral questions the film raises, that linger once the credits roll.

Relay is a sharp, ingenious thriller that runs a little too long and leans too heavily on late-game twists, but it never stops being gripping. Riz Ahmed and Lily James shine in a story that balances paranoia, corporate corruption and fractured identity.

Score: 8.5/10

In Cinemas Now