Jude Law’s New R-Rated Political Thriller Officially Ends His Strong Rotten Tomatoes Streak

Jude Law‘s new political thriller is more of a Rotten Tomatoes jinx.

The Oscar-nominated actor has his fair share of portraying iconic roles over the decades, including Albus Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, Dr. Watson in two Sherlock Holmes movies, and Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr. Ripley, which earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination. However, his most daring role yet is none other than Russia’s controversial president, Vladimir Putin, in the new political thriller, The Wizard of the Kremlin.

Following its premiere at Venice last year, The Wizard of the Kremlin earned mixed reviews due to slow pacing, poor narrative structure, and thin characters, including Paul Dano’s fictional Vadim Baranov. Although Law’s performance was noted as the standout for a chilling depiction that includes his distinct mannerisms, he isn’t the movie’s central point. As a result, the film landed a rotten 46% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Wizard of the Kremlin is now in theaters, and audiences have had a chance to see it. Unfortunately, moviegoers are equally unimpressed with the political thriller, with many noting the same problems, including the incredibly slow and boring pacing. Thus, the audience score currently stands at 55%, ending Law’s Rotten Tomatoes streak since his last three movies were positively rated by moviegoers and scored.

Until recently, audiences reacted positively to Law’s last three movies. Two projects, Eden and Firebrand, received mixed reviews from critics, but both still earned audience scores above 60%. However, his best-rated movie was The Order (89%), where Law portrayed an FBI agent who hunts down a violent white supremacist.

Meanwhile, Law’s television venture is more consistently rated, with critical acclaim for Black Rabbit, Star Wars’ Skeleton Crew, The Third Day, and The New Pope. Audience reception was also generally positive, including an 87% score for The Young Pope.

The political thriller comes at a very critical point, as Putin continues to be a very controversial leader, especially with Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine and his aggressive power in the country. While The Wizard of the Kremlin is just one of the few projects to depict him in a feature, there have been several documentaries centered on the corrupt leader. This includes Oscar-winning Mr. Nobody Against Putin, Antidote, and BBC’s Putin: The New Tsar.

Although The Wizard of the Kremlin may be a small setback, Law’s next project will be Apple TV’s new series Wild Things. The upcoming biopic will see the star portray Siegfried Fischbacher, one-half of the duo known as Siegfried & Roy. He will star alongside Andrew Garfield and Justin Theroux. As of writing, Law doesn’t appear to have any movie in progress.

Based on the 2022 novel by Giuliano da Empoli, The Wizard of the Kremlin follows Dano’s character Vadim, who transforms from a young filmmaker to Putin’s unexpected advisor during the political chaos of the post-Soviet Union era. While Olivier Assayas directed and co-wrote the movie, the cast features Alicia Vikander, Tom Sturridge, Will Keen, and Jeffrey Wright.

The Wizard of the Kremlin is now playing in theaters.

Release Date

May 15, 2026

Runtime

136 minutes

Director

Olivier Assayas

Writers

Giuliano da Empoli, Olivier Assayas, Emmanuel Carrère

Producers

Jeff Rice, Olivier Delbosc, Sidonie Dumas, Sylvie Barthet, François Samuelson, Stuart Manashil, Igor Pronin, Joel Michaely, Lee Broda, Yulia Zayceva, Max Pavlov, Niraj Bhatia, Svetlana Punte, Theodore Shivdasani, Robert K. MacLean, Thomas Pierce, Patrick Doherty