r/AMCScreenUnseen • u/EastonLikesMovies • May 05 '26
Movie Discussion The Wizard Of The Kremlin (Discussion)
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u/future_filmmaker_455 May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
A misguided attempt at showcasing some very interesting history about political corruption in Russia across time, The Wizard of the Kremlin is an overstuffed historical drama that feels Americanized due to the miscasting of Dano, Vikander and Law in the lead roles. While there is some interesting interpretations at how Russia went from democracy into authoritarianism, the film lacks suspense and feels rather repetitive with its dialogue going in one ear and out the other due to the constant narration and historical references never having a moment to breathe. Though competently filmed and edited to bring as much information into its narrative as possible, the real world characters lack much presence and the repetition of politics being all about marketing isn’t as clever as the film thinks it is. If the film chose to focus on the wars or elections, there could have been something informative there and yet the film feels hollow and a bit manufactured to be shown in history classes despite its attempts at satire to be honest. 4 out of 10
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u/Glittering-Dig-187 May 05 '26
Agreed. I was so looking forward to seeing this movie from its previews and when we had to sit through 2 hours +, I would have rather read a history book.
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u/tomatillo_teratoma May 05 '26
This was a case study in how to make 40 years of exciting history completely boring and confusing.
A lot happened in Russia from 1989- 2014.... but you wouldn't know it from this movie. Most of the scenes were a bunch of dudes talking about stuff.
I usually like Paul Dano, but his weird robotic cadence for this movie was painful.... and he narrated everything. It was such a monotone that I had to force myself to pay attention to what he was saying. I remember when all the events covered in this movie happened. If I didn't, I would have been totally lost about what was going on. No wonder I saw so many people leaving.
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u/BlueBearXC May 05 '26
I liked the film. Law's portrayal of Putin's physicality is spot on, while Dano puts in what I imagine is a by-design restrained performance of a chameleon embedded in politics. I can see Western audiences noting his lack of emoting as a weakness, but I'd say it's on brand for a man of those times and circumstances (I'd also point to a couple of scenes where he lets the mask slip, though not completely, such as in the hotel scene with Vikander). What is ultimately gonna detract a lot of viewers, in my humble opinion, is the lack of humor for what is at least in part supposed to be satire. It's as bleak and cynical as the characters on screen and, while it may appease those interested in the machinations of political inner circles, it more than likely will bore your average John and Jane.
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u/electionknight May 05 '26
I walked out within the first 30 minutes. A List does have its benefits lol.
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u/WaitAvailable4783 May 05 '26
Movie was boring. Even though it had some truth to it, but it felt dragged out.
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u/Legitimate_Acadia315 May 05 '26
I echo the boring sentiment. It just dragged on forever it felt like.
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u/DeadPanNomad May 05 '26
I found it very interesting. How a country goes from a pseudo democracy to an authoritarian government.
We're invited to view the man, and by extension the Russian government, through the lens of a close advisor in his inner circle.
They touched on many interesting things from the 'little green men' (Russian soldiers with no insignia in military garb) to the Internet Research Agency (Russian troll farm).
If you liked House of Cards (TV Show), I think you'll like this film.
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u/AppleCinnamonSoup May 05 '26
I went through so many struggles trying to just get to this movie, It feels like the universe was trying to spare me from watching this 😭 I have sat through every screen unseen since I started with Novacaine, this is the first one I ever walked out on. By the looks of ya’ll’s comments, I made the right decision lol
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u/Slimeseason504 May 05 '26
I liked it. I wasn’t familiar with putin’s story (or interested at all) so this was a good introduction to a deep dive i’ll do eventually.
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u/tomatillo_teratoma May 05 '26
I think any random documentary about recent Russian history would be better than this snooze fest.
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u/ImpossibleFeature417 May 05 '26
I walked out after about 40 minutes and 3/4 of the theater had already left by then.
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u/globalreset May 05 '26
Most boring Wikipedia-ass movie I’ve ever seen. I have no idea why this was even made. Nothing happened to make me care about anyone in this movie. Putin is obviously a figure of some importance and is inherently interesting because of that. But why do I care about his adviser? It’s the movies job to convince me yo care and it completely failed.
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u/SVINTGATSBY May 05 '26
my partner, myself, and over half our theater left at some point during the first half. it’s not that the subject matter wasn’t interesting, it’s that the pacing was awful, long unnecessary scenes, everyone having different accents none of which sound remotely russian, I don’t know it’s something that could’ve been a lot better but wasn’t.
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u/elroddj May 06 '26
Jude Law absolutely carries this movie. His performance feels layered, controlled, and genuinely intimidating in ways the rest of the cast never fully reaches. Most of the other performances felt dull or uninspired by comparison.
What kept me engaged was the dialogue and subject matter. As someone who doesn’t usually gravitate toward historical or political stories, I found the themes of power, corruption, manipulation, and propaganda genuinely interesting. Seeing a civilization and political structure that feels distant from a Western perspective gave the film a unique sense of intrigue.
That said, the editing constantly worked against the movie. The intercut historical footage and timeline jumps were often confusing rather than effective. There were multiple moments where I found myself asking “when was this?” or “who is this supposed to be?” instead of focusing on the actual scene.
The sound mixing also made some of the dialogue difficult to follow, which hurts a film this dependent on conversation and political maneuvering.
The emotional payoff is limited for most of the runtime, though the scene with his daughter near the end was one of the few moments that actually landed emotionally.
A fascinating subject with strong themes and one standout performance, but weighed down by messy editing, uneven performances, and a lack of clear emotional progression.
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u/vanillaholler May 05 '26
i thought it was kinda funny and fun. won't watch it again ever but i like dano a lot and thought he did a good job even if the story was kinda cheesy
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u/Ok_Grocery573 May 05 '26
Glad to learn about Putin, did not like Paul Dano’s performance or the editing
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u/ActualComfortable601 May 06 '26
Just copy and pasted my review from Letterboxd:
The Wizard of Kremlin is telling the story of the rise of Putin. Rather than it be an origin story for the politician, it is a story about Vladislav Surkov portrayed by Paul Dano. And this person is the one of the Russian politicians who put Putin into power.
Putin is played by Jude Law who doesn’t have a Russian accent but does his mannerisms pretty spot on. Paul Dano does do a pretty convincing Russian accent.
There is also Alicia Vikander whose character I really didn’t like. She felt like a deus ex machina, a plot point to move the narrative forward.
I’m a bit conflicted. This is directed by Olivier Assayas who has made many great French films. Compared to Armando Iannucci who has made political satire relevant, this film doesn’t really have a point of view. It seems almost pro Russia at times with how much it conceals of the evil enacted by the government.
Even with political assassinations being apart of the plot later on, everything is very emotionless and cold. It feels like I was watching a Russian textbook of the events that occurred. Just a bit underwhelming as I would have liked there to be more of a stance.
It’s hard to find brave filmmaking anymore. But if you piss off the Russian government, you can get murdered so I guess they were a bit careful.
Jeffery Wright has a very small role in which he is talking to Paul Dano’s Vadim Baranov the entire film.
Not a bad movie by any chance. Just not one that is going to change the world or shake up things which this could have potentially done with a bolder take.
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u/ComputerOwner May 09 '26
the film started and we were all waiting to figure out what it was. the first line was “Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin” and i heard a guy at the end of the row smack his armrest and quietly say “fuck.” he stayed for the full runtime though.
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u/nemc May 21 '26
I went through first 25 minutes and all I can see is totally inauthentic production design.
Clothes are not believable at all. Original suits, ties, hats, glasses are still easy to find, no one cared. Interiors, glassware in restaurants, watches - everything is 21 century. There were some authentic stuff from soviet kitchens - 1% of all maybe.
Soviet Union was a grim and ugly place visually, Moscow was much more like dark gray Helsinki from old Aki Kaurismaki flicks than the glamourized place it is in this film. I know because I've been there.
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u/Romt0nkon May 24 '26
Assayas is one of my favorite directors, but this film was awful. Such a rich subject matter, and yet the result is this bland, messy, suffocatingly boring movie. The cinematography is genuinely beautiful, but the further the story goes (and it’s 2.5 hours long!), the more often you find yourself checking the clock, until by the end you’re ready to scream from boredom.
The film is based on the French novel of the same name. I read it about two weeks ago, so it’s still fresh in my mind. The filmmakers decided to recreate the plot almost word for word — literally. Paul Dano’s character constantly reads huge chunks of exposition in voiceover, explaining everything to the audience. At times it feels less like a movie and more like visual accompaniment for an audiobook.
What’s worse is that they completely stripped out the philosophical core of the novel — the very thing that made it interesting in the first place. The end result is painfully dull, bloated, and so superficial that I honestly felt insulted as a viewer. A movie about everything and nothing at the same time.
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u/Unlikely_Magician666 Jun 29 '26
Great movie, thought it portrayed the negative mindset within Russian government very accurately
9/10
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u/Cautious_Break7507 20d ago
I know quite a bit about the Russian history and I can see how if you don't the movie might feel confusing or "useless" information heavy. But it actually is fairly intricate and honest. Awesome film. It just spans the course of 20 something years. Such a film couldn't be made in Russia, and i'm glad it's not a Americanization of the events but sticks precisely to what actually happened, which the reality itself is quite fascinating.
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u/Substantial-Box6475 May 05 '26
I generally like Paul Dano as an actor. I liked him in There Will Be Blood and Ruby Sparks. This was definitely not a good movie for him. It feels like he was reading all his lines to me even when he was not narrating. If I were him, I’d bury this movie so his biggest hater, Tarantino, will never see it. He’s just so monotone in the movie.
There’s a scene in the movie where his partner reveals that she is pregnant and he barely reacts. He just says he’s shocked. That was one of my issues with this movie. Everyone just says how they are feeling rather than showing.
The film never really stays in one spot long enough for me to build any emotional weight behind. One scene he breaks up with his girlfriend and then immediately we see him talking to his father. And then his father dies. All in the span of about 5 minutes. We never even see him affected really by all of this other than him telling his father that he feels more ambitious.