Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (Octomber 14, 2025)
Despite its title, 2025’s Relay doesn’t involve the world of track and field. Instead, it presents a thriller.
When corporations run into issues related to their misdeeds, they bring in Ash (Riz Ahmed). He acts as a “fixer” who the businesses use as an intermediary to buy off whistleblowers who could expose the bad behavior.
Armed with evidence that a group wants to hide negative side effects from their genetically modified wheat, Sarah (Lily James) turns to Ash to avoid the firm’s intimidation. This sends Ash into a new realm where he needs to leave the sidelines and help protect Sarah.
Thanks to his part in 2019’s Sound of Metal, Ahmed earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination. However, audiences seem more likely to know him from supporting roles in flicks like 2016’s Rogue One and 2018’s Venom.
Though I didn’t care for Sound of Metal, I appreciate Ahmed’s talent. This made me eager to see him in another lead part.
Unlike Sound of Metal, Relay won’t earn any Oscar nominations. Not that it aspires to become anything other than a thriller with a social conscience of sorts.
Unfortunately, it can’t do much in that range. Although its 112-minute running time doesn’t seem extreme, the movie fails to use that space well.
This means a story that crawls. Relay takes far too long to get where it needs to go.
If the filmmakers used that space to develop the roles or muster tension, then it would work. Unfortunately, neither happens, so the movie just plods.]
It doesn’t help that so much of the story comes across as trite and predictable. The amoral Ash starts to grow a conscience and his relationship with Sarah develops emotionally in ways that seem easy to anticipate.
Until Relay finds a plot twist to throw a charge into the audience. On the surface, I should appreciate this, as it allows the movie to deviate from the tried ‘n’ true.
However, this curveball just feels cynical. The flick doesn’t really earn it and it comes across as a contrary beat that exists just for audience manipulation.
Ahmed does fine as our lead, though the movie doesn’t give him much room to explore thanks to its simplistic depiction of Ash. We find him as a member of AA not because it adds to the role’s depth but instead because it allows the filmmakers easy paths to character exposition.
To my surprise, the best performance here comes from Sam Worthington as the lead goon who tries to stop Sarah. Usually a pretty wooden actor, he shows a pulse and makes his part enjoyably nasty.
Outside of these moments of spark, Relay lands with a thud. The film fails to develop into anything more than a sluggish stab at a thriller.
