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Sam Rockwell’s New Spy Movie Is Officially One of 2026’s Highest-Rated Thrillers
Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy spy thriller *Wild Horse Nine*, starring Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich, is due in cinemas this Friday after its Venice festival debut. Its strong early reviews place it among 2026’s highest-rated thrillers and could boost its awards prospects.
Set on Easter Island in 1973, the film follows two CIA agents whose assignment becomes complicated as they confront their past and grow close to rebellious students. It has a 94% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes from 136 reviews, tying it with *The Odyssey*; one reviewer praised the leads’ chemistry and Malkovich’s performance.
In short
- *Wild Horse Nine* has a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score.
- Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich lead the spy thriller.
- The film may contend for awards recognition.
Explained simply
The CIA is the United States’ foreign intelligence agency, which gathers information and carries out operations abroad. In the film, Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich play two of its agents sent to Easter Island, a remote Chilean territory in the Pacific, in 1973.
The story brings the agents into contact with rebellious students and touches on their pasts. Its setting places the characters amid political tensions in the early 1970s, while its mix of espionage and dark comedy shapes the film’s approach to those events.