Movie review
August 21, 2025 · 112 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Relay is a paranoid thriller about a reclusive fixer (Riz Ahmed) who anonymously brokers hush-money payoffs between reluctant whistleblowers and the corrupt corporations they could expose, using a secure telecommunications relay service for anonymity. When a biotech scientist (Lily James) seeks his protection after discovering toxic side effects in a genetically modified grain product, professional rules break down amid surveillance and personal connection. The lead character's Pakistani-American Muslim background and post-9/11 prejudice experiences are referenced as part of his isolation and alcoholism backstory. No other audience-visible identity or activist elements drive the narrative.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Relay.
Woke representation / casting
Pakistani-American Muslim lead with post-9/11 prejudice backstory referenced
Woke political dialogue
Standard corporate negotiations with no activist speeches
Identity-driven story themes
Lead character's isolation and alcoholism partly tied to ethnic/religious prejudice experiences
Western institutional / cultural critique
Generic corporate corruption and cover-ups as thriller plot device with no modern activist reframing into identity politics, patriarchy, or systemic oppression
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Fringe mentions of backstory only; no widespread backlash claiming too woke
Creator track record context
No relevant prior work is cited
Production
