Forget Nolan. Forget Doomsday. 2026 officially belongs to Martin McDonagh, back on the big screen with Wild Horse Nine — a fantastic black comedy where the spectacle isn’t wooden horses or Avengers assembling, but a narrative-driven exhibition led by John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, and Steve Buscemi.
For us, seeing directing and writing credits for McDonagh and a quick peek at the cast list was enough to get our butts seated. But if you’re still unconvinced, the trailer should do the trick. Don’t worry about it dishing out the film’s best jokes. Wild Horse Nine’s trailer barely scratches the surface, leaving the biggest laughs and the heart of the story for you to discover.
Surprisingly existential
Wild Horse Nine is first and foremost a comedy. But the surrounding narrative, weaving together three Hollywood heavyweights, plucks surprisingly hard at your heartstrings. You won’t come out the other end bawling, but the fantastic dialogue reminiscent of, well, any McDonagh film, might have you questioning your mortality.
The film follows a pair of CIA operative buddies, Chris and Lee (Malkovich and Rockwell), in the build-up to the 1973 Chilean coup. One’s an old grump with an extensive K/D ratio, paired with a younger grump who’s still early in his body count. The two embark on a journey to Easter Island, with nothing sinister in mind, of course… Tension ensues when MJ (Buscemi) enters the fray as the head of the South American CIA operation.
You might be expecting something a little heavier on the action scale with that premise, but Wild Horse Nine rarely strays away from the quieter moments, preferring to let the two stars do their thing. It walks a tight line between The Banshees of Inisherin and In Bruges to give you some sense of what you’re in for here.
Malkovich steals the show, but Rockwell isn’t giving up easy
Few could step up to the Wild Horse Nine plate in quite the same way that Malkovich does here. He’s the clear standout, an even more impressive feat when going toe-to-toe with Rockwell for two straight hours. Rockwell holds his own, but serves to let Malkovich live and breathe his role as an introspective spook.
Malkovich adopts a casual sort of air in every scene he’s in that delivers a sense of unreality, though wholly believable. Malkovich reflects on a life that nearly nobody can relate to while navigating a major lifestyle upheaval that the audience can clutch onto for this protagonist who is, really, an anti-hero.
Rockwell takes on the role of the straight(ish) man to counter Malkovich’s unserious energy, and plays the part to perfection. His funnier (and more heart-wrenching) moments typically come as a riposte to an out-of-pocket quip from Malkovich. It’s a pairing brimming with bro-mance chemistry, and is the major ingredient to the “secret sauce” that makes Wild Horse Nine work.
Buscemi is just as worthy of mention, thriving on McDonagh’s style of dialogue and filmmaking present. He’s not doing anything we haven’t seen before in his many years on the big screen. He seems to be filling out his white-haired character actor role nicely.
A razor-sharp script elevates the island vibes
Much of what makes Wild Horse Nine work as well as it does is the tight, precise script, a staple for McDonagh. There’s not a moment wasted in this two-hour flick, whether Malkovich and Rockwell are spewing jokes out every couple of seconds, or when the buds are quietly reflecting on a life lived to the absolute fullest.
There’s a distinct style to McDonagh’s films that makes them immediately stand out. McDonagh prefers almost-surreal locations to film, so Easter Island’s vibrant hills make for one pretty film. It all feels undoubtedly real — especially when set against the backdrop of a real coup and every other CIA operation that gets a mention. The characters may be larger-than-life caricatures, but it’s grounded in a way that only McDonagh could pull off.
The cinematography on display feels effortless, and loads up an already great movie with… not quite spectacle, but something that provokes spectacle. Perhaps it’s the Island’s “heads” and the lack of a more traditional score.
Wild Horse Nine verdict
Saying Wild Horse Nine is worth the price of admission would be an understatement. Sure, all those laughs will still be waiting patiently by the time it inevitably hits streaming, but if you needed an excuse to get out of the house next weekend, this will more than suffice. Martin McDonagh once again proves himself to be one of the greatest directors working today. Ditto for the star-studded trio who ‘got’ what Wild Horse Nine was going for.
Wild Horse Nine begins its local theatrical release on Friday, 6 November.
