Venice 2026: First Reactions to Martin McDonagh’s WILD HORSE NINE

The Venice Film Festival is on its second day, and reactions to some of the highly-anticipated world premieres are starting to arrive. One of today’s big premieres is Martin McDonagh’s WILD HORSE NINE, which will launch in US theaters on November 6th, 2026.

Wild Horse Nine is written and directed by Martin McDonagh, and stars John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Mariana di Girolamo, Ailín Salas, Tom Waits, and Parker Posey.

In the film, shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell) are dispatched from Santiago to Easter island by their bureau chief, MJ (Steve Buscemi). Amongst the Island’s iconic statues, and as the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris’s newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students (Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas) threatens to send everyone’s trip to this remote paradise sideways.

Here are the first reactions out of Venice:

'Wild Horse Nine' Review: John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell Are a Perfectly Paired Double Act in Martin McDonagh's Melancholy Seventies Caper https://t.co/PByNPmyoZA
— Variety (@Variety) September 3, 2026

‘Wild Horse Nine’ Review: John Malkovich Is Glorious in Martin McDonagh’s Dull Spy Comedy https://t.co/LoJd4DYobu
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) September 3, 2026

‘Wild Horse Nine’ Review: Martin McDonagh’s Prickly but Unconvincing CIA Satire Recasts ‘In Bruges’ as the Stuff of a Classic Western https://t.co/C0YxtYL1Ho
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) September 3, 2026

'Wild Horse Nine' Review: John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell Make a Perfect Pair in Martin McDonagh's Poignant, Blood-Dipped Buddy Comedy https://t.co/JWumXva9xP
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 3, 2026

Adored WILD HORSE NINE. McDonagh movies are an event at this stage, one of the most consistently original voices in cinema, but the story is John Malkovich. It truly might be his greatest performance and I’ve felt like an Oscar is in store for months now. pic.twitter.com/laQ1o8UCtv
— Kris Tapley (@kristapley) September 3, 2026

Everything Martin McDonagh touches turns to gold. #WildHorseNine is a riotously funny, achingly tender knockout – an irresistible crowdpleaser that leaves you laughing before breaking your heart towards the end. An instant favorite of mine this year. #VeniceFilmFestival pic.twitter.com/aMXwhRdiES
— Mia @ Venice Film Festival (@justmiaslife) September 3, 2026

Wild Horse Nine takes the spot as my favorite Martin McDonagh film! It's a hilarious two-hander with a rambunctious John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell leading the charge, while also being quite reflective about life and regrets. Gorgeous scenery too!https://t.co/aRCOvXwV9S pic.twitter.com/soixyddwNS
— Ema Sasic (@ema_sasic) September 3, 2026

Marc van de Klashorst goes to see the 'big heads' in Martin McDonagh's WILD HORSE NINE, a roaringly funny yet deeply moving spy comedy that hits like a sharpshooter hiding on a grassy knoll #Venezia83 https://t.co/TBTFQIgoLY pic.twitter.com/e1ERnaE2AD
— IntlCinephileSociety (@ICSfilm) September 3, 2026

WILD HORSE NINE is probably Martin McDonagh's best film and I think we have one of John Malkovich's best ever performances in it. Cynical and sad but funny as hell. Gorgeously shot, Ben Davis captures Easter Island luxuriously. Rockwell, Posey, Waits and di Girolamo, all great.
— Erik Anderson (@AwardsWatchErik) September 3, 2026

Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine is a brilliant high-wire act in tone & depth. Malkovich is revelatory, wry & rueful. As is Sam Rockwell. In classic McDonagh fashion we get brilliant conversations. Here between 2 aging CIA agents abt the great myths of America, trust & regret. pic.twitter.com/2B373Z4eZK
— Christina Birro (@ChristinaBirro) September 3, 2026

'Wild Horse Nine' Review: John Malkovich And Sam Rockwell Superb In Martin McDonagh's Funny And Profound Film – Venice Film Festival https://t.co/xI4InuJ6Ij
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) September 3, 2026

I adored WILD HORSE NINE. The script, the dialogue, the visuals, and especially the performances by John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell. And a reminder that Malkovich has never won an Oscar… https://t.co/EOrD86wN48
— Rebecca Ford (@Beccamford) September 3, 2026

.@DavidCRooney1 is great on WILD HORSE NINE, and rightly highlights John Malkovich's revelatory turn. To my my mind he is, as of a now, the clear Oscar frontrunner in a stacked field: https://t.co/QqxlzJeyd6
— David Canfield (@davidcanfield97) September 3, 2026

“Wild Horse Nine” is Martin McDonagh at his most humane and haunting: savagely funny, achingly sad, and alive with moral complexity. John Malkovich gives a staggering performance in a poetic, Western-inflected tragedy that lingers long after it ends. https://t.co/1swBf0AMSq pic.twitter.com/VqQdHGAL3q
— Comrade Rodrigo (@yronlyhopes) September 3, 2026

‘Wild Horse Nine’ Review: Martin McDonagh Turns an Unlikely Friendship Into Tragicomedy #WildHorseNine #VeniceFilmFestival / By @justmiaslife

Read our review ⤵️ https://t.co/2RAd9FD9uc
— Nerdspin (@nerdspin_) September 3, 2026

Venice 2026: First Reactions to Martin McDonagh’s WILD HORSE NINE

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