Parents' Guide to Relay

Harkening back to exciting political thrillers of the 1970s, this is a taut bombshell, reminding viewers what we've been missing for the last few decades. Cat-and-mouse classics like The Parallax View and All the President's Men depended on viewers having a robust mistrust of the government (remember Watergate and the Pentagon Papers?) and featured protagonists grounded in integrity. Relay screenwriter Justin Piasecki taps us on the shoulder to remind us of that, suggesting that the time has come for both to return.

In a time when erstwhile villains like Maleficent and Cruella have been recast to seem sympathetic, and we're encouraged to cheer for the Joker and Loki (not to mention being told by cultural juggernauts like The Wolf of Wall Street, Succession, and Real Housewives that behaving badly reaps big benefits), an ethics revival is a welcome shift, and Relay feels like it's sparking to that idea. By shining a spotlight on whistleblowers—people so motivated by responsibility and a desire to create a better, safer world for everyone that they put their own reputations and careers at risk—the film reminds us that honesty and humility can still command the screen. In a perfect world, Relay could hand the baton to a new wave of political thrillers, and, with luck, remind us all of the value of integrity.