A gripping crime thriller based on a true story that was quickly taken off cinema screens soon after it premiered has found a new lease of life on streaming TV. Despite disappointing at the Box Office, The Order won the backing of critics and currently has an enviable 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
And now viewers on Amazon Prime have discovered it themselves, launching the 2024 movie into the top ten. The Order stars Jude Law alongside X-man Nicholas Hoult, Ready Player One’s Tye Sheridan and stand-up Marc Maron, and tells the true story of veteran FBI agent Terry Husk (Law) as he moves to Idaho in search of an easier caseload after a string of testing investigations.
Set in the 80s, Husk’s newfound peace is short-lived as he is soon tipped that a sleuth of robberies and bombings are connected with a missing person case – all of which are being orchestrated by a neo-Nazi terror group named The Order.
Rotten Tomatoes’ critics consensus reads: “A stoic Jude Law and diabolically good Nicholas Hoult turn the tides of history in this grippingly intense thrill ride.”
Critic Susan Granger writes: “What makes this crime thriller timely is that many considered the concept of a neo-Nazi movement with tacit presidential approval just a fantasy until 1/6/2021 – when Capitol rioters waved copies of ‘The Turner Diaries’ – and Donald Trump was re-elected.”
Tim Grierson, of Screen International, wrote that the film was “always skillfully choreographed but never showy”. Stephanie Bunbury, of Deadline Hollywood, characterized the film as a “sweeping slice of political Americana”. Jordan Mintzer, of The Hollywood Reporter, described the film as “a gripping true story of American violence”.
Viewers have praised Law’s performance, while also appreciating the old-fashioned film-making, likening the film to the likes of The French Connection.
“Once again another film being unceremoniously dumped on Prime Video,” one user posted to X. “The Order is a superb piece of gritty thriller on the dangers of white supremacy with an excellent Law with his grizzled, hard-drinking, early 80s Gene Hackman machoism complete with a killer moustache.”
The Order had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in August 2024, and was released just after Christmas to little or no fanfare. Distributors were nervous about streaming the film in the US because of the political context in the lead-up to the US elections, allowing Amazon Prime Video to acquire the rights to stream in multiple international territories. It premiered on Amazon in the UK on December 27 and is available to stream right now.