Mark Wahlberg and LaKeith Stanfield in “Play Dirty.”
Prime Video/Jasin Boland
Play Dirty, a crime thriller starring Mark Wahlberg and LaKeith Stanfield and executive produced by Robert Downey Jr., is new on streaming. What are Rotten Tomatoes critics saying about the new movie from Iron Man 3 director Shane Black?
Rated R, Play Dirty begins streaming on Prime Video on Wednesday. The official summary for the movie reads, “An expert thief rolls out the biggest heist of his life in Play Dirty, an action-packed thriller from director Shane Black.
“Parker (Wahlberg), along with Grofield (Stanfield), Zen (Rosa Salazar) and a skilled crew, stumble onto a score that pits them against the New York mob in this gritty, clever caper.”
As of Wednesday, Play Dirty has earned a 52% “rotten” rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics based on 21 reviews. The film’s Critics Consensus, audience summary and Popcornmeter score are still pending.
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘Play Dirty’?
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter is among the top critics on RT who give Play Dirty a “rotten” review, writing, “For almost the entire bloated two-hour run time, [Shane] Black keeps his foot on the accelerator in the hope that audiences won’t notice the haphazard, barely logical plotting.”
Nick Schager of The Daily Beast, meanwhile, writes in his “rotten” take of Play Dirty on RT, “While its humor often sticks, its mayhem fails to land.”
Owen Gleiberman of Variety is among the top critics on RT who gives Play Dirty a “fresh” rating, writing in his review summary, “An action-comedy throwback powered by enough casual violence to inspire more grins than groans. [Shane] Black, as a director, has made this retro action power cheese his brand, not always successfully. But in this case, he reminds you of why he’s good at it.”
William Bibbiani of The Wrap also gives Play Dirty a “fresh” review on RT, writing, “The people who understand the assignment and did the homework are the real heroes. Meanwhile, Mark Wahlberg, Mark Wahlbergs, all Mark Wahlbergily. He’s a comforting presence in a movie where his job was to intimidate.”
Also starring Keegan-Michael Key, Chukwudi Iwuji, Nat Wolff, Thomas Jane and Tony Shalhoub, Play Dirty is new on Prime Video on Wednesday.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2025/10/01/play-dirty-rotten-tomatoes-reviews-is-crime-thriller-worth-playing/
