Critics’ reviews

Ali G: Who Iz I? (2026)

12 reviews from 12 publications. Critics’ score 41: 2 positive, 3 mixed, 7 negative.

Back to our review of Ali G: Who Iz I?

41
Positive
2
Mixed
3
Negative
7

Most critics find Ali G: Who Iz I? a tired return, though even several unfavourable reviews acknowledge scattered laughs and effective stunts. Praise centres on Cohen’s improvisation and the pranks that let political extremists expose their own prejudices. The more receptive reviews see some sting left in the satire, particularly when the film gives its targets space to incriminate themselves. There is less enthusiasm for sustaining the character at feature length.

The divide is over whether those encounters justify the rest. Reservations cluster around a cumbersome scripted story, uneven pacing and repeated explanations of who is in on the joke. Several critics question Ali G’s relevance, while others find the shock tactics more disturbing than funny. The spread is wide: HeyUGuys finds the satire imperfect but frequently inspiring, whereas The Wrap regards the revival as dispiriting and largely humourless. Even the warmer responses leave room for substantial misses.

Time Out
21 October 2026 · ★★★ · Phil de Semlyen
60

The review calls the sequel erratic but funny and hit-and-miss. It praises its Borat-style punking of America’s political extremists.

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The Hollywood Reporter
22 October 2026 · Frank Scheck
50*

Scheck finds the film hit-and-miss, with laughs offset by dead spots and humor that drags at feature length. He praises Cohen’s comic instincts and improvisation, but says Ali G works best in small doses.

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Empire
22 October 2026 · Helen O’Hara
35*

The critic finds the film largely unfunny, though its final stretch provides a startling payoff. The standout moments include a bone-chilling game show and a horrifying drone-related decision.

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Radio Times
22 October 2026 · Terry Staunton
35*

The critic finds the return uneven and too heavy-handed, questioning whether Ali G remains relevant. They acknowledge some laugh-out-loud moments but say the character’s comedy struggles to land.

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The Guardian
22 October 2026 · Peter Bradshaw
35*

Bradshaw finds the sequel intermittently funny but ultimately tired, with Ali G feeling irrelevant and its humor often crass. He praises the prankster’s energetic, Jackass-like hoaxing, while faulting the film for repeatedly explaining who is in on the joke.

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The AV Club
22 October 2026 · Tim Grierson
30*

Grierson argues that the film’s familiar satire feels stale and inadequate to the moment, despite some effective stunts. He praises Baron Cohen’s influence on later comics and documentarians, who have found fresher ways to expose America’s absurdities.

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Variety
22 October 2026 · Owen Gleiberman
30*

Gleiberman finds the film cumbersome and less relevant than it thinks, arguing that its attempt to make Ali G a political subject misfires. He complains that it replaces the character’s sharper talk-show pranks with an overblown backstory and rescue thriller.

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Deadline
22 October 2026 · Pete Hammond
70*

Hammond presents the film as an outrageous comedy with plenty to offend, suggesting a clearly positive verdict. He singles out the movie’s impressive clearances as a joke in its own right.

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HeyUGuys
· Linda Marric
70*

Marric finds the film imperfect but frequently inspiring, with its satire still capable of stinging. She especially praises the scenes targeting far-right figures, where their own prejudices make the joke land.

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The Playlist
22 October 2026 · C− · Jeff Ewing
51*

Ewing finds the film dated and muddled as satire, with only scattered laughs. He praises the TikTok-style interviews with elderly experts as a brilliant gag.

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Consequence
22 October 2026 · Liz Shannon Miller
15*

The critic finds the film painfully unfunny and muddled. She singles out its blend of scripted story and prank footage as undermining the narrative, while some segments feel disturbing rather than amusing.

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The Wrap
22 October 2026
15*

The critic finds the revival dispiriting and largely humorless, saying its shock comedy no longer lands. They single out the weak impact of Cohen’s gags, despite a few moments that earn a laugh.

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Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate