Sacrifice Review – Chris Evans is the Lone Bright Spot in Activism Satire

Cinema history is littered with movies that fail to live up to their own lofty goals. A still-unproven director with potential, loaded cast, relevant themes and good ideas. Feels like it should be a slam dunk. But as great as the individual parts may seem to be, the whole simply doesn’t come together. Sadly, that’s what we have here. While Sacrifice, from director Romain Gavras, might look great on paper, the end result is far from it.

What is Sacrifice about?

An elite charity gala filled with celebrities and billionaires is taken over by a group of radical climate-change zealots. Believing the world is set to end in two days with a volcanic explosion, they take three guests hostage, believing their sacrifice will stave off the impending doom and save humanity. Ben Bracken (Vincent Cassel), the world’s richest man, performer Daughter Nature (Ambika Mod), and disgraced actor Mike Tyler (Chris Evans) are the unlucky three. But while Bracket and Daughter Nature will be forcefully thrown into the volcano, Tyler, as the cult-appointed Hero, must make the choice himself. As the night further descends into chaos, could this be an opportunity for the redemption and salvation Tyler longs for?

Sacrifice review

Gavras’s vision for Sacrifice is clear. It’s a satirical look at faux activism from celebrities and the wealthy “elite.” So many want to be seen as caring about global issues (in this case, climate change and environmental issues), without actually doing anything about it. Or, if you’re billionaire Ben Bracken, you decide to combat these issues with – wait for it – more deep sea mining. Solve one problem by adding to another. It’s a worthwhile, relevant take to have. In the real world, how many people travel to events like these in private jets or giant, gas-guzzling SUVs and limousines?

The big issue here, though, is that it’s not funny. Except for Chris Evans, that is, but we’ll get to him. You can tell where the jokes are supposed to go. Characters’ intonations, tone of voice, facial expressions, physical reactions. Those are all there. But there is rarely a line or action that is able to come off as a joke. A satire where the vast majority of jokes miss? That’s far from a recipe for success.

The more serious aspects don’t work all that well either. Gavras, along with his co-writer Will Arbery, fail to make any interesting points about current celebrity culture. Sure, they make a handful of interesting observations, but it doesn’t go any further than that. We all know celebrities can be, and often are, self-absorbed, egotistical, self-congratulatory. Pointing that out and then doing nothing with it does nothing for a story. Chris Evans’ Mike Tyler is the only character that gets any real in-depth work.

Yung Lean, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jade Croot in Sacrifice (2026)/Netflix

Coming off a major public meltdown, Tyler is looking to make a big splash here at his first big public appearance since that incident. But Tyler is a dummy, a real airhead. Once the eco-terrorists, led by Anya Taylor-Joy’s Joan, take over the event, it takes him an embarrassingly long time to realize this is, in fact, real and not some elaborate performance, part of the evening’s entertainment.

He came into the gala hoping to make a big statement, slamming Bracken and everyone else in attendance for their performative actions. And when that predictably goes terribly, he actually sees his kidnapping as a second chance to show the world that extreme actions must be taken and that he, actor-activist Mike Tyler, can show them the way.

Evans is on the verge of something special here in Sacrifice. He taps perfectly into the dim-witted actor persona. He’s the only one who is actually believable in their role. Mike Tyler is a dim-witted egomaniac who honestly believes his plan can work. And with Evans in a groove, it works. While Tyler is supposed to come off as idiotic, if Evans goes too far, the character becomes too much of a caricature. He is able to strike a good balance throughout. He’s also the only one with any consistent laughs. Based on the movie, it seems Gavras wanted to make Evans the only one on the same wavelength.

And that is a tragedy given the impressive cast. Vincent Cassel is disappointing, with his Ben Bracken spending most of his time making fun of and ridiculing Mike Tyler. Salma Hayek is Gloria, Ben’s wife, and her appearance is really only a cameo rather than a true supporting role. Sam Richardson is one of the most dependably funny actors working today, and yet he gets maybe one or two moments that tap into his comedic sensibilities. The real disappointment, though, is Anya Taylor-Joy.

Chris Evans and Sam Richardson in Sacrifice (2026)/Netflix

The script gives her nothing. Yes, she’s supposed to be this very serious, intense activist. But that kind of character can still have some juice; there can still be charisma. Her character has none of that. There are a couple of moments where a little bit breaks through, but that feels more like sheer force of will and talent than anything else. It’s a testament to Taylor-Joy that she was able to get even that much out of it.

The script also puts far too much focus on the cult. But like the rest of Sacrifice, there’s no there there. It’s your basic crazy-people-cult-plot-device, made slightly more interesting just by the fact that they worship a volcano. Sacrifice temporarily abandons the far better Mike Tyler story to exposition dump on the cult’s background. It’s deeply uninteresting and brings what little momentum it had to a grinding halt.

To Gavras and his team’s credit, there is some good production value. The marble mine where the fundraiser is held is beautiful. Filming in Greece, Bulgaria, and Iceland allows the movie to take advantage of the countries’ natural beauty. It’s a small consolation, but when so much else falls short, you’ll take whatever wins you can get.

Is Sacrifice worth watching?

Chris Evans in Sacrifice (2026)/Netflix

Chris Evans and a handful of gorgeous shots prevent this from becoming a full-on disaster. But Sacrifice takes its collection of good ideas and themes and does next to nothing with them. If you’re a diehard Evans fan, with the “Netflix bump,” this may barely qualify as worth your time. But you are not missing anything else if you decide to skip it.

Sacrifice releases on Netflix Friday, October 16.

Sacrifice Review – Chris Evans is the Lone Bright Spot in Activism Satire