Netflix movie of the day: Molly’s Game will show you the high-stakes world of underground poker

A biopic about the larger-than-life Poker Princess

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Every day, we cut through the bottomless list of streaming options and recommend something to watch. See all ourNetflix movie of the daypicks, or ourPrime Video movie of the daychoices.

Biopics are some of my favorite genre of movies for the stranger than fiction stories they tell andMolly’s Gamefits the bill perfectly.The real-life Molly Bloom’s journey from being a former Olympic skiing hopeful to running the world’s most exclusive poker games sees her brush shoulders with all manners of society, from rock stars and athletes to FBI agents and the Russian mafia, which makes for a thrilling 140 minutes.

If you haven’t seen it, then the good news is that you can now stream it as part ofeverything new on Netflix in April 2024– the last time it wasnew on Netflix was in April 2022and againin April 2020so it’s great to see that the streamer has re-added the crime drama to the platform. This also isn’t the first timeTechRadarhas recommended watching theaward-winning biographical filmeither, picking it out as one of two biopics written by Aaron Sorkin (the other beingThe Social Network) –who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay forMolly’s Game.

Sorkin adapted the screenplay forMolly’s Gameoff the back of Bloom’s memoir of the same name, and while it was his directorial debut, he’d penned several major biopics before it includingCharlie Wilson’s War, Money BallandSteve Jobs(2015), as well as blockbusters likeA Few Good Menand TV shows likeThe West Wingand more recentlyThe Trial of the Chicago 7.The talented former playwright and aspiring actor is known for writing clever, ultra-fast-paced dialogue, including walk-and-talk scenes, both of which feature inMolly’s Game.

It’s movie trademarks like these that make the biopic an absorbing watch, even if Sorkin did take some creative liberties with the story. Even more compelling are the performances from Jessica Chastain, who plays Molly Bloom herself, Kevin Costner, who plays her father Larry Bloom, Idris Elba, who plays Bloom’s trial lawyer Charlie Jaffey, and Michael Cera, who plays the mysterious ‘player X’ (it’s not clear which out of the real-life A-lister celebrities – such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck or Matt Damon – his character was meant to be though).

With an 81% Rotten Tomatoes score from the critics (and an 84% score from the audience),Molly’s Gameis one of thebest Netflix moviesavailable to stream. Many reviews praise Sorkin’s “whip-snap dialogue”, withThe Guardian’sPeter Bradshaw writing “Sorkin lets rip with another marathon-sprint of exhausting and exhilarating and exasperating dialogue”. The razor-sharp script is such a defining quality of the movie thatRoger Ebert’sChristy Lemire says: “If you’re a fan of [Sorkin’s] particular brand of impossibly intelligent characters exchanging rat-a-tat dialogue, you’ll be in heaven here. The hose is on full blast for two-plus hours. Nothing and no one seems to be holding him back, for better and for worse.”

You might also like

Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.

Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.

Amelia became the Senior Editor for Home Entertainment at TechRadar in the UK in April 2023. With a background of more than eight years in tech and finance publishing, she’s now leading our coverage to bring you a fresh perspective on everything to do with TV and audio. When she’s not tinkering with the latest gadgets and gizmos in the ever-evolving world of home entertainment, you’ll find her watching movies, taking pictures and travelling.

‘That was never the plan’: Arcane creators dismiss claims that the hit Netflix show was going to run for five seasons

Arcane season 2 was reportedly going to run for five seasons, so why is my all-time favorite Netflix show ending after two?

I’ve been covering Apple Watch deals for years – This is the one model most people should buy on Black Friday