Philip Seymour Hoffman, the actor widely considered to be the greatest of his generation, is garnering posthumous acclaim for his turn in Anton Corbijn's twisting, turning new thriller A Most Wanted Man. It is the first movie to be released since Hoffman's untimely death in February and appears to be one of his finest.

A Most Wanted ManPhilip Seymour Hoffman in 'A Most Wanted Man'

Set in Germany in 2008, A Most Wanted Man stars Hoffman as a hard-drinking intelligence operative who uses a half-Chechen, half-Russian immigrant as a chess piece in a game of guile and deception.

"I think he's phenomenal in the film. That's how I want people to look at the film. His character is important and he's always been a phenomenal character actor," Corbijn told Crave Online.

The critics are unanimous in their praise for the movie.

"Hoffman shines in a role that demands not showmanship, but a kind of complexity and contradiction that can be rendered only through the kind of dull character details that he excelled in, accumulating them from the inside out," said the Washington Post.

More: Seymour Hoffman delivers classy turn in 'A Most Wanted Man'

"Anchored by Hoffman's superlative performance, the story, based on a John le Carré novel, is low-key, brooding and engrossing," said Claudia Puig of USA Today.

"[A] crackerjack thriller, at once brooding, claustrophobic and unbearably tense" said Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times.

"Hoffman leaves us with a quality film that showcases his tremendous depth and range as an actor," wrote Peter Howell of the Toronto Star.

"Most Wanted can often be a chilly bit of business, but it's no less gripping for its emotional distance, thanks mostly to a superb cast led by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman," said Alonso Duralde of The Wrap.

A Most Wanted Man is out now. 

Watch a clip from 'A Most Wanted Man':