He May Be A Spy But Is It All A Game? (Spy Game (DVD))

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	Spy Game (DVD)
Date:	09/09/03 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Entertaining story, with good twists and turns

Disadvantages: a little confusing if you aren't paying attention

It’s not often that a film starring Brad Pitt would make me leave the house and head for the Cinema, it’s a little less likely that I’d end up buying the DVD. But when a film starring both Robert Redford and Brad Pitt is advertised I normally wouldn’t bother with it. However for some unknown reason I actually did go and see this and I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed.

Now this caught my eye from the trailers but to summarise it, we start in Hong Kong in 1991 and a Red Cross team has arrived to administer a Cholera vaccine to the inmates of a prison. Within this Red Cross team are two CIA agents who are trying to get one of the inmates out. Agent Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) electrocutes him self with the other members of the party announcing him dead and leaving him in a back room, but with the power out from his little accident he manages to find and liberate the mysterious prisoner before returning to the medical room to play dead again.

However unlike James Bond, this plan hadn’t gone off without a hitch and they are caught after a prison officer spots something unusual, resulting in them all being imprisoned. We then appear in Langley, the home of the CIA where Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) is coming to the end of a long career within the organisation when he hears that one of his former agents has been captured in New York. And Muir has to postpone his retirement to find out what happened to his former student.

The CIA set up their own special appointed task force to find out what happened and why they had agents working without proper authorisation to save an unknown target. They call for Muir to find out a bit of back ground information on the agent and discover a lot about his past, however as Muir begins to work out who the target was he sets about hatching a plan to free Bishop as the CIA are happy to wash there hands of him, but as Muir feels responsible (I’m not telling you why) he
feels he should try to help Bishop.

Now Spy Game isn’t just an action film, it also requires a lot of thought, and a bit like Rules Of Engagement it does involve a lot of scene’s where they are talking things over but I feel this makes for a better film. It works well, having Muir looking back over events and going through Bishop’s training. The film also deals with a lot of global politics, and the involvement of the CIA in all that has gone on and although based on it isn’t a true story you cant help but feel parts of it have been drawn from real events. The script has a few unexpected twists and turns which helps keep you interested in the film, instead of losing your interest part of the way through.

The director, Tony Scott comes from quite a hit filled back ground, having directed Top Gun and Days Of Thunder. And like many of his other films, this one flows well, keeping you entertained but not dragging on too much. The special effects where used are superb and don’t go over the top, which shows especially during the scene in Israel when Muir has just arrived and they run through a war zone. The scene is clever and really has to be seen to see the point I’m trying to make about it, but the direction works well throughout, with the attention to small detail really showing.

Of course the main characters in the film or the stars if you will are Pitt and Redford, everyone else apart from the target really are just there to help the story along. Although most of Pitts screen time is from events in the past he is impressive and taking on a persona he has in many other films and in this one it really works well. The action roles seem to suit him well and although he doesn’t have the same screen time as Redford he does make the most of it.

As for Redford, he has made a few dodgy films in the past but as the well respected Muir he shines. Narrating for big parts of it this role seems to suit
him, especially when he is plotting on his own, which makes the film a lot more enjoyable. Although he has made a few dodgy films, like Pitt he seems well suited for his role in this film, which impressed me. And finally we have the target played by Catherine McCormack, she is only in the film for a short time but her character Elizabeth Hadley is very important to the story, so it helps to have an actress playing her with a bit of screen presence.

So unlike the last film, Deep Blue Sea, which was ideal for anyone who didn’t want to think, this comes in at the opposite end of the scale, where you will need to be concentrating for chunks to make sure you understand what is going on. Obviously it wont appeal to everyone, but it is a well made film with the right casting choices, so definitely one I would recommend.

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