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Buy Spy Game Movie Poster
Cast
and Credits
Tony Scott (Director)
Robert Redford
(Nathan Muir)
Brad Pitt
(Tom Bishop)
Catherine McCormack
(Elizabeth Hadley)
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the official Spy Game website
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I had the extreme misfortune of seeing my first trailer for
"Spy Game" immediately following a trailer for the
upcoming Owen Wilson film "Behind
Enemy Lines"--my bad
luck, I suppose. I was so emotionally and physically
drained from watching Owen Wilson's crooked nose that I was
totally uninterested in the latest Redford vehicle. As
time passed, and more and more trailers began to surface, I
started paying more and more attention and my anticipation grew
with time. Upon entering the theater to watch "Spy
Game", I was somewhat excited about seeing a veteran actor
like Redford team up with a hot young star like Brad Pitt.
Upon exiting the theater, I wanted to throw myself from the top
of the highest bridge in Alabama.
"Spy Game" would have been better if Dan Aykroyd and
Chevy Chase were cast as a sequel to "Spies Like
Us"--anything to add life to this dull, useless piece of
film that is about as interesting as watching featherweight Sumo
wrestling. Robert Redford stars as CIA veteran spy Nathan
Muir, who takes rookie Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) under his wing to
teach the basics of the business. Wouldn't you know
it--they must have skipped undercover day--because Tom Bishop
gets taken by the Chinese and tried for espionage. Guess
what--it's up to father figure Nathan Muir to save the day by
coming out of retirement and going on the hunt. Never you
mind that Redford looks older than Hume Cronyn. Never you
mind that this plot has more holes than a fisherman's net.
Director Tony Scott, known for his big budget action
extravaganzas is a terrible director--case closed.
Sometimes it looks as if he might escape the hell of bad
filmmaking, only to resurface with another flaming pile of dung
which he goes on record as calling "good solid
filmmaking". He wouldn't know good solid filmmaking
if Stanley Kubrick bit him on the butt and gave him a lesson.
The
plot is so clichéd and so used that it belongs in a recycle bin
somewhere off in the Wyoming wilderness. How many times
must we sit through another spy film where the old spy has to
rescue the young spy from the clutches of the evil country at
the time (which, nowadays, happens to be China). I
remember when Richard Gere and crew got in trouble for poking
fun at the Chinese, which makes me wonder why they haven't
already nuked us for this piece of garbage.
I
guess I'm so bitter towards "Spy Game" because I was
suspecting something great. I figured combining the
talents of Redford and Pitt could produce nothing but a
satisfying film. Wrong! Halfway through "Spy
Game", I could hear the roars of laughter and excitement
coming from the film next door--"Harry Potter..."--and
I couldn't help but pray for the projector to break so I could
run next door and watch the ending for a second time. To
sum this review up in a nutshell--"Spy Game" should be
tried for espionage against the laws of good solid filmmaking,
be found guilty, and beaten to death like Joe Pesci was in
"Casino". Anything less would be uncivilized.
-- Billy
Ray
( 1/2 out of 4 pops )
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about this film with other Popkorn Junkies |
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Other Junkie's
opinions.....
Pappy ( 3 out
of 4 pops )
I enjoyed the chaotic story telling in "Spy Game" as it
used a variety of flashbacks to take us through several decades of
the making of a CIA spy. Robert
Redford plays Nathan Muir, the always sure footed mentor to Brad
Pitt’s characterization of Tom Bishop.
Unlike Muir who knows all, Bishop is always the innocent
trying to do his best. Lots
of action scenes kept my heart pumping, and the back story of
chess-like interagency politics was a great counter balance.
A
few parts of the film were difficult to accept such as trying to
imagine Pitt and Redford, the pretty boys of two generations of
modern film, trying to be tough and ruthless.
Another problem is the fact that the film spans 4 decades
and no one ages at all – but hey, it’s a movie, I can use my
imagination, and I’d rather have the same actors play the parts
than to have younger look-a-likes lip sync the dialog.
And as always it bothers me that the film takes place on
the day the older hero is about to retire – why does so much
always happen on that last day before the retirement to the
Bahamas? But yes, I
like the film. It was
exciting, fun and more than watchable.
Mike ( 3 out of
4 pops )
Even with a lot of flaws, I found "Spy Game" to be
entertaining and a really
good spy movie.. better than what I had anticipated. Brad
Pitt is
good as usual but it's Robert Redford, as a veteran spy who knows
all the
spy tricks, who steals the show and makes this film click.
Even though
lots of stuff is far-fetched, it is fast paced and well acted.
It is fun to watch
Redford have to think fast on his feet to pull off all
his tricks and scams. The only complaint was that the movie
had the usual,
seen a million times people in charge who were complete morons
and jerks. In
a serious film like this, even the "bad" guys or jerks
have to be
portrayed realistically instead of cartoonish. It's pretty
dumb to portray
these guys as so dumb and obnoxious... especially since
they the people in
charge of protecting our country!
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