Written by Drew Morton
Thursday, 28 June 2001 19:00
American spy Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) finds himself taken prisoner by the Chinese Government for an act of espionage and will be executed in twenty four hours. His fate is left up to the Central Intelligence Agency and his old mentor Nathan Muir (Robert Redford). The CIA is ready to let Bishop be killed, however, they have Muir to contend with. During a hearing on how to decide the fate of Bishop, they question Muir on his relationship with his old partner. This is where the second part of the film comes in. Largely told in flashback, we find how Muir took Bishop under his wing following the Vietnam war and trained him to be a spy. We find that the two had differing thoughts on a woman (Catherine McCormack) who jeopardized an operation and had feelings for Tom. Through these flashbacks, Muir rekindles his feelings for his young prodigy and attempts to rescue Bishop.
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| Directed by: |
| Tony Scott |
| Written by: |
Michael Frost Beckner
David Arata |
| Starring: |
Robert Redford
Brad Pitt
Catherine McCormack
Stephen Dillane
Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Larry Bryggman | | |
There is little to complain about in such a well acted, well written, and well directed thriller. The suspense is taut throughout, flashback or present day, and the film is not just a James Bond/Mission: Impossible rip off. These are real characters working in the confines of a story with a brain. Granted, it does have some action sequences, however, it does not venture over the top. The one complaint I have is Tony Scott's methods of direction, his last film, Enemy of the State, seemed to have a hard time shedding the tone of his previous work. However, that is just one small problem. I would also like to add that it was refreshing to see such a film after the horrible events on September 11th. (This film suffered some cuts due to the attacks.) Spy Game has a patriotic streak and shows the American public that their freedom does not always come at such a low price.
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