Here's an atypical but enthralling thriller from sure-hand director Tony Scott which plays out most of its tale in various flashbacks, but is held together through an excellent leading turn from Robert Redford. Redford is an ageing CIA agent and on his last day of work before retirement (gee, where have we heard that one before?) he learns that his young protégé has been captured for spying in a Chinese prison and is due to be executed the following morning. Much of the film consists of him relating previous experiences and adventures to his superiors as the clock ticks down towards his partner's imminent death. Whilst this might not sound to be very interesting viewing, the flashbacks are invariably exciting and involve lots of secrecy, death, and open warfare in some cases (an excellent interlude in Beirut for example), elements all woven together well.
The present scenes of Redford using his own contacts and methods to help his captured chum are excellently portrayed and even if the film comes a little loose towards the ending, it still engages the senses through the quality of the acting. Here's a film with some fleshed-out characters brought to vivid life through the strong actors playing them. Redford and Pitt are excellent in their two very different roles, and we also get strong support from Catherine McCormack as Pitt's love interest and Stephen Dillane, excellently snide as an enemy of Redford's at the intelligence agency. Flashily directed by Scott and never lulling for a moment, this is an exciting and intelligent movie with plenty of incident and dynamism to recommend it.
The present scenes of Redford using his own contacts and methods to help his captured chum are excellently portrayed and even if the film comes a little loose towards the ending, it still engages the senses through the quality of the acting. Here's a film with some fleshed-out characters brought to vivid life through the strong actors playing them. Redford and Pitt are excellent in their two very different roles, and we also get strong support from Catherine McCormack as Pitt's love interest and Stephen Dillane, excellently snide as an enemy of Redford's at the intelligence agency. Flashily directed by Scott and never lulling for a moment, this is an exciting and intelligent movie with plenty of incident and dynamism to recommend it.