Bridge of Spies - Movie Review

Who's In It?

 Sebastian Koch, Mark Rylance, Burghart Klaußner and Tom Hanks


What's It About?

Tom Hanks (James B. Donovan) is an insurance lawyer appointed to defending a Soviet spy, and when he does so successfully he is sent to segregated Berlin to negotiate the trade of said Soviet for an American pilot.

Any Good?

The film starts out with a brilliant sequence of the steps Rudolph Abel (Soviet spy) takes to retrieve a dead drop.It really sets a standard for great methodical scenes that sound boring, but are really well done and interesting; despite the subtlety of a sledgehammer. 

The dead drop in question

The characters are great in the film, with the acting for the Soviet spy and German negotiator being head and shoulders above the rest - and Tom Hanks above even them, despite his constant verge of tears face. James Donovan's CIA handler (Agent Blasco) is total cheese though, it was like he was put in to add a ruthless face to the Americans after all the vilifying of the Soviets.

The biggest problem I had with the film was the obvious pushing of the flawless Nuclear Family American image. While the Soviets were torturing the American pilot and shooting people trying to climb the Berlin wall, the Americans were taking great care of the Soviet spy - and these scenes just looked so biased and forced next to each other. Other than that it was brilliant - but the blatant Zero Dark Thirty-esque jingoism almost killed it for me. 

Rating: 

Captain Phillips - Movie Review

Who's in it? 

Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed and Mahat M. Ali


What's it about?

Captain Phillips is the (hollywood-ised) true story of a ship captain who's freighter was captured by Somalian pirates off the horn of Africa in 2009.

Any Good?

Captain Phillips opened with some heavy Sony product placement; but then again this is a Sony Pictures film, so it's expected. But then Maersk comes in. From just every email in Phillip's mailbox saying Maersk Shipping to whole 5 second shots of every container on the ship saying MAERSK (yes, there was more than one), the company in thrown in your face to a ridiculous level. I'm going to be honest here and say that (and I'm not sure about any of you out there, but) that level of obnoxious product placement would turn me personally to a competitor in a split second.

Now that unpleasantness is over, Captain Philips was a genuinely good movie with a great story and a surprisingly good cast. Tom Hanks was amazing and on form as always, but the Somalian 'refugees' cast as the pirates really stole the show. While Muse (Abdi) was good as leader of the pirates, it was Faysal Ahmed's crazy second-in-command Najee that really rocked the boat.

Pirate puns on a pirate movie...

While the movie was indeed tightly wound, it was in the third act that the tension really started. I won't spoil it, but the spotlight really is turned on the Somalis from now on, with T.Hanks just looking broody and planning things. Muse seems to take less of the centre stage, while Najee really shows how insane he is. From threatening Phillips to even threatening his own crew, all while his eyes bulge creepily every time a threat is made, Najee really becomes frightening and the type of villain that you just hate and he's fantastic at that.

This is just the start of "The Bulge"

The American Navy and SEALS feature heavily in the fourth act, but much to my surprise they were actually portrayed to act as they would instead of the pandering way the SEALS were shown in the likes of Zero Dark Thirty. While the Americans weren't all gentle and quiet, the also weren't the MURIKA F YEAH that is the standard if the democratic version doesn't work in the film's setting.

In the real events the Somalian pirates were actually just teenagers commanded to sack and sell ships by a Somalian warlord named Giraad, but this fact seemed to be very glossed over with maybe 2 or 3 mentions, and this ultimately led to me feeling no sympathy for the actor's characters.

Rating? 

While 'Captain Phillips' is certainly no 'Argo', it really is a great movie. Those who enjoy Hollywood dramatisations of stories like 'Argo', 'Captain Philips' is sure to float your boat. If you can't wait to see 'Captain Philips', or watch it and want to tell me what you think, just leave a comment here or on Twitter/Facebook and I'll answer as soon as I can,

The (sigh..) Eldest Gorgebag