Spy Game

There are many reasons why we like a movie or not. For me, this is the case in witch small things were enough to like it: the two main actors, the places in which the action occurs, and the fact that it has more to do with a love affair, in a tragic atmosphere than about spies. Well, of course this is about spies - two of them - and mostly about the relation between them; if they are similar enough to understand each other, they are also different enough to generate some tension in the relation.

Maybe this is more about how the characters move around each others than about action or intrigue. In fact this is so obvious that the way in which the story is told is mostly in flashback, with Muir (Robert Redford) introducing all of them and narrating part. So, the story is the story and the spy game is what Muir does within the CIA, in 24 hours or so. The distinction is important because if you think of this as a traditional spy movie (maybe like the Bourne Identity or Supremacy) it has two obvious flaws for the genre: the plot is very simple (maybe predictable) and there's no bad guy, no one to kill or to revenge; there's also almost no genuine action, and, as far as I can remember, Bishop (Brad Pitt) only fires one weapon in the whole movie. Maybe what mislead most of the people was the title of the movie, and maybe that's why most of them didn't like it. However, in my opinion, this is a very good movie, with strong leading roles and a compelling story.

No gadgets, no arms, no villains, no action...oh, no,this is a whole different game, and it's a serious and a dangerous game: the game of people and their relations.

Nail-biting and exciting movie about terrorism , spies and geopolitical issues . The film deals with a spy chief called Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) who's on the verge of retirement from the Central Intelligence Agency. Then the veteran spy learns that his one-time protege Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) , a CIA operative serving in various countries , has been incarcerated. Tom has gone rogue and been taken prisoner after attempting to smuggle a prisoner out of China . Although Muir and Bishop had once been close friends , sharing long periods of thrilling adventures from Vietnam , Berlin , to Beirut where Muir schemed a plot to chase a mastermind terrorist . As in Lebanon , both of whom formed a solid and shaky alliance to break the terrorist ring which previous bombed US military targets with a lot of casualties . Things go wrong when Bishop falls in love with an aid-worker (Catherine McCormack) . As his memories of their friendship come flooding back , Muir sets about managing the rescue of his old friend from a Communist prison . Meanwhile , the super-powerful CIA uses technological-gizmo-surveillance satellites and modern surveillance systems for people spying and hound terrorists relentlessly . It's not how you play the game ... It's how the Game Plays you. It's not how you play the game. It's how the game plays you. "Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his teacher" . In the end, only friendship matters!

Story's core is interesting and script is dense with information and drama . The ultra-brisk editing and rapid scenes movement leaves little time to consider some inadequacies . Regarding a peculiar relationship between two top-of-the-range spies whose long knowledge has developed bad blood and resentment between them , in spite of the two men haven't seen each other in years . Here Brad Pitt is reunited as a co-star with his A River Runs Through It (1992) director Robert Redford for this espionage thriller from Tony Scott , and both of them giving awesome interpretations . Engaging and twisted thriller concerning the spy-world on Middle East , China and other countries . Robert Redford and Brad Pitt sustain interest enough in this tale of friendship , betrayal , sacrifice and terrorism . Brad Pitt is good as tough super-spy as well as sniper operative and Robert Redford 's cool displaying an enjoyable performance as the elderly and regretted CIA agent . The use of geopolitical messages to add weight to a romantic subplot between the spy and the beautiful nurse , well played by Catherine McCormack , though feels a little forced , at times. They are well accompanied by a good cast , such as : Stephen Dillane , Larry Bryggman , Marianne Jean-Baptiste , Shane Rimmer, David Hemmings, Benedict Wong , Ken Leung , Matthew Marsh , Michael Paul Chan , among others .

The film packs adequate , evocative cinematography by Dan Mindel and rousing musical score by Harry Gregson-Williams . The motion picture was well realized by Tony Scott . He was a good filmmaker whose works received some great reviews , his first big hit happened when was asked by producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer to direct Top Gun (1986) starring Tom Cruise . He would work again with Cruise on another high adrenaline film Days of thunder (1990) , which proved less successful . He followed the success of Top Gun with the sequel Beverly Hill cop II (1987) with Eddie Murphy , which was well received . In 1993, he directed the cult movie True Romance (1993) , which was written by emerging director Quentin Tarantino but Scott had a lot of control over the film . While Unstoppable (2010) was Tony Scott and Denzel Washington's fifth and final film collaboration. The others were Red tide (1995) , Man on fire (2004) , Déjà vu (2006) , and Pelham 123 (2009) all of them got big successes . Spy Game(2001) rating : 7/10 . Well worth watching . Above average . The picture will appeal to Robert Redford and Brad Pitt fans .

Spy Game is everything we're not supposed to expect from a major Hollywood movie: engrossing, intelligent, well written, acted and directed. But that's just what it is and more, this is definitely the best thing I've seen since Memento. Although Pitt is really good and Redford plays himself as well as he has in years, I think the most credit should go to Tony Scott. In the hands of a lesser director this could have been something more like Mission Impossible. But Scott stays right on target, keeping us interested, developing the characters, and keeping the pacing nearly perfect. Scott also shows us that he's stayed with the times: he employs the full array of modern camera tricks like fast motion, reverse zooms and funky lenses but in a way that actually makes the film better instead of being an annoying distraction. The dialogue feels natural, all the actors do good work, no one tries to steal the show or be the star. The story is interesting and almost never lapses into the kind of hyper violence or sappy sentimentality one has come to associate with modern studio pictures. You get a feeling this is pretty close to how the CIA really operates, a place with fantastic technology at its disposal but who's ultimate effectiveness is determined by the fallible people who run the missions and take the chances. I really enjoyed this film, I hope it's a sign of things to come and not a rarity.

Spy Game will probably never be considered among the best spy movies to come out of Hollywood, however, it is a really entertaining movie with quite a few surprises.

The movie is set in the early 1990's. Nathan Muir (Redford) is a retiring CIA officer who learns that his former protégé Tom Bishop (Pitt) has been captured while attempting a prison rescue in China and will be executed shortly. CIA brass want to know what motivated Bishop to attempt this unauthorized action and they interview Muir to find out. Muir tells the story of how he met and trained Bishop: from Vietnam to Berlin to Beirut. While Muir is setting the background, he is also working secretly behind the scenes to free Bishop. Will Muir's cloak and dagger antics be discovered before he has a chance to free Bishop? Overall the movie is not as good as other spy genre films such as Three Days of the Condor, Spy Who Came in From the Cold, or Hunt for Red October. I think Redford does well in the role of the retiring, slightly jaded CIA officer Muir. Pitt does well with what he's given, though I think his character suffers from poor writing, especially near the end of the film. Think of Spy Game as a more sophisticated Mission: Impossible (that's no knock on M:I) and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Spy Game is an action thriller film directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Catherine McCormack, Stephen Dillane, Larry Bryggman and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.

CIA agent Nathan Muir is retiring and learns that his friend is incarcerated in China, he takes it upon himself to free him from the Chinese.

One of the most underrated films of Tony Scott, the film is very much engaging and the viewers who likes espionage spy thrillers will surely like the film. We have seen many edge of the seat spy thriller but this film is quite different from other films, the film will demand your patience due to it's slow speed but will not disappoint you.

Acting is superb and both Redford and Pitt were quite impressive in their respective roles. The screenplay of the film is slow but still have the ingredients to keep you engaged.

Climax of the film is good and satisfying, this film is not the typical spy thriller film but still a great entertainer. A Must watch underrated film.