A Most Wanted Man

Intricate, deliberate and a plot that takes its time - all the hallmarks of a Le Carre adapted film. Inevitably, Philip Seymour Hoffman takes centre stage. Everything about Gunther Bachmann - a heavyset, heavy drinking, heavy smoking, heavy betrayed German intelligence officer who runs an underground intelligence team in Hamburg - yearns for PSH.  The film, as it is with Le Carre's recent novels, is more about personalities than a scintilating plot. 'A most wanted man' finishes off with a scene that is eerily close to reality. Gunther parks the car, gets out, shuts the door, walks off the screen, we see cars driving by and as one expectingly waits, the credits roll.

Rating: * * +

Skyfall

The latest Bond film finds MI6 under attack and M all alone with her trusted 007 out in the cold. He is helped by a lone field agent Eve (Naomie Harris) as they pursue the mysterious Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem). For a change the film focuses a tad more on the characters, their flaws and tribulation instead of the usual stream of tech toys that 007 wields. Here he is more MacGuyver than his usual suave self which does come peeping out when he runs in to the stunning Bérénice Marlohe. But the actor who dominates is predictably Mr Bardem who adds a whole lot of color to the latest Bond villain. This definitely is one of the better Bond films in recent times.

Rating: * *

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Smiley’s world beckoned and I shuddered. After an extended tryst with Sir Alec I was not sure if this world needed to be explored again through different lenses. I am glad I did. Gary Oldman plays Smiley with hint of Sir Alec and John Hurt takes on the mantle of Control. Benedict Cumberbatch effortlessly slips out of his Sherlock persona and in to the shoes of Peter Guillam as the hunt for the mole within the Circus (Britain’s MI6) is kicked off.

Comparisons with the BBC mini series is inevitable though hardly any movie reviews mention it. The BBC series gives the viewer time to dwell in this world and take in the events at a more leisurely pace. The film interestingly recreates the atmosphere much better as you find yourself transported to the Cold War era. The film packs in events and you are held tautly as you follow Smiley’s machinations to discover the mole.  

Rating: * * * +

Walking Too Fast

The backdrop of the film is Cold War Czechoslovakia with furtive watchers spying on their citizens for dissent. Antonín (Ondrej Malý) nicknamed Tonga is one such agent. His target is Tomás(Martin Finger) a left wing author with a beautiful wife and even hotter mistress. It is the mistress Klára (Kristína Farkasová) who proves to be Tonga’s undoing. He slowly starts to obsess over Tomás’s lifestyle and lust for his woman throws him over the edge. The film chronicles the unraveling of the agent bored of the monotony of his job and life in general. The film will definitely remind you of The Lives of Others but it lacks the tautness and pathos of it. However, the film will keep you in your seat in spite of that and the length of its play.

Rating: * * +

The American

Take a John Le Carre book add some violence to it, strip away the extensive background and storyline, make it in to a film and you will have The American floating across the screen. Jack (George Clooney) is taciturn assassin on the run from the Swedes. Who and why they are after him is deemed inconsequential by the director. However the lush cinematography and the voluptuous Violante Placido make for it. In spite of the all nagging questions that arise in your mind, you find yourself sucked in to Jack's solitary and fraught existence. A live in the moment film... 

Rating: * * +

Smiley's People

The General, an old "friend" of George's is on the trail to Karla. The trail that had gone cold. This brings old Smiley out from retirement along with some of his people and I couldn't help follow. Like it's predecessor this too turned out to be a brilliant adaptation of the John Le Carre novel.

Rating: * * * +

Breach

As the tagline states: inspired by the true story of the greatest breach in US history. Seemed interesting at the outset, but all that we get is an insipid spy movie. A fairly impotent script that tells the story, but with less than half the intensity of the documentary that I had seen on the subject.

Rating: * +

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

A friend mentioned in passing about the BBC adaptation of John Le Carre's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy". I was skeptical at first since I firmly believed that Le Carre's books are hard to dramatize on screen. But on hearing that Sir Alec Guinness plays the role of George Smiley I took the plunge. So I re-entered Smiley's world and his hunt for the the mole in the British secret service. I soon found myself whispering, "Control always said that there were three of them and Alleline" as I walked the company corridors :).

Sir Alec's decision to play the role brought in the cream of the Brit actors of that era into this series. So every character is portrayed beautifully. Guinness's himself as Smiley is breathtaking. He has captured every nuance of the spy with a certain panache and effortlessness. A must watch for every Le Carre fan out there.

Rating: * * * *

The Bourne Ultimatum

The last installment of the superbly crafted series - makes me scoff at the hype that surrounds James Bond. Ore the enjoyed Jason Bourne's final escapades - with some real outstanding action footage. The moroccan one especially made me think its the best I've seen since Die Hard I. As mentioned previously, Matt Damon is most certainly a rising star. Feel that I have missed out by not having read the series - but I fully intend to.

Rating: * * *

Funeral in Berlin

A classic spy film that you wish to see more of. Based on a Len Deighton novel, and directed by Guy Hamilton - the maker of many Bond movies. The story is all right - apropos a paperback spy novel. But the pithy lines delivered by the immaculate Michael Caine along with the stark (some call it lazy directing) nature of the flick, made it an extremely enjoyable watch.

I was checking out Guy Hamilton's filmogrpahy and hes got loads of famous Bond films to his credit directing Sean Connery and Roger Moore at various points in time. But am quite certain, he couldnot have seen a better spyster performance from that of Caine as a reluctant Harry Palmer.

Harry Palmer gets imbroiled in a plot that turns out to be very different from that he was originally recruited for. But with minimal bloodshed, he manages to find his way out of the mess.

Rating: * * *

Archangel

Something I thought that goes back to something that I really like: USSR, brute KGB agents, ice-cold landscapes of Russia and clever interplay of spy speak. The protagonist is a professor turned spy/detective, as he attempts to uncover the hidden secret of Joseph Stalin. But considering its Daniel Craig playing the main character, it seems more a case of a spy/detective turned professor - with this clipped sentences and stony looks.

The ending, and the plot in general, turns out to be a damp squib. Dont know if its because its a mini-series turned into a movie.

Rating: * +