Premise - CIA operative Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) has been captured by the Chinese and will be executed at 08:00 tomorrow morning. It is up to his former mentor, Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) to get round CIA red tape and top level politics to secure Bishop's release. Spy Game was a bit of a disappointment for me. The film comes with an impressive pedigree, director Tony Scott knows political thrillers and has done them well in the past (Crimson Tide) and the two leads are both very capable actors and are among the finest actors of their respective generations. So why is it that Spy Game comes across as an enjoyable, but ultimately empty experience? The chief problem for my point of view was the visual style employed by director Tony Scott. The film has a very similar style to his previous movie 'Enemy Of The State', all whizzy camera moves, slow motion and black and white still images. I guess it's used to heighten tension, but what I found was that it distanced me from what was happening. Point in case being a rooftop breakfast between Pitt and Redford. The scene is pivotal in the movie and is well played by the two actors. Scott however decides that rather than just pointing the camera at his actors and letting them do the work, that he would rather cut to a helicopter shot circling the scene at random intervals. Sure, it looks nice, but it completely spoils any mood or tension that could and should have been built up in this scene. Moments like this are littered throughout the movie, where Scott employs too much style and not enough substance, to coin an old cliché. The other big problem I had was the films length. Normally I don’t have a problem with long films, as long as the content supports the running time. Spy Game's content does not. Clocking in at a smidge over 2 hours I found myself clockwatching on more than one occasion. The reason the film 'feels' so long is the inclusion of three, yes three lengthy flashbacks. Whilst in the context of the story all three would appear to be needed, there is however, no excusing the length of them. The second flashback, in Berlin has its moments (the training scenes in particular), but for the most part I felt it was little needed in the grand scheme of things. I've heard complaints levelled at the film because of Robert Redford’s appearance in these flashbacks. He appears to look exactly the same in the 1975 flashback as he does in the present day (although the 'present' part of the film is set in 1991). Aside from some costume changes and sideburns this is the case, in-fact at some points he actually looks OLDER than he does in the present! This didn't actually bother me so much as outside of a CGI Redford for the older scenes there is not much you could have done outside of some make up effects. Although Spy Game has it's problems there is much to enjoy here. Mainly the work of Robert Redford. Redford is an outstanding actor, who shows here that even given his advanced years he is more than capable of mixing it with the young hot talent. The way he conducts himself in the scenes at CIA headquarters you believe that this is a man whom has worked covertly for thirty years of his life. He's been everywhere, seen everything and there is no way that a bunch of young desk jockeys are going to get the better of him. Pitt's character on the other hand is young and idealistic. He appreciates the wealth of experience that Muir has to draw on, but he is new enough to the business to still have an emotional attachment to his work. It's this attachment that gets him into his current predicament. Brad Pitt plays these kind of hot headed characters so well and he again shows why he is one of young Hollywood’s most versatile actors. Catherine McCormack shows up as a love interest for Pitt's character, but she does little to impress. I last saw her in 'Braveheart', I wasn't impressed with her then and I wasn't here. She has a ridiculous English accent and is just too 'cute' to be believable in the role that she is given. Spy Game is a similar kind of movie to this years 'The Sum Of All Fears' and 'The Bourne Identity'. Unfortunately it is not as good as either of these films. It's not a horrible film by any means, it is entertaining enough, with good performances from the leads, it just stinks of a wasted opportunity. A vaguely enjoyable popcorn thriller, spoiled by being overly stylistic and a touch long in the tooth.

5/10 for Spy Game. Poster Quote - Game over.