Bridge of Spies (2015)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  8 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: Steven Spielberg's 'Bridge of Spies,' is a brilliantly thrilling true story experly told by master filmmakers.
  
  Matt Charman and the Coen Brothers' script follows insurance lawyer James Donovan (Tom Hanks) as he's asked by the CIA to defend a much-hated Soviet Spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) in a trial, and then negotiate his exchange with an American Prisoner in Berlin. But Donovan has an unshakeable sense of justice, so continually goes against his superiors to ensure Abel gets a fair trial, and then to try and negotiate with the Soviets to free a student prisoner (who the States care less about) as well.
  
  That's gripping because the stakes behind the conversations Donovan has are so high, and that's particularly true during the second half in Berlin where we get a bunch of brilliantly engineered scenes where Donovan tries to negotiate with various factions of the Soviet Union, and it all culminates in an extremely tense final exchange sequence.
  
  It helps too of course that Spielberg is behind the camera, wringing every drop of tension from his great performances, building the geography of his scenes and moving through them quickly, and realising the environments perfectly in bold, moody light. Alontside the moments of amusing levity in the script, that all combines to create a classic, pacey caper feel.
  
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: The two-part narrative isn't the most satisfying thing, and the characters - especially the Soviet villains - are a little clichéd.
  
  VERDICT: 'Bridge of Spies,' tells a fascinating story via a tense and snappy spy caper. What's not to love?

  Like?

  0 member like this review.