'Spy Game' offers elegant thriller

'Spy Game' offers elegant thriller

Joko E.H. Anwar, Contributor, Jakarta

Not many people would think that Hollywood would take up an
espionage story again.

Let's face it. For the last couple of years they have been too
busy exploiting computer technology in making movies mainly for
visual pleasure.

Some turned out to be real quality entertainment, while some
ended up being trashy, The Matrix rip-offs.

Meanwhile, there were only a few good, intelligent political
thrillers made which genuinely relied on good writing to keep
audiences glued to their seats.

Some tried, such as Taylor Hackford's Proof of Life which
ended up being a mediocre action piece that failed to grip
viewers' attention with good storytelling.

All we got is the James Bond franchise which could barely pass
as an intelligent political thriller -- as it was never intended
to be one.

Thank God for Spy Game which may make audiences have faith
again in the traditional political thriller.

Alright, it is not nearly as good as classics such as All the
President's Men which also stars Robert Redford but at least it
will fill the longing for that kind of movie.

We have to give extra credit to Spy Game for being daring
enough to date itself 10 years back to the year 1991 while many
filmmakers would set their movie in present time, unless the
story is based on a real incident, since it is thought to be
distracting to audiences if they do otherwise.

The film tells the story of CIA agent Nathan Muir (Redford)
who is to retire from the agency in 24 hours.

However, he is then summoned to the agency's conference room
where CIA executives are discussing the fate of agent Tom Bishop
(Brad Pitt) who was captured by the Chinese military while on a
mission unknown to Muir at the beginning.

The great thing about Spy Game is that it manages to avoid
most cliches. You would think that the movie would be about a
soon-to-be-retired officer who would try to prove himself in his
last big mission a la Danny Glover's character in Lethal Weapon,
but it will soon prove otherwise.

Even the film's opening shows signs that it will end up being
like one of those James Bond's opening segments where it shows
how the agent pulls off a successful mission before the cool
opening credits.

However, the gripping opening scene in Spy Game sets the scene
for the entire film.

While the agency's executives do not want to reveal their real
intention regarding Bishop's fate, Muir also has an agenda of his
own.

He nevertheless tells them his history with Bishop who turns
out to be a young protegee of his while setting up a plan to
carry out his mission.

Most of the film's running time is spent illustrating Bishop's
character from Muir's point of view.

The background story is often gripping. It involves Bishop and
Muir working together on several dangerous missions in turbulent
places such as Beirut and East Germany before the union.

Unfortunately, the flashback gives us only a little
understanding of why we should root for Bishop's character.

But this is only a small complaint since the scenes inside the
agency's headquarter which intersect the flashback scenes will be
enough to keep the audiences amused.

Redford really shines in this movie as an aging agent who
decides to do the right thing at the end of his career, even
though it means he has to break the rules which he used to
strictly play by.

While the movie still has some drawbacks, it is still a real
treat for mature audiences.

Spy Game (*** out of four stars)
Drama/Thriller, 126 minutes
Starring Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Catherine McCormack
Written by Michael Frost Beckner and David Arata
Directed by Tony Scott
A Universal Pictures Presentation