Director: Michael Apted
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, Michael Douglas, John Malkovich, Toni Collette.
Well, this really snuck in under the radar, only seeing the trailer for it a week prior to its release, which surprises me with Apted at the helm with a strong cast. Apted being quite established director with films like Gorillas in the Mist, The World is Not Enough and my personal favourite, Thunderheart in his catalogue.
Rapace takes the lead as a sleeper agent for the CIA on like, garden duty to mentally recover after her last operation yet sour. And as expected she inadvertently gets involved in a convoluted plot leading to a major terrorist attack, relying heavily on her experience and survival instincts.
Set in London, she is chased by pretty much everybody all the while she tries to piece together and foil the attack. It does sound all very familiar, but is actually quite refreshing to watch with it's ingenious quick thinking that we might see in Bourne films.
It's well paced with twist after twist which should keep audiences on their toes making the film more unpredictable than most. But it does unfortunately unravel itself rather quickly which does make it inevitably predictable at the end.
It has an attractive supporting cast with an Annie Lennox-looking Toni Collet, Michael Douglas, Malkovich and Bloom. Bloom has gotten old and seems to have been quite on the screen these recent years. His and Douglas part being the weaker of the bunch, Blooms role could have easily gone to someone else, someone like Luke Evans. And as per usual, John Malkovich captures attention perfectly and with such ease, he gets the best lines.
Reminded very much of last year's Bastille Day, only this being set in London and being somewhat better. More like last year's Criminal. It's fast-paced and clever with it, it's been a good while since I've seen a good spy thriller like this since The Bourne Identity. This ones smart and sophisticated enough to warrant more.
Running Time: 8
The Cast: 8
Performance: 8
Direction: 8
Story: 7
Script: 8
Creativity: 7
Soundtrack: 6
Job Description: 8
The Extra Bonus Point: 0
Would I buy the Blu-ray?: Yeah.
68% 7/10
