It’s an espionage double feature starring Chris Pine. That’s right, he has two espionage thrillers coming out within a week of one another, so for the purposes of this review we will look at both films. The first movie is All the Old Knives starting Chris Pine and Thandie Newton. This film is very much a slow burn and in a lot of ways feels like you’re watching Tinker Taylor Soldiers Spy. I admit, I did like the film even if it’s not the best spy film out there. It’s the kind of old-school espionage story where there’s not a lot of action but slowly draws you into the conspiracy at the heart of the story. This movie is about a rogue agent that has to be drawn out after an asset tells the CIA that one of their own has betrayed them. Chris Pine plays the character who has to find the truth. Classic espionage stories don’t really exist anymore, the best espionage stories always seem to take place during the Cold War, and even though intelligence gathering is still very prominent, it’s not like it used to be when America had one main adversary in the world. The best parts of this film are the performances and all the misdirection between the characters until we get to the truth. You won’t get a lot of action, but that also makes the story better. I grew up reading Cold War espionage novels from great authors like John le Carré, Robert Ludlum, and Ian Fleming. Their stories were not about shootouts and in a lot of ways weren’t always about secret assassinations. At the heart of these stories were always agents who were trying to find secret information that could stop a war or find a mole, or even turn an enemy agent. That’s why this story feels like a classic espionage novel because the main part of the film is the conversation between Chris pine’s character and Thandie Newton’s character, leaving you to question yourself, whether one of them betrayed their country during a terrorist plot years before. I found myself not wanting either one of them to be a mole, both characters are sympathetic, and I think that’s marked by their brilliant performances. I could have sworn that this movie was from the 1950s. But the best part of this movie and what makes it worth watching is how their conversation is blended with flashbacks that help drive the story until you get to the end and are caught by surprise. The movie slowly draws you in. Everybody is great in this movie.
However, what I do complain about is even though it is a slow burn and the use of flashbacks is meant to give the story more action, we get a lot of needless conversation that draws out the ending and it makes this movie longer than what it needs to be. You could have easily cut out 15 minutes and made this movie better. But it’s also easy to ignore something like that when you have such great performances. And, I also have to complain that there isn’t enough action. I know that goes against everything that makes this film good, but putting action at the right moment does drive a story, it gives it the perfect pace and for the most, the heart of the story is just a conversation between the two main characters. I don’t necessarily mind cat-and-mouse games, it certainly works when it comes to heightening the intensity in the movie. However, there are times that this movie is a little too slow and takes a little too long to get to the point or even the misdirection that will keep you interested.
These are minor complaints. If you’re looking for an action spy thriller, then this is not it. It is a classic espionage story where the characters play a cat-and-mouse game to uncover the truth behind the CIA’s mole. If you know that going in, then you won’t be so bored by the movie, and I could see how an audience would be bored with it if they’re looking for action. This is definitely not a James Bond movie and it doesn’t need to be. Great storytelling can be effective when you slowly draw out the story only to be surprised in the end. But as I said before, it is the performances of Chris Pine and Thandie Newton that make this movie worth watching. Chris Pine is absolutely believable as a CIA agent, unlike the very lackluster Jack Ryan movie he did years ago. You’re sympathetic for the characters which can only be done if you have great performances. And the brilliant part of the story is there is no absolutely right answer in the end. If you’re a fan of classic espionage then you will enjoy this film. If you’d like to Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy, you’ll like this film, and you should definitely check it out on Amazon Prime.
