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Spy Game

Movie: C

Sound: A+

Picture: A+

Reviewed By: Kristin

Universal Studios and director Tony Scott team up to bring you "Spy Game ".

The premise of this movie centers around Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) a CIA agent on his last day of work before retirement, and young Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) who is somewhat of an apprentice to Muir. When Bishop goes into a Chinese jail on an unauthorized search-and-rescue mission, he is captured and held by the Chinese government...with only 24 hours left until his execution.

Meanwhile, Muir finds that the CIA is trying to basically sweep Bishop's
situation under the rug so not to disrupt trade talks. Muir, through his many sources, devises a plan to save Bishop while feigning innocence to fellow CIA agents when constantly being questioned about his knowledge of the young man.

Pretty much this entire movie takes place in a conference room where Muir is questioned about Bishop, as there seem to be no records (at least none they could find) about him that have any substance. No, I'm not kidding. I expected this to be a really physical, action packed, explosive flick with consistent plot twists. Not so.

If constant flashbacks (used to provide mostly seemingly non-relevant background information on the main characters, in my opinion) that jump around several different time periods tend to confuse you, this is probably not a movie you will want to see. They tend to confuse the viewer to the point of, with the exception of conference room scenes and those that show Bishop's beaten face (A++ job on the makeup!), not being sure what point in time you are seeing or what you are supposed to be learning from this clip. As well as the flashbacks, I had a real problem with understanding what, exactly, was going on at any given time. This is almost a movie you would have to watch twice (probably hence the easter egg, LOL) to really understand, maybe even three times.

As far as a plot goes, this movie shoots itself in the foot. The storyline
is: Bishop gets himself into trouble. Muir finds out. The CIA doesn't care about Bishop, so Muir has to do something himself. Bishop is saved. The End. If there were no flashbacks in this movie it would probably be only a half an hour long. Don't expect any plot twists whatsoever.

Another low point to this movie is that you can't get into the characters, you don't feel Muir's tension about Bishop's execution drawing closer and closer as much you should. And, there are no scenes in which you could experience Bishop's anxiety about his execution as there are only a few brief clips that show him beaten and bruised. If fact, you, as a viewer, don't know a thing about Bishop's side in all this. No, there's not much character development to be spoken of, just the bare minimum to be able to keep the movie moving along.

I do applaud the cast and the acting in this movie. Every actor fit his or her role perfectly, and the acting was highly convincing. Both Robert Redford and Brad Pitt really fit their roles, and I loved Redford's secretary, she was really funny.

The special features are plentiful, with the back cover boasting over 10 hours of DVD entertainment. Among these special features are:

-Clandestine OPS: A unique viewing experience that puts you in control. Go behind-the-scenes and gain access to classified information while simultaneously watching the film.
-Alternate Scenes
-Deleted Scenes
-Alternate Ending
-Script-to-storyboard Featurette
-Commentaries (one with director, one with producers)
-Requirements for CIA Acceptance: Do you have what it takes to become an
operative?

And, this is the first DVD ever to have it's own Universal Studios Total Axess link (DVD-ROM required)! Giving you an exclusive backstage pass to a multitude of incredible extras, including these streaming videos:

-- The Spy Game World Premiere - An exciting look at the starry, red carpet event in Los Angeles
-- An Additional Exclusive Interview with Redford and Pitt
-- Choosing the Right Director - An interview with producers Marc Abraham and Douglas Wick
-- "The Toughest Scene" - Director Tony Scott shares his insight on the most difficult scene
-- Tony Scott Directing Brad Pitt - Behind-the-scenes footage
-- CIA training - Tony Scott shares some fascinating information from his research
-- Operatives and Assets - The actors discuss their characters
-- Working with Redford - Candid remarks from the director

The following features are also on the Total Axess site...

-Exclusive production and behind-the-scenes still photos
-Downloadable photos that can be used as screensavers or wallpaper
-Director Scott's screenplay with notes, annotations and sketches
-Spy Game trivia contest that is changed every two weeks

And much more! I can truly say that this site is incredible and I certainly hope they do this with all of the movies they put out, and hopefully some of the older releases too.

The synopsis on the back cover promises a thrill ride, but to me, this film falls short of that promise. If you are into CIA/espionage type movies, give it a try, everyone is different and to you it might be worth the rental fee. I think it would worth the rental fee (and maybe even the purchase price) just to see the extras and get to try out Total Axess. As for those die-hard fans of Robert Redford, this would probably be a good buy.

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Edition Details:

• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound
• Commentary by director Tony Scott
• Production notes
• Deleted Scenes with Director's Commentary
• Feature Commentary with Producers
• Behind-the-Scenes in the filmmaking process
• Interactive Script-to-Storyboard process featuring the Director
• Requirements for CIA acceptance
• Widescreen anamorphic format

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