Skip to main content

Bridge of Spies (2015) - Review


Steven Spielberg comes back after three years (Last movie being Lincoln in 2012) and shows us that he still got it. Bridge of Spies is a film based on a true story about an american lawyer, James B. Donovan, who during the cold war defended a Russian Spy and handled the exchange his exchange.

Tom Hanks plays as Donovan and he needs no introduction. He's yet again brilliant in this film and is his usual extremely likable self. Other characters delivered great performances as well, particularly the Russian spy, played brilliantly by Mark Rylance. He didn't had many scenes but I loved him in all of the ones he was in.

The movie is almost 2 and half hour long and is almost entirely dialogue based and I enjoyed the hell out of it. It didn't felt like the movie dragged on or got boring or anything. It was interesting from start to finish. The dialogue delivery was great and just like many of Spielberg's previous movies, there were many long takes that you often don't notice and that's something I've always loved about Spielberg, he somehow manages to incorporate those takes effortlessly and brilliantly in his movies. A very well shot film indeed.

I loved the aspect of the story that the protagonist is just doing his job, but the situation at hand i.e. The Cold War, made him an extremely unpopular man in his country. He knew his way with words, and with Tom Hanks at the helm of it, it was just great seeing him maneuver through situations and all.

Now the movie had some flaws. The guys at the other side of the exchange weren't fleshed out that much and it wasn't as interesting to watch. And it mattered because we are suppose to really care for the exchange and all. Also, it felt sorta odd showing Russians and there side kinda more evil/bad and Americans as goodie good guys, for the most part at-least. And in a movie like this, it would have definitely been better if it was more neutral among both parties.

All in all, it is great to see Spielberg back again and delivering. Definitely one of the better movies of last year.

8.3/10

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Shin Godzilla (2016) - Movie Review

Shin Godzilla is the newest Godzilla film from Toho, the studio behind the Japanese Godzilla films dating back all the way to 1954. This one is a reboot of the franchise, yet again, for the contemporary Japan and the plot is basically what you'd expect; Godzilla arrives and wreaks havoc, all the while the Government tries to defeat it. Since the original Godzilla was inspired by the effects and scars from the WWII Atomic Bombings on Japan by USA, and how destructive and horrifying that power is, this one is similar and was inspired by the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster, all the while being disguised in a monster movie. Godzilla in this movie instills a sense of dread and fear as this indestructible monster with the power to lay waste to everything, a biological TERROR, and I really liked that about this movie. The way its proper form looked, particularly the head, was unsettling and that was the movie's intention, so ...

Spartacus (2010) - TV Series Review (Complete)

Spartacus is a surprising series for me. I first watched it when there were only two seasons out, and back then it was kinda OK for me. Now, after re-watching the first two seasons along with the rest, I found it to be a pretty good series, great even. The series is about Spartacus and how he journey's from being a free man to a gladiator, and then to a leader. The whole series is structured in such a way that their is an overall forward progression with each season focused on a specific part. This results in focus on each area and ultimately they all come together quite nicely. Also, the series is divided into spartacus' related scenes and the roman leaders etc related scenes, developing both sides, side by side, throughout. This not only makes it easy to develop a large number of characters, it also develops both sides and not making it plain black and white. It makes things more interesting, and makes some outcomes way more satisfying. There are A LOT of characters t...

Glitch (2015) - TV Series Review (Season 1)

Glitch is an Australian mystery-drama TV series and it is about a small town where things turn upside down for a cop and other people as six deceased people suddenly rise back one fateful night.   The story/premise intrigued me from the start. You feel just as confused as the people in the show. How did they come back? Why are they back? Is it something supernatural? Or is it science related? All these questions and more raise through your head in the first episode and becomes the framework of the series experience.  Now, there is a good amount of characters in it, but they don't get an equal amount of development, nor are they all interesting or well acted. But the ones that are interesting certainly keep the intrigue level high enough that you want to know more and want them to solve this mystery and get answers.  The story creates interesting scenarios and makes you wonder what would you do if you were thrown in this situation. And like I ...