Cast: Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Catherine McCormack, Stephen Dillane, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Larry Bryggman
Director: Tony Scott
Producers: Marc Abraham, Douglas Wick
Screenplay: Michael Frost Beckner and David Arata
Cinematography: Daniel Mindel
Music: Harry Gregson-Williams
U.S. Distributor: Universal Pictures
Spy Game is an espionage thriller for viewers afflicted with Attention Deficit Syndrome. That's not to say it's a bad movie, but the frenzied approach doesn't allow much opportunity to absorb details. Despite the length, which exceeds two hours by a few minutes, Spy Game doesn't feel bloated or protracted. In fact, given the amount of ground covered by the storyline, this could easily have been a much longer endeavor. A respected author like Len Deighton might have gotten a trilogy out of the same material.
The frantic pace is both a boon and a detriment. On the one hand, there's no chance of boredom. On the other hand, there's not much in the way of subtlety or character development beyond the obvious. Perhaps surprisingly, there isn't much "action", either, at least not in the traditional sense. There are some shoot-outs and an explosion or two, but, as with most spy stories, Spy Game concentrates more on behind-the-scenes machinations and double-crosses than on car chases and fight scenes. So, in order to maintain the illusion of action, director Tony Scott (Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State) goes into music video mode, pumping up the film's visual look by using lots of quick cuts and making sure that hardly a moment goes by without Harry Gregson-Williams' score threatening to drown out any dialogue.
Spy Game centers on the mentor/protégé relationship between Nathan Muir (Robert Redford), a jaded CIA agent on the verge of retirement, and Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt), a young idealist. On his latest mission, in Beijing, Bishop has been captured by the Chinese government. With only 24 hours until his execution, the CIA is attempting to distance themselves from Bishop so that this international incident will not endanger trade talks. Muir, on the other hand, is appalled by the idea of hanging Bishop out to dry, and covertly develops a plan to affect a rescue. Meanwhile, Muir must relate his entire history with Bishop - how they met, why the older man recruited the younger one, and which missions they worked on together - in front of a room full of CIA bigwigs.
By using flashbacks, Spy Game covers four time periods. The film's present-day is 1991, when a new world order is developing from the ashes of the cold war. Michael Frost Beckner and David Arata's script also takes us back to the Vietnam war, where Muir and Bishop first meet; to '70s Berlin, where Bishop is assigned to bring an informant through Checkpoint Charlie; and to 1985 Beirut, where the CIA recruits terrorists to eliminate other terrorists. The manner in which the flashbacks are grafted into the main story is a little clumsy, but it succeeds in filling in the gaps and illuminating why Muir is determined to save Bishop.
The role of Nathan Muir echoes Robert Redford's work in 1975's Three Days of the Condor. Muir is as unprincipled as any long-standing CIA operative - a user of people who is cynical and world-weary. However, perhaps because he's being played by Redford, there's also a touch of nobility to him. His career may have been founded on treating human beings like disposable commodities, but, in the end, he sacrifices everything for a shot at redemption. Pitt plays the young hotshot, a part he's comfortable in, although one he might have fit into better a few years ago. (Spy Game doesn't do a good job aging its characters - Muir and Bishop don't look any different in 1975 than they do in 1991.) Catherine McCormack has a small-but-crucial role as an international aid worker with a checkered past. And Marianne Jean-Baptiste portrays Muir's faithful secretary, Gladys.
One of the more intriguing sequences in the film (at least in this post-September 11 world) focuses on CIA involvement in a suicide bombing that is designed to eliminate a top terrorist. This aspect of Spy Game raises the question of how far the CIA is willing to go to achieve certain goals. It's the old question of whether the ends justify the means - something the entire globe is currently wrestling with. The movie doesn't spend a lot of time sifting through the rubble of what some would view as a morally dubious position, but what was intended merely as a plot element when the screenplay was written now takes on greater meaning.
Spy Game does not offer the attention to detail evident in the best spy thrillers. There's also no real build-up in tension, although this is principally a result of Scott's style and the screenplay's approach (it's difficult to develop suspense when flashbacks continually interrupt the main narrative thread). Suspension of disbelief is important, since there are several poorly concealed contrivances necessary to move events forward, but at least we're not saddled with a litany of staple action scenes. Overall, Spy Game is an engrossing, if flawed, endeavor - the kind of movie that represents an evening's solid diversion.
© 2001 James Berardinelli