Review of Bridge of Spies (2015) by Mitchell B — 12 Mar 2016

Bridge of Spies proves that Steven Spielberg has still got it. Spielberg is one of my all-time favorite directors, but in recent years his track record in movies has been less than stellar. Films like War of The Worlds, Indiana Jones 4, and War Horse all ranged from mediocre to just bad. He also executive produced the live action Transformer movies which are pure garbage.

However, this movie redeems him. This is Spielberg's first great movie in a long time. That being said, this is still not one of my favorite Spielberg movies. I won't sit down and watch this all the time like some of his other classics like Jurassic Park or Indiana Jones, mainly due to the length of the film and because I'm not the biggest fan of espionage or political thrillers. However, to anyone who is a fan of such movies then you should definitely see this film.

The cast is superb. Tom Hanks does a great job performance wise just like in every movie he's in. The rest of the cast do at least a fine job in the acting department. The score is good. It's nothing memorable but it fit the tone and atmosphere of the movie.

For those of you who are action junkies this isn't the movie for you. The film has no action but it doesn't need it. It lets the drama of the situation the main character faces drive the tension. Despite the length, it felt necessary, other than the ending which could have been greatly shortened.

The story is also compelling though it did feel like I was watching two different movies in one while viewing. The first half of the film was essential a trial movie that revolved around the main character, James Donovan, having to represent a communist spy and him facing the repercussions of that. The second half revolves around James going to Germany to organize an international trade. I know this is based on real events, but each of those stories could fill their own movies. The life of James Donovan is a very interesting one so they could make sequels to this film if they so choose to.

Overall, Bridge of Spies is a great political thriller which should be watched at least once. It's definitely worth one viewing and maybe many more if you're a fan of this type of genre. I don't know how historically accurate it is to the real events but as a standalone piece it's great.