Review of Bridge of Spies (2015) by Patrick L — 29 Feb 2016

"Bridge of Spies is a riveting Cold War thriller but it's not one of Steven Spielberg's best films".

Movie Review: Bridge of Spies.

Date Viewed: October 24 2015.

Directed By Steven Spielberg (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Jaws, Munich, Minority Report, Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan).

Written By Matt Charman, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.

Starring: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda, Austin Stowell, Scott Shepherd, Jesse Plemons, Sebastian Koch,.

Domenick Lombardozzi, Peter McRobbie, Eve Hewson, Will Rogers, Michael Gaston and Dakin Matthews.

The Cold War meets with Tom Hanks and director Steven Spielberg in "Bridge of Spies", a riveting thriller about a Brooklyn lawyer who gets entrusted by the U.S. government to negotiate the release of American U-2 pilot, Francis Gary Powers. Like most of this year's Oscar contenders, "Bridge of Spies" is based on a true story.

This feel-good spy thriller is really good but it's not one of Spielberg's best. Tom Hanks is always terrific but people will be stunned by Mark Rylance, he will probably get Best Supporting Actor consideration for his portrayal as accused Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel.

"Bridge of Spies" is another fine achievement from Spielberg and Hanks.

The movie begins in 1957 where Rudolf Abel (Rylance) gets arrested by FBI agents and gets prosecuted for being a Soviet spy. Meanwhile, an insurance lawyer named James B. Donovan (Hanks) gets asked by his partners to take on the case as Abel's defense attorney. Abel agrees to accept Donovan as his lawyer but he refuses to cooperate with the American government.

Donovan takes his job seriously but nobody expects him to build a strong defense for Abel.

When Abel is found guilty of all charges, Donovan tries to convince the judge to let him live and use him as a potential bargaining chip for the USSR but he loses in a 5-4 decision from the courts. However, things have changed when an American U-2 pilot named Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) gets shot down and captured by the Soviet Union. Powers gets convicted and sent to jail but he is also subjected to daily interrogation by the Russian authorities.

Now Donovan finds himself at the center at a prisoner exchange with the Russians for Powers' release. At the same time, another American's life is put in the line, an economics graduate student named Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers) gets arrested by German agents after trying to bring his German girlfriend back to West Berlin. Donovan wants both men released from captivity but the CIA is only interested in bringing Powers back. A 2-for-1 prisoner exchange is hard to achieve but Donovan is played by Tom Hanks, he will always pull through out of any situation like this.

Director Spielberg has once again made a thriller that's well-made and engaging. The screenplay by the Coen brothers and Matt Charman doesn't bring anything new to the espionage thriller formula but the acting by Hanks and Rylance is outstanding. "Bridge of Spies" is the fourth collaboration between Spielberg and Hanks, they previously worked together in "Saving Private Ryan", "Catch Me If You Can" and the underrated comedy gem "The Terminal".

"Bridge of Spies" is a top-notch thriller that's anchored by a great director and a great movie star.