Review of Our Kind of Traitor (2016) by Mark P — 13 Aug 2016

This was a dismal disappointment. Disappointment because with the cast and production values it could have actually been decent. The Mi6 agent was an Oxbridge caricature but was bereft of discretion, strategy or the most fundamental field craft that Le Carre taught us himself in the Smiley trilogy. The main character is drawn into the plot on the flimsiest of pretenses and these are explained in a hideously clunky piece of dialogue that demeaned the actors involved and the plot twists were barely even curves.

The depiction of the outrageous wealth and extravagance of the Russian mafia was fun and frightening to watch but otherwise it was a relief when it was over.