A satisfying and entertaining spy movie.
Spy Game (2001)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:129
Fresh:83
Rotten:46
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: The outcome of the kinetic Spy Game is never in doubt, but it is fun watching Robert Redford and Brad Pitt work.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language, some violence and brief sexuality
Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Nov 21, 2001 Wide
Box Office: $62,326,785
Synopsis: Robert Redford stars as veteran CIA agent Nathan Muir in this thriller from Tony Scott (TOP GUN, ENEMY OF THE STATE). Set in 1991, Muir expects his last day before retirement to be an easy one.... Robert Redford stars as veteran CIA agent Nathan Muir in this thriller from Tony Scott (TOP GUN, ENEMY OF THE STATE). Set in 1991, Muir expects his last day before retirement to be an easy one. Instead, he finds that his protégé, Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt), is being held on espionage charges in a Chinese prison will be executed in 24 hours. A seasoned agent, Muir has played spy games for a long time and quickly realizes that the CIA may not be acting in Bishop's best interest. Even as an agency committee is grilling Muir, he is secretly working to secure his former charge's freedom. Action-packed flashbacks establish the relationship between the two men: their first meeting during the Vietnam War, Muir's recruitment of Bishop following the war, Bishop's training and early missions in Berlin, and an important operation in Beirut. Similarly, the flashbacks trace the evolution of Bishop from an eager, brand-new agent in 1975 to a disillusioned veteran in the mid-1980s who is at odds with his mentor, Muir. This last layer of conflict adds extra suspense to SPY GAME, as Muir must decide whether to help his old friend or take the easy way out. [More]
Starring: Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Catherine McCormack, Stephen Dillane
Starring: Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Catherine McCormack, Stephen Dillane, Larry Bryggman
Director: Tony Scott
Director: Tony Scott
Screenwriter: David Arata, Michael Frost Beckner
Producer: Douglas Wick, Marc Abraham
Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams
Studio: Universal Pictures
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Reviews for Spy Game
Has the makings of a good movie ... but right now its only 65 minutes long and encased in another 60 minutes of beurocratic debris.
Spy Game fills its holes entertainingly, and with morsels of humanity.
Spy Game doesn't pander at all and even has the guts to stretch matters out to 127 minutes.
A glossy, suffocatingly predictable star vehicle for Robert Redford and Brad Pitt.
"Spy Game" is a solid adult alternative to the Potter puff currently storming the theaters.
In their few scenes together, Pitt and Redford prove to be excellent dramatic foils.
Spy Game's stars are only among the best elements in this superbly exciting, entertaining espionage thriller.
Enemies can bury the hatchet; journalists can bury the lead; but who would have thought that a screenwriter could bury the plot.
Using a healthy mix of flashbacks and real-time segments, director Tony Scott manages to tell a compelling and thorough tale of politics, espionage and loyalty.
What Spy Game lacks in bonafide suspense, it more than recoups in the dynamic interaction of its two stars.
The only thing that distinguishes the thriller Spy Game from one of uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer's big-budgeted blockbusters is the fact that his name's not on this one.
At times, it just seems like the movie is engaged in a game, itself, to keep us from noticing its faults.
Those flashbacks tend to dissipate tension and interest rather than increase it, making Spy Game play more like a haphazard short-story collection than an involving and cohesive novel.
Redford in a solid, nuanced performance in a picture that's frantically paced.
It is a smart thriller for grown-ups about spies who use their brains.
Spy Game is a pretty neat trailer that somehow manages not to give away its major plot points over the course of 130 feverish minutes.
Not completely successful as a thriller and lacks the cohesiveness and intelligence that Redford movies tend to have when he directs himself. But it's well-plotted, acted with a charismatic flair and right on the zeitgeist.
Latest News for Spy Game
October 13, 2005:
Critical Consensus: "Domino" Topples, "Elizabethtown" Disappoints
This week, the wide releases regale us with tales of beautiful bounty hunters ("Domino"), existential romance ("Elizabethtown"), and masses of deadly... More...
April 28, 2005:
Clive Owen to Headline "Children of Men"
"Sin City" do-gooder Clive Owen has recently signed up to star in Alfonso Cuaron's "Children of Men." Based on the novel by P.D. James, the story sounds like... More...
October 31, 2001:
With pyrotechnics for the men and two generations of hunks for the women, Spy Game could have universal appeal. ![]()
More...
August 20, 2001:
Spy Game reunites Pitt with both Redford, who directed him in 1992's A River Runs Through It, and director Scott. ![]()
More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 77% 77% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 82% 82% | Paranormal Activity |
| 57% 57% | 9 |
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