COLUMN: ‘Spy Game’ provides entertainment even though it’s a flashback flick
Spy Game pairs an aging Robert Redford with a hunky Brad Pitt in a story that bounces through the last 30 years of U.S. intelligence history in true American style. And just like America, it somehow manages to be pretentious, smug, inattentive, vain and entertaining all at the same time.
The story begins in a Chinese prison where Pitt is caught trying to break someone out. The rescue attempt fails and Pitt is captured, tried and sentenced to death in a manner so expeditious, it could only be the work of an oppressive communist government.
Enter Redford, an aging spy who is one day away from retirement. Upon learning of Pitt’s capture and impending death, he maneuvers himself into the action, learning that the CIA is looking for a reason to let Pitt die. They’re concerned that any interference on their part will interrupt important trade negotiations.
The story is told in a series of flashbacks to Redford and Pitt’s shared past. We learn about their meeting in Vietnam, Pitt’s subsequent recruitment into the CIA, their strained friendship and ultimately the reason for them parting ways. The reason, of course, centers around a woman – the very woman Pitt is trying to rescue from prison.
Tony Scott, younger brother of famed director Ridley Scott, directed the film but it still felt heavily influenced by Redford. I don’t know, maybe it’s just his acting style, but the story oozed old-school nostalgia in a way that echoed many of Redford’s past works. Every scene, even the ones shot in war-torn places like Beirut and Cambodia had a tidy “everything’s in its proper place” feel. I suppose this was appropriate, given that they were coming from Redford’s memory. I kept expecting him to turn to one of the younger agents and say, “Listen here, sonny.”
He didn’t, but I really wanted him to.
The camera work only served to reinforce the feeling that the story was being told from memory. Shots seldom lasted longer than 15 or 20 seconds, zipping from one thing to the next until it became obvious that this movie was not about character development but about using people as window dressing and to help the story move along.
And even though I might get my film critic’s license revoked for saying this, it actually worked. Spy Game is so packed with eye-candy and attention deficit goodness that it’s hard not to forgive it for being so shallow.
This film isn’t about teaching morals or filling the viewers’ minds with memorable characters, it’s a comic strip about a spy who uses his last day on the job to redeem himself to an old friend. The artsy-fartsy camerawork and Hollywood chicanery used by Scott blended well with the quick, disjointed pace of the story. And while this film seems destined for middle of the road obscurity, it’s just entertaining enough to make it worth the money.
GRADE: B