Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Starring: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Hardy
Directed by: Tomas Alfredson
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A retired agent (Gary Oldman) is pulled back into MI6 to uncover the identity of a Soviet spy.

Review:

Tim: Watching Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a lot like watching water boil- the build-up is certainly slow and boring, but it does get pretty interesting at the end. I felt like this movie took an absurdly slow path to get to its exciting, interesting conclusion. I liked the destination, but I can't say that the journey was all that fun.

I'm not even suggesting that this movie should have been an action-packed, spy thriller. I understood very well that this movie was different. It's a talky, simmering foreign movie. I expected that, and I was looking forward to it. However, there's still a limit to how little I can take on screen. I just wanted something to happen (anything really). I appreciate a film taking the path less traveled, but it just felt like nothing happened. The pace of the plot can only be described as "glacial". Even worse, the movie is so dense and so enigmatic that I rarely had any idea of what was actually happening. I don't know, maybe it was the accents, but it felt like it took a huge amount of effort to stay focused on the story and follow what was going on. I don't mind working during a movie, but this was a bit much.

The cast is very impressive, though. I really liked Gary Oldman in the lead role. He's such a fantastic actor and it was fun seeing him in this part. He's clearly the highlight of the film. Colin Firth's presence is a welcome one, but I didn't think he was particularly strong. I never really believed his character or his performance. Tom Hardy was a nice addition, but I wasn't overly impressed with him, either. I also enjoyed Mark Strong, John Hurt, and Toby Jones, all of whom give good performances. The cast is actually quite impressive. Seeing all these great actors on screen together was great.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy does amount to something. The ending of the film is unexpected and exciting. I liked the resolution of all these different storylines. It is certainly worth sticking it out until the end. However, the path to get there was simply too slow for me. The movie didn't do enough to hold our attention or keep us engaged. It took too much effort for me to stay focused. I'm surprised this movie got as many good reviews as it did. For me, it features great actors, strong performances, and yet, the movie doesn't utilize these to the full extent. The film was simply too slow. It was decent, when it had all the pieces to be really, really good.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Spy Who Came in From the Cold