I went and saw this on a free Sunday evening, the cinema was half empty and I didn’t know what to expect. From the trailer, I thought I was in for a run-of-the-mill thriller.
How wrong was I! What we have here is a very well-executed espionage thriller with what could have easily been a very simple premise. Our hero Will Shaw (played by Henry Cavill) is suddenly thrown into a spy game. His family is kidnapped while on holiday in Spain and he discovers his father (Bruce Willis) is and has been a spy for all of Will's life. Will must track down his family while avoiding the cat and mouse of various factions out for their own game.
The web of spy games here is so well written- without using spoilers. This film, like I said, could have been a very simple tale: family kidnapped, hero runs around action scene by action scene getting closer, while being used as a puppet in a spy game. But what this film manages to do is, at every key plot point the story takes a twist and not a twist where you the viewer screams “oh come on!” No. This film keeps the twists very believable and even a film buff like myself wasn’t sure who was telling Will the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth (It's hard to talk plot with this film)
The pace, direction, editing, music and cinematography comes together superbly here, which is not surprising when you see the credits and realise it's very much a European movie (and it shows). After various films I've watched the last few months, it is a refreshing change to actually see a film well crafted and well written
The actors involved give brilliant performances. Sigourney Weaver plays a real, believable, strong female character and Bruce Willis as ever is on form. But my real reason for wanting to see this film was Henry Cavill (the actor will be seen next summer in Superman: Man Of Steel). He was a fantastic, believable, focused and= when needed- vulnerable leading man. He will make an amazing Clark Kent and I, for one, am now so excited about Man Of Steel.
This film, however, is well worth a watch – it's a seat-of-your-pants action adventure with (most importantly) a well written script and characters with depth. Enjoy.
Rating: 4 out 5
Rhys
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