Black Book (2006) is one of the first films I saw in the theater after moving to Los Angeles, and I remember quite enjoying it, but the intervening years have taken some of the shine off the apple. It’s still a beautifully produced film, and Carice van Houten is still superb in it, but perhaps [...]
{ 0 comments }
For all the iffy, “talking-point” entries on the Spy 100 list, there are at least as many obscure, unjustly overlooked gems like 5 Fingers (1952). A classy, twisty tale of historical intrigue — evidently based on a true story — this one is clever, smart, and thoroughly satisfying. Set in neutral Turkey during World War [...]
{ 0 comments }
I’ve long ago dispensed with the notion that the Spy 100 list constitutes the genre’s best films; like most lists, clearly it’s more about generating discussion than gauging absolute quality. Our Man Flint (1966) provides more evidence to back this idea. A colorful Bond spoof, this one is noteworthy – perhaps – as an early [...]
{ 1 comment }
Although it scores points for ambition and scope, The Company (2007) didn’t really connect with me, a three-part miniseries based on a novel by Robert Littell. This one layers a secret history behind several decades of the Cold War, and while it succeeds occasionally in pieces, as a whole it struck me as a clumsy [...]
{ 0 comments }
Olen Steinhauer concludes the twisty Milo Weaver trilogy with An American Spy (2012), and it’s a satisfying wrap-up to the series, rounding up the memorable characters of its predecessors for one last, tangled conflict of espionage. I didn’t find it quite as outstanding as The Nearest Exit, which I think is the most polished and [...]
{ 1 comment }
Greg Bear’s Mariposa (2009) re-gathers the cast of Quantico, pushes them deeper into the future, and entangles them in a skein of desperate operations to save the United States from the brink of total collapse. While structurally and conceptually more ambitious than its predecessor, I found it a somewhat tougher read. But after a rather [...]
{ 0 comments }
Farewell (2009) is not on the Spy 100 list, but it could be — though I would probably relegate it to the lower ranks. While classily made and historically interesting, it’s rather a slow, distancing thing. Loosely based on real events, the story takes place in 1980s Moscow and involves a high-ranking KGB analyst named [...]
{ 1 comment }
The oldest film on the list, Fritz Lang’s Spies (1928) is a silent film, which adds to the challenge of following its plot contortions. Clearly on the list for historical interest, I found it pretty difficult to enjoy. The story involves a banker named Haghi (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) who secretly runs a spy organization. Haghi wants [...]
{ 0 comments }
“Season six” of Stella Rimington’s Liz Carlyle series, Rip Tide (2011), is one of its stronger outings, a fast, smart read with a broader international scope than its predecessors. It starts off the horn of Africa, when the French Navy thwarts a Somalian pirate raid on an international relief shipment bound for Kenya. Apprehended during [...]
{ 0 comments }
Charles Cumming mines British espionage history in The Trinity Six (2011), a smart but subdued spy tale. Cumming’s previous thriller, Typhoon, lifted him to a new level; The Trinity Six doesn’t quite fire on as many cylinders for me, but it certainly does nothing to sully his reputation. It’s a swift, engaging read, although a [...]
{ 0 comments }