Bridge of Spies (2015)

[Athena]

Directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen and Joel Coen. The film stars Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, and Alan Alda. It is based on the 1960 U-2 incident.

 

Opening October 16, 2015.

 

[proserpina65]

The subject is interesting, but is it wrong of me that I just want Tom Hanks to go away for awhile?  It seems like he's always playing Tom Hanks, and not the character, in every film he's in now.

[Athena]

The subject is interesting, but is it wrong of me that I just want Tom Hanks to go away for awhile?  It seems like he's always playing Tom Hanks, and not the character, in every film he's in now.

 

I think he was playing out of type in all those roles in Cloud Atlas, but then again, I'm one of the few dozen people who adored that film. I do wish he'd take on more comedic roles though.

[proserpina65]

I think he was playing out of type in all those roles in Cloud Atlas, but then again, I'm like one of the few dozen people who adored that film. I do wish he'd take on more comedic roles though.

I wish he would go back to comedy for awhile as well.  He always had a great sense of comic timing.

[Ronin Jackson]

John Williams had to drop out of scoring this film for health reasons... the first Spielberg film in 30 years not to have Williams scoring it, and only the third all together if you count Duel among Spielberg's films... which it should be because it's terrific. That'll be kind of strange... like pizza without cheese.

[SeanC]

It's a very pleasant film, well-made in every respect. It never quite becomes a great film, and I think the main reason is that, at the end of the day, there's not all that much to this story. The atmosphere in East Berlin is nice, but the situation Donovan deals with is quite straightforward. Conversely, it can be said to be nice that Spielberg and co. don't amp up the real events into a wholly fictionalized spy thriller.

 

I enjoy movies creating a world with lots of lived-in details, so I liked the aside bit where Hanks' young associate is apparently dating Hanks' teenage(?) daughter, which he seems to be oblivious to.

[Jewlmc]

I love Tom Hanks and think he could be Oscarworthy reading the phone book. *Shrugs*

Very good movie.

[scarynikki12]

John Williams had to drop out of scoring this film

 

You have no idea how relieved I am to learn this.  I enjoyed the movie but I felt the score was off and I've never felt that about Williams before. 

[Notwisconsin]

Fun Fact: while all the thing about the Powers/Abel swap was going on, Donavan was running for the US Senate against Jacob Javits.

[vavera4ka]

Funny moment. When Ivan Shishkin appears and starts talking my thoughts are "ohhh, good Russian accent! well done, movie!" and then the guys goes on and pronounces some English word in Russian and I realize that the accent is so good because it's real lol

And then I recognize the actor from an old cop show I liked when I was a teenager. Nice little trip down the memory lane lol

Also my dad doesn't really follow movie scene, and when I tell him that I saw a movie about a "spy for a pilot and student" exchange he goes "Oh, Abel for Powers, I remember that" He was 8 or 9 at that time.

I read up on Willie Fischer (real name of the spy) and he strikes me like a very interesting character. I felt like the first half of the movie was too long, I'd rather see stuff Able did and more about him.

Now I'm curious about the other side of the story. Its interesting how they made Abel likeable. (as I was surprised how the characters of Spassky vs Fischer were done in Pawn Sacrifice, where Soviet guy was more likeable and honorable, than American) And idk I find it hard to believe that the attitude and treatment of this guy here in the jail was that nice. I'm also sure that Soviets did more than just deprive Powers of sleep. But in the movie it's a bit too "fluffy and contrived" that American's were nice to Abel and didn't torture him, just tried to buy him, while Russians were trying to pry information with physical and mental exhaustion. I'm sure both sides tried "harder".

Also "stojkij muzhik" is not exactly standing man... It's more enduring, persistent, steadfast... I guess it's "close enough" but not really lol

[raezen]

Just saw this film tonight and I loved it. I've skipped out on a lot of Tom Hanks films in the last 10 years so I'm not tired of him, in fact I've missed this Tom Hanks. I thought the film was beautiful and subtly topical. Well, not so subtle for a Canadian like myself after the election we had. I would highly recommend to people I know to see it in theatres.

[JBC344]

Just saw this film tonight and I loved it. I've skipped out on a lot of Tom Hanks films in the last 10 years so I'm not tired of him, in fact I've missed this Tom Hanks. I thought the film was beautiful and subtly topical. Well, not so subtle for a Canadian like myself after the election we had. I would highly recommend to people I know to see it in theatres.

If you have been skipping out on Tom Hanks movies, I urge you to go rent "Captain Phillips".  Tom Hanks is great in it, but in a different way than he usually is. 

[Rick Kitchen]

Man, Mark Rylance was *superb* in this movie, would love to see an Oscar nom for him!

 

But a couple of my pet peeves cropped up in this - ahistorical hair, and kids who never grow up even though the movie spans a period of years.

[NoWillToResist]

I can't lie; pretty much the only thing in this movie that generated any type of response from me was the repeated humorous exchange of "are you worried?" "would it help?" between Hanks and the spy.

 

Otherwise, I found this way too long and way too slow. I can't hate it because I think it was well done (re: acting etc)...I just found myself bored for much of it.

[A Boston Gal]

Yeah, I agree a good 20 minutes could've been cut from this, and it would've been interesting to see more of what Able had been up to pre-capture. But overall, I found it engrossing and a worthy effort from Spielberg and Hanks.

[methodwriter85]

I caught this with my mom- it wasn't bad and I liked it, but it just felt too long for a story that felt pretty straight forward.

 

I did think Austin Stowell and Billy Magnussen looked really, really good though.

[Sharpie66]

My dad and I just saw this today. It's been a while since I have seen either a Spielberg or Hanks film, and we both liked this one a lot. I am a sucker for a good Cold War thriller, and even though this one really only matches the first half of that description, it does it really well. The kids' reactions to the "Duck and Cover" film really brings home the impact that the threat of nuclear war had on entire generations (as a first-wave GenXer, I experienced the era of The Day After, not Duck and Cover).

The Powers storyline was rather meh, but I really liked the Abel and Donovan portions, both when they were together and when Donovan was doing his negotiations. And that final shot of Donovan watching kids jump over chain link fences in Brooklyn and obviously remembering the failed wall jumpers in Berlin was a final punch in the gut.

The actor playing the East German lawyer Vogel was really familiar, but I think it is because he looks a lot like a younger Jeroen Krabbe, the baddie from The Fugitive.

[Yokosmom]

The actor playing the East German lawyer Vogel was really familiar, but I think it is because he looks a lot like a younger Jeroen Krabbe, the baddie from The Fugitive.

 

Sebastian Koch--He's in Homeland this season.  He played one of the main characters in The Lives of Others which is a truly great film.

The actor playing the East German lawyer Vogel was really familiar, but I think it is because he looks a lot like a younger Jeroen Krabbe, the baddie from The Fugitive.

 

Sebastian Koch--He's in Homeland this season.  He played one of the main characters in The Lives of Others which is a truly great film.

[Ariah]

I really appreaciated how, even though the matters pictured in the film are very serious, there was a surprisingly healthy dose of humor as well.

 

Also, I kept thinking Donovan was a real-life Atticus Finch (from the first book). 

[Danny Franks]

I saw this the other night and really enjoyed it. A good, straightforward Cold War thriller, in the vein of Thirteen Days. It doesn't rely on crazy twists or pyrotechnic spectacle, it generates its drama from the tension and unrelenting pressure of the era.

 

No one brings pathos and humour in equal doses quite like Tom Hanks. I thought he was excellent in the role, and wouldn't be surprised if another Oscar nomination is thrown his way. There was a lot of humour, as has been noted. The byplay with him ruining his daughter's date was great, and his general snarkiness at all the spy shenanigans felt almost genre savvy, without ever going too far. But he's genuinely one of the modern greats, I think. He's made some crappy movies in his time, but can still command a presence like few other actors.

 

Mark Rylance was excellent (and should definitely get some awards for this one). I heard his accent wandering a couple of times, but then they established the vagueness of his origins, and I realised he was doing it deliberately. I know he spends most of his time on the stage, but you'd never recognise it, with the way he played everything so quiet and still. The wry, deadpan humour of Abel was a lot of fun as well.

 

As I said in another thread, I felt Austin Stowell had a strong presence as Powers, even without having a whole lot to do. His character was really just a macguffin to enable the plot, but he did well with what he was given. Jesse Plemons is turning into something of a HITG, these days. Looking slightly portly too.

 

I felt the movie evoked that period so well, with the paranoia and fear and animosity that has been so well documented. The aspects of history that I kind of half knew about, but was happy to have fleshed out, and a bit of an exploration of what life was like in Eastern Germany. It's kind of strange now, to think that people could yearn to be living in a communist system, after the romance of it has been so thoroughly debunked with the cold, hungry, corrupt reality. But Abel's gratitude about being taken back to Russia was so genuine. I guess men like him and Kim Philby held on to the ideals long after those in power had forgotten them. 

 

I was pleasantly surprised that the govt acknowledged Donovan's contributions in the end, because it felt like it was going to be one of those, 'no one will know the things I've done, but I'm proud' endings. It was pulled off, with the family watching the original footage on TV, without being too schmaltzy.

 

Depressing note: Alan Alda is looking old and frail, these days.