Bridge of Spies

chanandre

High time I stopped hating the man. Got a lot to learn from him.Be humble>he's been directing films for 50 Y e a r s. Sure, he's over-hyped, over-appreciated, over-sentimental, sometimes bit tacky & corny, but he's still hugely skilled and talented.Intro set-piece: one for the annals of film history, for the books. Print was pristine&colours were vivid.Hanks at the top of his game (even his wrinkles Act)> Oscar him!

Daniel S.

135 minutes that pass very quickly thanks to Steven Spielberg's know-how. About more or less the same subject and the same locations, I prefer Martin Ritt's 'The Spy Who Came In From the Cold' (1965). Recommended.

Zachary T.

After "Munich" and "Lincoln," I was hoping for more groundbreaking, late-game Spielberg -- what we have instead is a Hollywoodesque, traditional spy film played straight, across the board. Entertaining while not exemplary, intelligent while not terribly thought-provoking. Well-shot, of course, with solid work from Rylance.

Material Salva+ion

If it was only for the choice and brilliant performance of Mark Rylance alone, I could have rated the film 5 stars...but then there's all the rest. The factual veracity of the story (if that's ever possible to achieve) is far from enough to make it the great film that it wants to be. Spielberg should try one or two new tricks and drop the persistent patriotic subjects to seriously boost his films up. Mild 3 stars.

HKFanatic

Classical Hollywood craftsmanship finds resurgence in the formally elegant "Bridge of Spies." While it may in some ways feel more stately, less alive than Steven Spielberg's other recent historical films such as "Munich," this "Bridge" still deserves to be treasured for the simple fact that films like this - with its lineage in film noir and the work of Frank Capra - may not see production in another decade.

josé neves

The two train traveling shots in which they show youngsters jumping fences, lead to a correspondence of concomitant mental times expressing the latency of fascism in ordinary life. And this connotative value injects some life into a system formatted at all, that the usual incessant camera movements and the reverberated light are its customary expression. And this has nothing to do with John Ford.

T. J. Mesen

Though it might seem like a minor work in Spielberg's oeuvre, Spies is a quiet masterpiece; very classic but touched by his magic. He uses clever compositions, his unique handling of sentimentality, the engaging performances he gets out of his cast, and expertly crafted visual setpieces to enhance an otherwise simple b&w narrative, creating a surprisingly heartfelt film where the human triumphs over the political.

msmichel

Mr. Spielberg aren't you worried that this old fashioned bland exercise will tarnish your legacy? "Would it help?" Other than a brilliant Mark Rylance who often utters that line Spielberg's cold war film fails to provide much interest. Everything feels old hat and even the visuals lack the expected expertise. Only the final Americana moments feel very 'Spielbergian'. A disappointment after the reviews.