Spooks: The Greater Good (15.)
Directed by Bharat Nalluri.
Starring Kit Harrington, Peter Firth, Tuppence Middleton, Elyes Gabel, Lara Pulver, Jennifer Ehle and Tim McInnery. 104 mins
For the blessed elite with their Sky Atlantic subscriptions this may well be a Golden Age of Television, but the wretched, sniveling, Freeview masses know that beneath the summit, there's a really steep drop off. (Unless you ever so humbly download or stream illegally.) The BBC's MI5 drama Spooks lasted 10 seasons before finishing in 2012, and had a best-of-the-rest reputation I believe, based on its pace, slick production values and willingness to unexpectedly kill off lead characters. Even so, it’s a fairly random choice for a big screen resurrection. Unprecedented too, I can only think they’re hoping to emulate the Naked Gun formula which got three film out of a TV series, Police Squad! that lasted four episodes.
The plot involves the leader of MI5 Harry Pearce (Firth) being disgraced and forced to resign after allowing the CIA's most wanted terrorist to escape. He believes though that it was all part of a traitorous plot to discredit the service and cause it to be disbanded, allowing the CIA to take over our nation’s security: so he goes black to uncover the truth. Meanwhile decommissioned spook Will Holloway (Game of Throne's Harrington) is brought back to flush him out and spends the whole film getting ping ponged around in a game of who-to-trust.
You can see why they gave him the boot in the first place. Though he affects a cynical and world-weary air, he is pathetically eager to believe whatever the last person told him. You can see the hurt in his eyes whenever he discovers he's been lied to, like a puppy who keeps getting tricked into chasing after unthrown sticks.
Spooks the film is snazzy enough with its God's (or at least London) Eye's view of the capital's landmarks: it opens with a helicopter shot of the City's cluster of misshapen skyscrapers against a grey dizzily sky which is a quintessential modern London image. The problem is it is really stupid. Like 24 dumb, but at half the speed and with the vague hope that we take it a little bit seriously. For example, when they think they have set up a clandestine meet between Pearce and Holloway, the undercover surveillance squad turn up in a fleet of identical black, hugely conspicuous Range Rovers.
Spooks: The Greater Good (15.)
Directed by Bharat Nalluri.
Starring Kit Harrington, Peter Firth, Tuppence Middleton, Elyes Gabel, Lara Pulver, Jennifer Ehle and Tim McInnery. 104 mins
For the blessed elite with their Sky Atlantic subscriptions this may well be a Golden Age of Television, but the wretched, sniveling, Freeview masses know that beneath the summit, there's a really steep drop off. (Unless you ever so humbly download or stream illegally.) The BBC's MI5 drama Spooks lasted 10 seasons before finishing in 2012, and had a best-of-the-rest reputation I believe, based on its pace, slick production values and willingness to unexpectedly kill off lead characters. Even so, it’s a fairly random choice for a big screen resurrection. Unprecedented too, I can only think they’re hoping to emulate the Naked Gun formula which got three film out of a TV series, Police Squad! that lasted four episodes.
The plot involves the leader of MI5 Harry Pearce (Firth) being disgraced and forced to resign after allowing the CIA's most wanted terrorist to escape. He believes though that it was all part of a traitorous plot to discredit the service and cause it to be disbanded, allowing the CIA to take over our nation’s security: so he goes black to uncover the truth. Meanwhile decommissioned spook Will Holloway (Game of Throne's Harrington) is brought back to flush him out and spends the whole film getting ping ponged around in a game of who-to-trust.
You can see why they gave him the boot in the first place. Though he affects a cynical and world-weary air, he is pathetically eager to believe whatever the last person told him. You can see the hurt in his eyes whenever he discovers he's been lied to, like a puppy who keeps getting tricked into chasing after unthrown sticks.
Spooks the film is snazzy enough with its God's (or at least London) Eye's view of the capital's landmarks: it opens with a helicopter shot of the City's cluster of misshapen skyscrapers against a grey dizzily sky which is a quintessential modern London image. The problem is it is really stupid. Like 24 dumb, but at half the speed and with the vague hope that we take it a little bit seriously. For example, when they think they have set up a clandestine meet between Pearce and Holloway, the undercover surveillance squad turn up in a fleet of identical black, hugely conspicuous Range Rovers.
