Bridge of Spies - Movie Review

It has been a long time since I wrote another review, and Chris had just recently wrote one for "Return of the Jedi" (be sure to check it out!), I'm going to be reviewing, as I said I would in my introduction to this blog, the new Steven Spielberg Cold War spy espionage thriller, which is also one of my favourite movies of 2015: "Bridge of Spies".

INTRODUCTION
Now many people might think that this recent movie isn't one of Spielberg's greatest (and is actually one of only three films that haven't been scored by John Williams - Spielberg's frequent collaborator), and I would agree Coen Brothers and stars one of the most likable actors in Hollywood: Tom Hanks.
so, but you cannot ignore the fact that "Bridge of Spies" is a wonderfully made and wonderfully directed movie which has a great screenplay written by Matt Charman and the

"Bridge of Spies" cannot be compared to older Spielberg films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, Jurassic Park or even his other dramas, (most notably) Saving Private Ryan or Schindler's List, but this recent Cold War Spy Thriller can definitely be known as one of the year's best films (and sometimes is actually underappreciated in my personal opinion) and should not be pushed aside that easily.

The plot line of this movie surrounds the true life events of the 1960 U2 Spy Plane Incident which surrounds two main figures: James B. Donovan, an insurance lawyer, and Rudolf Ivanovich Abel who's a Soviet Spy.

I have done some research and have read Donovan's book: "Strangers on a Bridge" (well worth a look!) to see if the majority of this film follows the actual events that happened during the incident, and I'm glad to say it does and the portrayal of the characters and the events are probably more dramatized but even so, the actors and direction make the most "uninteresting" moments in this movie (that would seem boring in other films) feel extremely tense and makes you sit at the edge of your seat to see what else James B. Donovan can do.

THE ACTING
Now I'm going to talk about all round acting - not the main stars, so don't expect much here. The majority of the movie surrounds the character of Tom Hanks, so when the spotlight pans to other characters (who are pivotal to the storyline, but not to the movie as they didn't really give anything "outstanding") such as Francis Gary Powers (played by Austin Stowell) and Fredrick Pryor (Will Rogers), the momentum of the movie and the excitement really drops and goes bland because they don't give that much of a stellar performance or anything that's worth mentioning.

Alan Alda and Amy Ryan were great in their couple of scenes, though Amy Ryan probably appears for around ten minutes for the entire film? There aren't many female roles in this movie - I think there's only two notable women in the entire movie, but nevertheless, every single actor did give a well enough performance to make the film what it is, but it's just that the actors other than Mark Rylance or Tom Hanks, none of them really stood out for me, which is a bummer.

TOM HANKS AS JAMES BRITT DONOVAN
Tom Hanks is one of my favourite actors of all time, and in every single movie that he's in, he still shines in the spotlight and steals the show, and in "Bridge of Spies", he does it again. Him and Spielberg have great working chemistry together and every time they collaborate together, they make a wonderful masterpiece of a movie that can sometimes not turn out well - for example, The Terminal - though you can't dismiss the fact that Hanks does a good job of portraying Viktor Navorski and how Steven Spielberg again makes another well directed movie.
I don't think people would necessarily remember Tom Hanks portraying the lawyer James B. Donovan and wouldn't compare it to his other movies such as Forrest Gump or Philadelphia, but still he puts enough emotion into Donovan and comedy into his character which makes him shine throughout "Bridge of Spies".

(Here's a scene from Bridge of Spies; one of my favourite scenes)

MARK RYLANCE AS RUDOLF IVANOVICH ABEL

Personally, in this case, the only actor who shines more than Tom Hanks (and I know I'm making a very big statement here) in this movie is Mark Rylance. I've been a fan of his work in Wolf Hall and his theatre work (which he's most famous for as he won three Tony Awards - which are the theatre's equivalent to the Oscars) in Richard III and Twelfth Night, but still, he's relatively unknown. His portrayal of Rudolf Abel, the Soviet Spy, has been acclaimed everywhere and I've got to say, I did buy him for actually being Abel for a second when I first watched the film. To put things in more perspective, he even looks like Rudolf Abel. He even has the same eyebrows. He's sly yet very secretive and he's somehow supposed to be the "antagonist" (not really, but if you look at it from the perspective they were in) of the movie, but his charm and very memorable quotes from

"Bridge of Spies" really makes it hard to hate him and somehow gives you a sense of guilt for Abel when he's being turned on by everyone except for Donovan. It is a subtle performance, and some might say that he didn't do much (compared to performances like Tom Hardy in "The Revenant") and was pretty normal; but the reason why he's getting so much praise, is because he literally does such a great job as the Soviet Spy that people even believed he was the Spy himself because he not only looked or sounded like him, but because his subtle performance makes people wonder who he really is under that calm face.

THE DIRECTION AND CINEMATOGRAPHY
Steven Spielberg always seems to amaze me with his movies and direction so to see another movie with his frequent collaborator, who's also the cinematographer / director of photography, Janusz Kaminski, they both produce beautifully directed shots in every aspect of the film.
Spielberg does use some repetition in his directing technique as some scenes are similar to the ones from "Schindler's List", which is in my opinion, Spielberg's best dramatic film. The movie has a darker tone and the scenes are usually includes items in dark blue or black which works really well, and I felt the colour scheme in this movie felt a bit more like a Fincher style movie, more notably "Gone Girl" (wonderful movie, definitely deserves a watch). Even so, Kaminski's cinematography in the climax of the movie at Glienicke Bridge (hence the name "Bridge of Spies") was absolutely outstanding. I can never stop rewatching that scene because of the wonderful direction, camerawork and acting. It always gives me the chills to think of it and the scenes with Abel and Donovan. The actors have wonderful chemistry and so their reactions to each other seemed very genuine and respectful which Spielberg somehow always manages to capture on screen.

THE MUSIC SCORE
I have honestly listened to this soundtrack since the day it came out, and I still am. Every song in this score fits the movie's theme extremely well, and even though this is one of the three films that John Williams didn't have the chance to collaborate with Spielberg, Thomas Newman does an exceptional job and definitely deserves

more praise for this soundtrack. Notably, "Homecoming" is probably one of the best tracks on there - even though it's over 7 minutes long, it's a wonderful masterpiece that plays at the end of the movie and until the credits. The "End Title" as well, really sets the tone of the movie; very dramatic. The song has a choir singing in unison, symbolizing power in a way and unity. Not many people notice the score in the movie, as the film mainly has dialogue driven sequences (though the screenplay is absolutely incredible; Joel and Ethan Coen never seem to disappoint), but rewatching "Bridge of Spies" changes the way of looking at Spielberg's latest piece in a completely different way. You'd notice all the minor details, and of course: the score. It's a typical beautifully composed score by Newman, and I personally am a huge fan of his, and love all his songs. Please go ahead and listen to the soundtrack if you can; it's well worth it.

THE CONCLUSION
"Bridge of Spies" is definitely one of the best films of 2015, and probably Spielberg's greatest film after Munich (a great great movie). Somehow, I felt it was snubbed at the upcoming Award Shows, and could at the Academy Awards; though who am I kidding, they usually snub the deserving people. 2015 has been Mark Rylance's best year so far, with his upcoming collaboration again with Spielberg on "The BFG" that I'm 100% going to watch on the day of release, Tom Hanks has always been a pleasure to watch on the big screen; he's technically unhateable, and as always, Steven Spielberg, Janusz Kaminski and Thomas Newman wowed me with their filmmaking and music. There are some flaws, particularly in the second act where Francis Gary Powers gets captured by the Soviet Union. It wasn't as interesting as the Abel + Donovan scenes obviously, though it does play a vital role in the movie, so it cannot be said that it was unnecessary.
Despite it's flaws, I absolutely loved "Bridge of Spies" and will happily rewatch it over and over again when in comes out on Blu-Ray. Give it a try if you haven't watched it yet! I don't recommend however, you watch this if you're more of an action-adventure movie-goer as I think that this movie won't really be interesting and would be more boring than exciting. But if you're more into dramatic films and you don't really mind much dialogue driven scenes in movies, then you should give this new Spielberg movie a watch.

In the end however, I give "Bridge of Spies" an 8.2/10.

- Yanni :)