When I realized this and watched the movie for the second time on DVD, I saw this film for what it really was...A superb chess match between Redfords character and the CIA bureacracy. Everything else is truly secondary. Though exciting and dramatic, the storys (portrayed as flashbacks in the film) that Redfords character shares with the CIA taskforce, is really a strategy he is using to "win the game...a game which you dont want to lose"

Again, these flashbacks are insightful and sometimes thrilling, but are not meant to be represented as elements for an action film. It is a thinking mans movie for someone who likes there intelligence films to be intelligent. Hence the title Spy Game. Remember, some games are not won by brute physical force but with brains and strategic thinking instead.

15 of 15 found the following review helpful:

A Motion Picture Not To Be Judged By Its Cover!  Aug 10, 2005
By R.A. McKenzie
When this movie came out in November 2001, my big brothers took me to see a movie that had Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. "Hmm," I thought, "I'm not sure about this, but it's a free ticket, so what the hell?" Believe me when I say that this movie is so much more complex, intense, and entertaining than it looks. The trailer gives the totally wrong impression of what SPY GAME is about. This is not --- I repeat 'NOT' --- an "action" movie. Instead, SPY GAME takes a thinking-person's knack for clever storytelling, and juices it up with the flashy and quick style seen in many of today's movies. Again, don't let the trailer allow you to judge this film.

Tony Scott's movies have always had that quick-cut, fast-paced, full-force style to them. His brother Ridley Scott is a much better filmmaker; why is that? Because Ridley (THELMA & LOUISE, BLACK HAWK DOWN, ALIEN) has better control of the action and knows when to tone things down. In SPY GAME, Tony Scott finally finds his niche in great filmmaking, where style is complimented by good characters and a terrific story.

Nathan Muir (wonderfully played by Robert Redford)is a CIA operative, who on January 1991, is on his last day before retirement. However, his protege Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt in one of his better roles) is captured in Su Chou Prison in China, while the U.S. and the Chinese are negotiating trade talks.

When Muir learns of Bishop's capture, he races against time to save him from execution. Unfortunately, some CIA investiagtors and bureaucrats aren't as eager because of the aforementioned trade talks. What's fascinating about this setup is that Muir is always one step ahead of the game than those who want to abandon the rogue agent. Instead of this being the "Muir/CIA Showdown" (which we do get some clever exchanges), there is actually a character study underneath it all. As Muir is surrounded in a conference surrounded by his adversaries, pretending to play ball with them, he gives them details about Bishop's past, training, and work ethic. The storytelling is slightly faulty, because there are a few moments where Muir seems to be talking to the audience instead of the characters. But this is where Tony Scott's energy saves these awkward moments, because Scott knew this much dialogue needs good camerawork & actors to keep us interested. Scott invested enough time in the characters as well as the audience's thirst for high-stakes thrills.

Robert Redford hasn't really changed his acting that much since BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, but that's because he's smart enough to know his limitations. He isn't a chameleon who creates characters; Redford just uses his natural gifts to embody the role with his own mannerisms.

Brad Pitt also doesn't do anything groundbreaking, but is also in the right frame of mind that Redford is. Pitt possesses the charm of a gifted agent but the brash ego of a rookie. The supporting cast is also simply acting the way we expect reliable character actors to perform --- they don't try to steal the show and trust the filmmakers. This approach allows Scott's filmmaking style to drive the thriller at its best pace.
Pitt and Redford have a chemistry that makes us believe that Muir actually takes pride in Bishop's skills, while needing to maintain discipline and control over his new job. Pitt's counter-reactions to Muir's mind-games give both men a texture not often seen in espionage flicks. SPY GAME involves the morality of the two men, rather than preach about more universal themes.

I hate flashback sequences, but these are impressive and never slow down; much credit belongs to Redford because his narrative voice keeps things going. The present-time Muir/CIA games are very much like a poker game. Without giving away too much, the tactics involve simple tools like pagers, ambiguous dialogue, and keen eyes. There's no violence, or anything that forces us to suspend disbelief. Some neat moments include Muir quickly glancing at key data, and somehow getting information with the vaguest of words. Another is the CIA digging up his office, when Muir has no reasonable excuse for getting out of the interrogation. This movie is never a bore, and is very exciting considering most of it centers around a conference room.

In addition to the strong acting & directing, one of my favorite aspects of this movie is Harry Gregson-Williams's music. His score includes some cool beats during the spy montages, and some powerful chords during those dramatic moments of betrayal and reflection. Of all of the music I've heard from him (he's most famous for Michael Bay pictures ARMAGEDDON and THE ROCK), I easily call this his best work.

I really dig this movie! It's not perfect, and maybe it does borrow some aspects that other thrillers (and maybe Bruckheimer pictures) have done before. But this is a top-notch film with a strong presentation that keeps it moving. Because SPY GAME is energetic and focused at the same time, it's an exceptional film that warrants a purhcase!

FINAL NOTE - The DVD features are all good. There are some behind-the-scenes features that are worth checking out, and the Deleted Scenes (w/ or w/out Commentary) are actually good. I usually don't like Deleted Scenes, because it's obvious why they shouldn't be there. But these actually quite good, and would've added another layer that would've enhanced the story. An excellent movie got a grade-A DVD treatment!

13 of 13 found the following review helpful:

A CLASSY, ENTERTAINING SPY FLICK  Dec 22, 2005
By Michael W. Kennedy "insane book lover"
Director Tony Scott should take the main bow for SPY GAME, an intellectual spy flick and primarily a director's film. With locations shot in Beirut, Lebanon, Berlin, Budapest, Casablanca, England, Haifa, Hong Kong, and Prague, a certain color and realism is guaranteed. And, sure enough, the photography and direction are in capable hands as is the script, which seems flawless. You gals out there might note that BOTH Robert Redford and Brad Pitt star in this slick tale of the CIA spy game. (Yummy!) Some reviewers seem concerned about an emotional flatness between Pitt and Redford but, hey, these guys are trained killers or at least serious craftsmen in the field. You feel too much as a CIA agent, you forfeit your life, my friend. So let's get real, okay? And very real is SPY GAME. The plot is intricate and layered as a wedding cake. CIA veteran Nathan Muir (Redford) is retiring and on his last day at his CIA job (what a waste of talent!) and his impulsive younger protege Tom Bishop (Pitt) is being held in a Chinese prison about to be executed for a botched rogue operation. How Muir saves the day for Bishop from long distance, being watched and questioned by his superiors in Washington who would rather see Bishop be executed by the Chicoms, is the crux of the story. It is a kind of mind over matter thing, the cleverness of Muir's efforts in contrast with the physicality of Bisphop's failed operation. Scenes of Bierut street fighting, flashbacks to Vietnam, takes inside CIA offices, all are very well done. SPY GAME is a classy, entertaining spy flick with good production values. Again, hats off to the director.

20 of 24 found the following review helpful:

Very good movie but I had problems.  Apr 12, 2002

This movie has been one of the best spy movies to come out in the last 5 years. But the DVD had problems, I dont know if it was with my DVD player or it was the DVD, but my version of this movie kept popping up the damn english captions. It was a huge pain, I tried putting it in my iBook but the same problem came up. I have no idea what the problem was, but that is why I only gave it 3 stars.

10 of 11 found the following review helpful:

Intriguing Look At The CIA!  Jun 04, 2002
By Barron Laycock "Labradorman"
I recently viewed the new Robert Redford movie "Spy Game", and really enjoyed the experience. As someone who worked within the federal bureaucracy for decades, I can readily verify that those aspects depicting the inner workings of the Central Intelligence Agency are certainly accurate and on point in this new film with Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. Pitt plays an agent who possibly has gone rogue, and who has been taken prisoner by the Chinese. Redford plays his former handler, now re-engaged to decipher Pitt's action on the day of his own retirement, who smells something foul in the skunk works at the last moment of his own incumbency, and starts playing double-dare internal spy games with other CIA officers within the facility who seem to have some hidden ulterior motive for wanting to throw Pitt's character to the wolves.

Of course, one does well to recognize Redford's masterful hand in all this activity, since he has a well-earned reputation for questioning the nature of our intelligence agencies, their inbred culture of gamesmanship, and the way they work. Like spy thriller author John LeCarre (The Constant Gardener), Redford seems most interested in exploring the darker side of the so-called invisible government and its corrosive effect on the character of the men who populate it, and in the first hour or so, the film builds the tension between someone who wants to do right thing by an agent in the field and an agency looking to protect its own political agendas. As a result, Redford starts going out onto that precarious limb he had long ago advised Pitt never to venture onto, and learns some things about himself in the process.

The truth is revealed in layers of deceit and games, and one has to keep his wits about him in understanding why Redford takes some of the actions he does and what the agency is doing in the meantime. Yet at the conclusion all is clear, and the standoff ends with Redford driving his older Porsche off into the sunset of his own career and a much different future than he had imagined just a day or so before. Pitt plays his own part quite well as an iconoclastic recruit who learns enough about himself and the spy-game to understand there has to be a better and more purposeful way to live. This for me is the real strength of the movie, and the understated message Redford wants us to get; Our intelligence agencies work in service to goals often so twisted and altered from their original purpose as to be preposterous monsters, yet such conduct is all too common within the framework of how they operate. This is a cautionary tale told with purpose; to convince us the game is out of control.

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