Bridge of Spies

SPOILER-FREE MOVIE REVIEW

Let the Oscar bait kick in.

Just kidding.

So, the latest offering from one of the world's finest directors, Steven Spielberg.

Bridge of Spies is a political thriller/drama set at the height of the Cold War in 1960.

It deals with a story in which "spies" from the USA or the Soviet Union are captured, and deals for a trade of them are made.

I caught this film on its premiere day in Singapore, with absolutely no prior knowledge as to what the film was about.

I didn't watch the trailer, and I read no reviews.

All I knew was that it was directed by Steven Spielberg, and it starred one of the greatest actors of our generation, Tom Hanks as the lead of an American lawyer by the name of James B. Donovan.

On to the film proper, and the first thing I'll say is that it is very long.

Clocking in at 141 minutes long, one wouldn't naturally say that it is long as compared to films like Titanic or Interstellar which nearly hit the three-hour mark.

However, due to a lack of action, it makes the 2 hours and 21 minutes feel like double the duration.

This, however, is not an entirely bad thing as the film makes up for it thanks to its superb story.

I absolutely loved the whole idea of an American lawyer being tasked to represent a convicted Soviet spy at court.

I also loved how Donovan was just doing his honest job by being the best he can be, despite his client, Rudolf Abel being "the enemy of the state".

This, along with his persistence in proving that Abel is innocent despite the corruption behind the gathering of evidence and so on.

That whole dynamic in which everyone is against you and yet you are so determined to prevail made me really impressed.

I also think that the film captures the essence and drama of Cold War espionage perfectly.

The film builds tension and suspense at all the right places, as well as a little pinch of humour here and there to keep the audience engaged.

Bridge of Spies is a very well-made picture, and the lovely eerie and haunting score by acclaimed composer Thomas Newman just suits the tone of the film perfectly.

Perhaps this is Newman's time to win his first Oscar after so many nominations in the past.

(One might even call him the Leonardo DiCaprio of composing).

He might even have a double chance of winning too, with his score for the new James Bond film SPECTRE coming up almost certain to be epic.

On to the cast, and they were all superb.

Especially the film's main characters.

Hanks, as you'd expect, was excellent as James B. Donovan.

He captures the honest nature of the character with ease, and I especially loved how he changes as a person as he goes through all the events of the film.

Huge praise also goes to Mark Rylance who plays convicted Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel.

He plays the character with such class and ease, and he even makes Abel a very likeable guy (despite him being a Communist).

Kudos to them for their standout performances.

Why I called this film Oscar bait, you may ask?

Well, it's quite simple, really.

Every year at around this month, there'll always be superb films which tackle historic issues, the lives of famous people or political affairs.

These films are almost always met with critical acclaim.

Example - Last year, we had films like The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything.

Bridge of Spies is almost certainly to be considered in that category.

All in all, the film was a superb take on Cold War espionage and politics. It was tense, thrilling and full of suspense.

Just be sure to take a piss before entering the cinema hall.

8.5/10