Bridge of Spies

Shows both sides of the character and based on true events

It worked, it played, great film

It was a good film but I felt there was something missing. I think it was how the character's storyline wove. We had the main guy - Hanks. Tom Hanks is a great actor so it's easy to invest in his character but the telling of his story we seemed to get yanked out of it to tell the stories of Powers (a lot of it I think was not needed as in the end Powers was just someone Hanks' character had to "interact" with). On top of this we are first told to invest in Abel also, and the character development between Abel and Hank's character, yet this relationship is cut short abruptly which almost makes it feel like I was watching a 2 part film. However, there was good acting and I wasn't bored, I just wish for an emotional film I was more emotionally invested (if you don't quite get me, think of Saving Private Ryan and how every character has a story, and every time one of them dies you feel their pain...this film didn't have that).

Superb, Really good!

What can I say. There were several spies in this film and multiple bridges were shown, and used to perfect effect. Cant fault it Tom Hanks is predictably brilliant. I have never seen him in a bad movie, but thats only because I refused to watch the recent Pinnichio film. I am only assuming this and have done no research whatsoever but Tom Hanks has now played more real life people in movies than all other Hollywood actors combined. Alive or dead, not including versions of themselves. Mark Rylance steals the show with the most powerful and commanding performance of a quiet man I have ever seen. And I've seen at least 3. It doesn't even make sense that he can do that, so thats when you know your watching a master craftsman. i.e British with a Shakespearian pedigree, But not as confusing or boring. Spielberg is on top form here and pulls out a few tricks from his old directors bag. Classic feel and look, subtlety funny and tense in the right moments. Repetitive scenes, like people staring at each other on trains is played out to a satisfying conclusion. Slightly twisty plot, but Straightforward and easy to understand because I didn’t have to rewind it and watch some parts again to keep up with what was going on. The most impressive thing about Speilberg, which I’m sure you have noticed, is he always keeps his child actors in line, on a tight leash and only when absolutely necessary. They are not as insufferable and annoying as in most other comparable films. He always seems to get the best out of them, and you can tell it looks like he gets the shot in very few takes. I don't know if he threatens them off camera or hypnotises them in some way, but he definitely deserves more credit for this. All in all, a great film, with a compelling historic story and Top class Acting, which I can definitely see me rewatching again, but not because I didn't follow the plot the first time.

I enjoyed the film. I was based in West Berlin during the 80's and 90's right up until The Wall came down. Back then, you assumed everyone was working as a 'spy'. I recall my first visit to East Berlin via Checkpoint Charlie. I was driving my car with my wife and a couple of friends. I only had the one visit, as my security level was increased afterwards. I remember being petrified initially, but once through to the 'otherside' I relaxed a little. East Berlin was deserted. We went for a meal in a big hotel, we were the only ones there. The East Berliners all drove Trabant cars that spewed out smoke which smelt dreadful and stuck to your skin. You could walk across the 'Bridge of Spies' as it was inside the western zone at the time. On the other side was the border and the East. I was there and witnessed The Wall coming down, which at the time we thought would never happen ever. I've been back to Berlin several times, and I recommend a visit to this fascinating place.

I expected this film to be good: it was far better than that! I’m astounded that some say this is second division Spielberg. Perhaps they were expecting an action packed Cold War Indiana Jones spectacular that they didn’t get. This is character and plot driven that I found utterly captivating throughout, requiring a concentration span of more than a few minutes. The reconstruction of the building of the Berlin Wall was amazing. I also thought the shooting down of the U2 was fantastically staged. The evocation of Cold War East Berlin was genuinely chilling and one felt real fear and dread for the imprisoned student. Tom Hanks created a very human and well developed character. The recreation of the period was brilliantly realised helped immeasurably by superb photography. Spielberg was pretty restrained from resorting to sentimentality, though I thought the woman in the train double take was heavy handed and unnecessary. Despite criticisms that the film was politically biased, it was in fact critical of the USA in parts though it did resort to some chest beating in places to keep the domestic market feeling righteous.

Was hoping this would be a lot better than it was. Good story but it lacked in finesse. I should not compare but Smiley's People was streets ahead of this with regard how the world of Cold War spies should have been portrayed. In some scenes a great deal of money was spent on locations and the building of the wall (which could have been better) then we have the East German family awful acting where did they come from. Colonel Abel was very good and sadly we did not get more of him or what he was accused of doing. Gary Powers story was very vague and the interrogation scenes were not what you would expect them to be. The whole movie smacked of T.V not enough gritty sophisticated action which was what the cold war was all about, also it seemed disjointed in that some of the film flowed and then became fragmented as though someone else had stepped in to Direct. Tom did well with what could have been a stonking story but it was all too superficial for me and its certainly not Oscar winning material in my opinion.