You have an extremely versatile and multi-faceted actor who have reprised and excelled many difficult roles with ease and panache even beyond the wildest imaginations of any director where all they can do is gasp and applaud him when he is in full flow. Then, you have a master class director at hand who has given several blockbusters like Jaws, ET, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, AI, Minority Report to the latest award-winning Lincoln. As a part of the audience, I knew for sure that I was in for a treat. Oh wait! They have already joined hands together in their earlier and other highly successful ventures like Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal. So, there were no questions on the quality and outcome of the film. The real question which was racking my brains out was "How different is this film going to stand out for Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks"?
After a breakneck travel from OMR to Velachery, I found myself just in time for the movie and sat comfortably in the plush seats of Luxe. The first scene was more than enough for me to gauge that this is going to be a no-nonsense film. The camera showed a person looking into a mirror who took his brushes and then proceeded to paint his portrait. The subtle message underlying this scene was phenomenal - everyone has different identities and different roles to play as per the situation demands. It was even more apt for a spy genre! I was marvelling the wonderful thought process that had gone behind this scene when Tom Hanks made his presence felt in his first scene of "Bridge of Spies". As an insurance lawyer, he showcased how a proper negotiation should be carried out and concluded to the t. People used to say that the Bollywood flick "Rocket Singh" is a must watch for a MBA graduate. I felt this movie should also be included in that elite list. Even in the face of fire where Tom Hanks was faced with the daunting challenge to exchange a USSR spy for a USA spy from erstwhile USSR and an economics graduate from East Germany, he showed immense character to hard negotiate, convince and persuade the concerned authorities to exchange 2 persons for a single person. From a sales point of view, that's brilliant! It's like going to a car showroom and telling the sales person "Hey man! I need two cars for this single car". It's highly impossible to pull off such a feat. But, Tom Hanks ensured that the impossible became a possible like a piece of cake. Likewise, he literally grabbed the scene by the throat where he defended Abel in the USA court. There were claps in the theater. But, what really astonished me was the fact that the movie was inspired by true events! For a fleeting moment, I imagined how would it have been for the real Donovan to have experienced it first hand to go one on one with the then powerful USSR and East Germany all by himself.
Although serious, the film had its own lighter moments. I was laughing like anything when Tom Hanks walked into the USSR office and mistook everyone there for another lawyer and ultimately concluded that there was no such person!! It was downright funny even in the climax scene when he gives a jar of marmalade to his wife and his shrewd wife turns the bottle and finds out that he had gotten it for her from the nearby corner shop. The dialogues were also witty and were not overdone.
Overall, this Cold war spy drama turned out to be warm and funny with scintillating performances from Tom Hanks and co. "Bridge of Spies" is yet another feather in the cap for Steven Spielberg. Just like Lincoln and War Horse, there is surely another Oscar nomination for sure! :)
After a breakneck travel from OMR to Velachery, I found myself just in time for the movie and sat comfortably in the plush seats of Luxe. The first scene was more than enough for me to gauge that this is going to be a no-nonsense film. The camera showed a person looking into a mirror who took his brushes and then proceeded to paint his portrait. The subtle message underlying this scene was phenomenal - everyone has different identities and different roles to play as per the situation demands. It was even more apt for a spy genre! I was marvelling the wonderful thought process that had gone behind this scene when Tom Hanks made his presence felt in his first scene of "Bridge of Spies". As an insurance lawyer, he showcased how a proper negotiation should be carried out and concluded to the t. People used to say that the Bollywood flick "Rocket Singh" is a must watch for a MBA graduate. I felt this movie should also be included in that elite list. Even in the face of fire where Tom Hanks was faced with the daunting challenge to exchange a USSR spy for a USA spy from erstwhile USSR and an economics graduate from East Germany, he showed immense character to hard negotiate, convince and persuade the concerned authorities to exchange 2 persons for a single person. From a sales point of view, that's brilliant! It's like going to a car showroom and telling the sales person "Hey man! I need two cars for this single car". It's highly impossible to pull off such a feat. But, Tom Hanks ensured that the impossible became a possible like a piece of cake. Likewise, he literally grabbed the scene by the throat where he defended Abel in the USA court. There were claps in the theater. But, what really astonished me was the fact that the movie was inspired by true events! For a fleeting moment, I imagined how would it have been for the real Donovan to have experienced it first hand to go one on one with the then powerful USSR and East Germany all by himself.
Although serious, the film had its own lighter moments. I was laughing like anything when Tom Hanks walked into the USSR office and mistook everyone there for another lawyer and ultimately concluded that there was no such person!! It was downright funny even in the climax scene when he gives a jar of marmalade to his wife and his shrewd wife turns the bottle and finds out that he had gotten it for her from the nearby corner shop. The dialogues were also witty and were not overdone.
Overall, this Cold war spy drama turned out to be warm and funny with scintillating performances from Tom Hanks and co. "Bridge of Spies" is yet another feather in the cap for Steven Spielberg. Just like Lincoln and War Horse, there is surely another Oscar nomination for sure! :)
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