Bridge of Spies

Mark Rylance is brilliant in this film. Tom Hanks does his usual excellent performance. I don't know much about Mark Rylance. Maybe he is one of those rare brilliant actors who just hasn't had the accolades he deserves. I am sure that if you asked him if he was worried about his lack of recognition, that he would simply say "would it help?"

Two great actors deliver with a simple but superlative script. Of course we know how great an actor Tom Hanks has been, with many Academy Award wins and nominations in his body of work. I think sometimes he makes it look so easy that he doesn't receive adequate credit for those roles. Sir Mark Rylance is more of a character actor, even though he has had lead roles also. He disappears into his characters. He was wonderful playing Thomas Cromwell in the British tv series Wolf Hall. Boy, am I looking forward to the next series of that standout program. Oh, and by the way, he won the Academy Award for his work in this very film I am reviewing here. And of course it was directed by Steven Spielberg, a bit of a legend himself. The plot to Bridge of Spies is not as layered and complex as many spy thrillers, but if anything, not having twists and turns dropping onto our head from above allows the suspense to build out in plain sight. Interestingly, one of the key scenes was filmed on location where the event actually took place. I am leaving out the details in case are you haven't watched it yet

Superb film! I love <em>'Bridge of Spies'</em>. Every angle of it, at least from my point of view, is expertly crafted. The score by Thomas Newman is outstanding, the onscreen talent bring their a-game while the story is extremely riveting. It lasts for 141 minutes, it felt like 90 minutes tops; it absolutely flies through its run time, at no moment did I feel anything close to bored. Tom Hanks is brilliant in the lead role as Donovan, yet another great performance to add to his résumé. He rightly takes all the plaudits, but some must be left for Mark Rylance who is also brilliant as Abel. The support cast also more than pull their weight, too. Undeniably worth your time. Not sure how much of it is historically accurate (sounds like most is?), I honestly don't really care as it's a great film - which is what we are all here for after all.