| Spy Game | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Tony Scott |
| Produced by | Marc Abraham Douglas Wick Thomas Bliss |
| Written by | Michael Frost Beckner David Arata |
| Starring | Robert Redford Brad Pitt Catherine McCormack |
| Music by | Harry Gregson-Williams |
| Cinematography | Daniel Mindel |
| Editing by | Christian Wagner |
| Studio | Beacon Pictures |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 19, 2001 |
| Running time | 126 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $92 million |
| Box office | $143,049,560 |
Spy Game is a 2001 American spy film directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. The film grossed $62 million in the United States and $143 million worldwide[1] and received mostly positive reviews from film critics.[2][3]
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Set in 1991, the film depicts the United States and People's Republic of China governments on the verge of a major trade agreement, with the American president due to pay a visit to China to seal the deal. The Central Intelligence Agency gets word that its Special Activities Division operative Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) has been captured trying to free an Englishwoman, Elizabeth Hadley (Catherine McCormack), from a Chinese prison near Su Chou. Bishop is being questioned under torture and will be executed in 24 hours unless he is claimed by the U.S. government. If the CIA claims Bishop as an agent, they risk destroying the trade agreement. Exacerbating the situation is the fact that Bishop was operating without permission from the Agency.
In an attempt to quickly deal with the situation, CIA executives call in Nathan Muir (Robert Redford), an aging mid-level case officer on his last day before retirement and the man who recruited Bishop. Although they tell Muir they simply need him to act as a "stop gap" to fill in some holes in their background files, the officials are hoping he gives them the smoking gun they need to justify letting Bishop die. Muir attempts to save Bishop by leaking the story to CNN through a contact in Hong Kong, believing that the CIA will rescue Bishop once a public outcry puts pressure on them to do so. Unfortunately, the tactic only stalls them as a phone call to the FCC from a high-ranking executive results in CNN retracting the story.
During the debriefing, Muir describes how he recruited Bishop into the MACV-SOG when Bishop was a Marine Corps sniper in Vietnam. Muir also discusses their tour of duty in Berlin in 1976. Muir also discusses Bishop's spy work in Lebanon, which was the last time the two saw each other. During the mission in Lebanon, Bishop met Hadley, and they began developing romantic feelings for each other. However, it is later revealed that Hadley was involved in a bombing of the Chinese embassy in the UK, causing her to flee the country. Fearing that Bishop's feelings for Hadley might compromise his cover and the mission, Muir tips off the Chinese to Hadley's location in return for freeing an arrested US diplomat. Chinese agents kidnap Hadley, and Bishop cuts all ties to Muir when he discovers his involvement. After realizing Hadley was the target of Bishop's rescue attempt, Muir finally learns that he greatly underestimated Bishop's feelings for her.
Running out of time, Muir secretly creates a forged urgent operational directive from the CIA director to commence Operation Dinner Out, a rescue mission spearheaded by U.S. Navy SEALs, which Bishop laid the groundwork for as a "Plan B" to his own rescue attempt. Using US$282,000 of his life savings and a misappropriated file on Chinese coastline satellite imagery, Muir bribes a Chinese energy official to cut power to the prison for 30 minutes, during which time the SEAL rescue team retrieves Bishop and Hadley.
Bishop, who is rescued at the end of the film 15 minutes before his scheduled execution, realizes Muir was behind his rescue since the name of the plan to rescue him, "Operation Dinner Out", was a reference to a birthday gift that Bishop gave Muir while they were in Lebanon. When the CIA officials are informed of the rescue, Muir has already left the building and is seen driving off into the countryside.
Filming locations included:
Spy Game opened at number three at the box office in its first weekend in the United States. The film grossed $62,362,785 in the United States and $143,049,560 worldwide.[1]
The film received generally positive reviews from critics. Aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes gave the move a score of 65% based on 130 reviews, with an overall summary stating, "The outcome of the kinetic Spy Game is never in doubt, but it is fun watching Robert Redford and Brad Pitt work."[2] Metacritic gave the film a metascore of 63 out of 100 based upon reviews by 29 critics.[3] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said, "It is not a bad movie, mind you; it's clever and shows great control of craft, but it doesn't care, and so it's hard for us to care about." [5]
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