Far From Spielbergs Best But Still Fantastic

Rating: 8/10 (14 October 2016)

When I first saw Bridge of Spies in theatres it was purely because it was a Spielberg film yet I was still intrigued to see it I love Tom Hanks he's one of my all time favourite actors and thought it isn't Spielbergs best it's far from his worst and Bridge of Spies is a fantastic film with two Fantastic lead performances from both Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance. Like more of Spielbergs more recent films this is more of a dialogue driven drama and it's not discredit to him his films all have amazing dialogue and this is no different it makes for a compelling film that any Spielberg fan should watch. Tom Hanks in his fourth collaboration with Spielberg is fantastic in this film he's impossible not to get behind he just knows how to portray the every man quality of his character that just wants to do the right thing and that's what makes James Donovan such a great protagonist for this film he just wants to do the right thing despite all the hatred it brings him. But ultimately movie new comer Mark Ryalnce stole this movie and deservedly won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for it he has amazing chemistry with Hanks. Ryalnce just brings a likability and vulnerability to him and his "Standing Man" scene will go down as one of the great movie scenes in a Spielberg movie. The courtroom scenes in this movie really gave you a sense of how people were during this time and gives you a chance to see what Donovan and Abel were facing for what they were trying to do. The flaws from this film though come from its second half the plot to free Powers just wasn't neither as compelling as the plot to free Abel and I would have personally would have portrayed his character more like James Ryan from another Spielberg film "Saving Private Ryan" it just would have made us more excited to finally see him and would have made for a more compelling story arc.
But in the end I like Bridge of Spies much more than I ever thought I would it has fantastic dialogue, characters and performances making for one of the finest films of 2015. 88%-A-