Enthralling Cold War espionage thriller by Steven Spielberg

Rating: 8/10 (19 October 2015)

Director Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks collaborate once again this espionage thriller set in the 1950s in the height of the Cold War, a period of political tensions between many nations across the globe and a time when the United States facing threats of communism from the Soviet Union that ravaged on until the early 1990s following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Based on the true events, Tom Hanks play James Donovan, an American lawyer who takes on a daunting court case to defend Rudolf Abel (played by Mark Rylance), who is suspected of being a Russian spy, much to the outrage of the public as well as his wife and children. When CIA U-2 Spy-plane pilot Francis Scott Powers (played by Austin Stowell) is shot down and captured by the Soviets, Donovan is assigned into a negotiation with Germany to exchange Abel for Powers who is held hostage by German officers. This film marks Steven Spielberg's first collaboration with the Coen Brothers who produced this film, though the lack of humor typical for the directorial duo make it difficult to tell.
This film does a pleasant job with highlighting the key points of the Cold War conflicts. It accurately portrays the atmosphere and the paranoia of nuclear war that America dealt with during this period. After all, it is Steven Spielberg behind the camera, and his director appears to carry polished knowledge on American history as demonstrated in some his previous outlets. One of the Cold War's most crucial elements of paranoia is best demonstrated in a scene for an example where Donovan's young daughter is in school and her class is watching an instructional video on seeking shelter for when a nuclear explosion occurs, and you see clips of cities getting wiped out by nuclear explosions. It genuinely shows the emotions people felt when the United States was in conflict against the Soviet Union, and how the threat of nuclear exchange was dangerously high. The Coen Brothers' screenplay and the direction are very well accomplished here, at least for the majority. Spielberg ambitiously maintains intriguing story as it follows the perilous journey of the main character and his attempt to make a deal with the Soviet Union, a deal that can carry catastrophic consequences if gone wrong. And with a crafty hand like Spielberg, he manages to keep the plot moving at a fairly solid pace, even when the film gets a bit too talky at certain points. Though the story doesn't quite offer many elements of surprise or even emotional depth (especially for a Spielberg flick), Spielberg fuels in plenty of substance to sustain the plot on an intriguing scale. The biggest disappointment in the narrative department however, may lie in the anti- climatic (though nicely shot by Janusz Kaminski) ending as the story concludes in a fading light fashion rather than with a bang, but there are some fair goodies in terms of the acting. Tom Hanks leads a terrific performance as his character James Donovan who is written beautifully without feeling very lionized with heroism. Mark Rylance does a pretty swell job as Rudolf Abel, the antagonist character who is portrayed very humanly without falling victim to contrived villainous characterization.
Bridge of Spies is one of the best film of the year and is definitely a must see. While it certainly isn't as memorable as Steven Spielberg's other works, its still very satisfying. This is also probably the best film you will see centered on the Cold War.