A potentially excellent movie let down by the director

Rating: 3/10 (24 February 2017)

At the end of the movie (2 hours) I was left feeling hugely disappointed. Most of the concerns that I had during the movie were left unanswered and, once again, Spielberg's inability to omit moments of crass emotion or signpost future scenes (watch out for thugs on the streets etc.) were galling.
The cast should be excellent but only Tom Hank's character seems to benefit from any real development. Even then I wanted to give him a damned good shake; talk with your wife for Pete's sake, why would your colleagues put you into this position, don't walk so close to the wall, your family has just been shot at!
All of the opportunities to develop the sub plots are ham-fisted, bordering on stereotyping. But then that is what Spielberg usually gives you. In a movie this long the pieces should feel like they are supporting the whole but they feel oddly disjointed.
The final scenes do give a good reflection of the paranoia of those days (to which we seem to be returning). But at the end I was left asking "is that it?"
In conclusion, Bridge of Spies is a watchable movie with excellent period feel which is enjoyable as long as you watch it rather than think about it.