Not the book but I liked it

Rating: 5/10 (1 August 2015)

This is one of those movies where the little details become more interesting than the plot. Its a detective movie without the detective. The actors are fine, some are outstanding. The sets and location shots are excellent. Lighting and sound were fine. Cinematography was overall really well done.
Two problems stick out. It's not the book. OK, so what? "It's not the book" is almost an unfair criticism. But this movie didn't just take liberties with the story, it rewrote the damn thing. Almost like the scriptwriters overheard a broken conversation between two drunks talking about the book on an airplane flight, scribbled down some notes and pitched it to some money guy in Hollywood and bingo! got themselves a movie and a good bit of change too!.
The second problem is the totally unsatisfying ending where the perp is I.D. and caught. Whoever the person was who thought of this ending should be banned from film forever. Don't assume the movie has a plot with a resolution, just watch it for the overall tone. Otherwise you'll be disappointed. The ending was abrupt, cartoonish, out of the logical sequence of events and obviously glued on because, well, why not? Deadline, y'know. Gotta meet that deadline.
Still, with all of its flaws, taken in chunks that don't necessarily have to hang together at the end of the film (they don't) its a fascinating movie. Mix up patriotism, paranoia, betrayal and loyalty and watch out when they come to a boil. Just don't expect the ending to be the equal of the various excellent chunks of the movie.
And read the book.