Not the book, but not a terrible film

Rating: 8/10 (1 January 2016)

There are a lot of angry reviews because this film is not the book... No, it's a film, and therefore the plot had had to suffer some major editing. Don't get me wrong I love the book, it's brilliant, but this is a different art form and needs to be seen on it's own merits.
The plot of the film runs along well, and the pace of the film is very good. The plot thread (from the book) that the film makers have chosen to focus on is the relationship between Leo (Hardy) and Raisa (Rapace) and although the film doesn't cover the backgrounds of these characters the lead performances are excellent, however due to this constraint many of the supporting roles are rather two dimensional.
Where this film succeeds is in the creation of fear that the Russian Soviet Union bred within it's people. There is the overhanging threat at all times. The performances are excellent and it moves along at a fair rate. The film does have a failing because it is not the book, and therefore it cannot reach the same levels of tension and paranoia, nor the level of detail given to each character.
Watch the film, enjoy it for its great performances and creation of mood and atmosphere. Then go and read the book and be drawn further into the world of Leo. This film is no where near as bad as many people are claiming, it just isn't the book.