A tour de force for the viewer.

Rating: 5/10 (1 September 2007)

For some odd reason I kept on watching 'till the end. This movie is slow paced, rather difficult to relate to if you do not know anything about the American secret service, the cold war or intelligence operations in general. What makes it even more difficult is the constant switch in time, back and forth, without the main characters aging one bit. That way, you keep on guessing where you are in this story. This movie is complex, almost like Oliver Stone's JFK. However nowhere near as thrilling as JFK. During the movie I kept wondering what Robert de Niro's fascination with the CIA is? And why did they choose Angelina Jolie? She somehow gives us the impression that what we are viewing is a glimpse in her own future as an actress. Matt Damon is unemotional, almost like Kurt Russel's character in Soldier. Furthermore, the tape recording scene is clearly a reference to Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation. All in all, a long ride, uneventful at times, demanding a lot of foreknowledge from the viewer. Recommended only if you have some knowledge of the intelligence history of the US and if you like to know the reference between Skull and Bones and American power structures in general.