Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - Yuck !

Rating: Null/10 (22 October 2011)

The critics loved it ! Well the ones that were paid to, did.
What a pile of unadulterated, film luvvy, pretentious nonsense.
'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'.
I gave up two hours of a sunny afternoon to watch this rubbish.
(1) Tinker, with the plot.
(2) Tailor, it, to The Sun readership.
(3) Soldier, stand by your beds, for gore and titillation.
(4) Spy, I spy with my little eye, hyped-up %&£"*@?#.
I was wary, I have the BBC DVD. I have read the book two times and also have an audio book.
I wasn't ready for a luvvy dog's dinner.
I was prepared not to compare it with the brilliant BBC TV series or the book.
Perhaps my dislike for Swedish directors, put me off in the first place? Trendy views, of bare bums, butcher shop gore.
They tried their best to be different from the original.
Yes they tried, and tried my patience also.
I nearly walked out three times, the fat lady blocked my path.
Gary Oldman? An acting ghost ! They, the directors or producers, or whatever these punks like to call themselves, had a field day of pretension.
The BBC original got the facts spot on.
These punks messed with story, flashbacks more than a year on Vodka could produce. The BBC then, didn't have caged rooms where the 'opposition' couldn't listen in. Just, crappy, government offices in Cambridge Square. Which was how it was. Then they may have had a 'Faraday Cage' ? More likely they probably sat in the bathroom and ran the taps.
There was little, if at all, character development.
Smiley was a ghost that drifted in and out. Peter Guilem was a homosexual that Michael Jayston would get hot under the collar about. The excellent and important character of Jerry Westerby was buried in the poor script. John Hurt was John Hurt, they even had to make a gimmick out of his end.
The only character I liked was Ricky Tarr. They made a dog's dinner of this as well.
Hollywood produces soap-opera or blatant propaganda.
Or the so-called European Art-Film people produce this rubbish. I thought it reeked of English clichés. Perhaps it should have been called 'Carry On, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' ? The acting was not that good, it just had famous names.
Toby Esterhase, Bill Haydon ? Mere shadows.
Hyped up to the rafters.
I don't think there are any decent directors and writers, and it shows ! I hope the father Hasse Alfredson isn't as pretentious as the son? To conclude then : A great spy story, dragged down to the level of soap opera. Which is all about you get these days. Just gimmick and gore for the sake of it. Almost got a nerve to give the film that title. I could have done a better job after a trip to the pub. Subtle and intelligent, it definitely is not.
‎"How's Ann?" Alfredson plays light with some of the fundamental relationships in the story.He creates about as much atmosphere as a Bradford railway station. He would have trouble directing traffic on an empty street.
I expect Alfredson will be asked to guest direct, Coronation Street and Eastenders. That is his true forte. Alfredson's next two films will be:- 'Deep Dirty Raincoat' and 'The Trondheim Lawnmower Massacre'.
‎'The Trondheim Lawnmower Massacre' by Tomas Alfredson- a true coup de grace(gras) if there ever was one.
Do yourself a favour, avoid this trash, and save your money !