Leaden, ponderous

Rating: 5/10 (3 January 2012)

Something got lost in the translation. The grayness, the smoke and mirrors that John Le Carre can conjure up with his language makes for dull cinema when translated so flatly to the screen. Without his linguistic magic, the type of spy plot that Le Carre pioneered by now seems hackneyed and unimaginative.
Gary Oldman, cast against type, seems virtually catatonic as he mumbles and stumbles his way through this ponderous script and leaden direction. He is simply not a good enough actor to overcome this miscasting. The others get no real opportunity to show anything. Cumberbatch is the only one who manages to salvage a bit of life, along with Tom Hardy as Ricki Tarr, even though he sticks out like a sore thumb.