Horrid

Rating: 1/10 (26 March 2012)

Terrible from start to finish. If you read the book, and I have read almost all John LeCarre's books, you wonder why they bothered to remake this classic.
The penultimate Smiley is Sir Alec Guinness, who played the role in a PBS television production and aced it. Guinness is Smiley. Peter Guillam is much more convincing in the TV miniseries as is Ricky Tarr, the instigator. The best thing that can be said about the movie's Bill Hayden is that he looks a little bit like the miniseries Bill Hayden. You don't realize who anybody is - Percy, Esterhase, Bland, they all blend together like Summer theater actors.
In the TV version, Smiley interviews Karla, and Patrick Stewart gives an outstanding performance without ever uttering a word. In this movie, they skip trying to outdo Stewart by having Smiley recount the spy's actions to Guillam, as if they don't even want try to compete with the TV version. I wish they had felt that way about the whole movie.
Oh and the opening scene with Prideaux takes place in the countryside in the book and the TV miniseries. The movie does a modern restaurant version that could be used in an NCIS episode. Crap - multiplied at the end when Prideaux shoots Hayden with a rifle - sheesh - why bother? Do yourself a favor - read the book (trilogy) and rent the TV version with Alec Guiness. Forget they even made this. I wish I could.