A complete waste of a mind-bogglingly good cast.

Rating: 2/10 (17 September 2011)

This is one of the most disappointing films I have ever seen, here is why... The audience at the cinema was choc-a-bloc with silver haired, distinguished types probably yearning for an intelligent spy thriller which would pay homage to the Alec Guinness's famous television mini-series. What they got was a snail paced, bland piece of story-telling set in a post-cold war era that seemed to lack any sense of conflict or relevance. The story is essentially about the Head of British intelligence believing that there was a double agent at the top of the organisation. He then subsequently dies, so little is made of this that if you mistakenly enjoy a long blink, (which you probably will during the course of the film) you would miss what I would've assumed to be a fairly significant event. Smiley (Gary Oldman) is then brought back from retirement to investigate this further... I just feel like so many different story trails were started and never addressed, let alone finished. What was the information being passed on? Was it significant? What was the motivation for being a double agent? Was there anything sinister about the Head of British intelligence's death? Well the answers won't be revealed by this film. I am all for subtlety and a thought provoking, engaging plot but this left me feeling that each scene veered from egg white to cream. Another dire aspect of this film was the lack of depth to any of the characters. Put simply, I didn't have a bleeding clue about the background of well... anyone. Annoying as the acting talent available was so obviously outstanding. This was either a bad film, or I didn't appreciate the meaningful stares, unspoken dialogue or mysteriousness-ness of it all. My advice is to avoid this film, or counteract it's soporific effects by renting The Rock , Mission Impossible or Bourne Identity to blow the cobwebs away from your mind immediately after.