You must be kidding

Rating: 6/10 (10 January 2012)

Let's start with the very simple premise that all filmmakers know, one page of script is roughly equal to one minute of film time. I did not read the novel nor see the TV series, but I am told the novel is 400 pages. Taking that into account the film must cut corners and cut corners they did. The movie was filmed with an absolute cloak of heaviness and shot well, but I did not see any groundbreaking techniques. What did come across was a heavy dose of despair. They managed to fit all the complexities of this masterful spy plot, but they left ALL character connections DOA. Gary Oldman does his best to convey the character and demeanor of a person that would occupy that station. That is simply not enough.
It was well acted for what was written. Well shot for where and when it took place. But it simply made no connection whatsoever to the characters and the audience. If you read the book your mind will most likely fill the gaps automatically, but for the rest of us it simply was devoid of interest. This was way more "The Good Sheperd" than "No Way Out". I love a good slow character driven movie. This movie was slow and with no character development. It will no doubt win many awards and be a favorite, but mostly from accolades it did not earn.