Thrilling, tenacious, superb, stylish

Rating: 8/10 (20 January 2012)

Our film - which belongs to the genre of espionage - takes place in the '70s during the Cold War. At the beginning we see a failed operation which attempted to reveal the identity of a mole (a Russian agent working for the British Intelligence Service undercover).
Gary Oldman plays Mr Smiley who is called back just after retirement to investigate the matter and find out the true identity of the man in question. The stakes are quite high as Mr Control - played by the talented John Hurt - outlines that the suspects are all the senior members of the service. While at it, Smiley looks for a rogue agent who might have vital information in finding the criminal responsible for the fiasco in Budapest.
The films incorporates some superb actors along with features you hardly see in such films full of agents. There are no amazing fistfights here, no red sports cars, spectacular shoot-outs, excessive use of CGI, naked women and dry martini (shaken, not stirred!).
It's all about discussions, investigation, deception, cowardice, suspicion, Budapest-Paris-London in the 70s, huge, horn-rimmed glasses, big, gray coats, mistrust, some more talking, some more conspiring and some more disbelief.
A very good mixture of cast makes sure that you enjoy all 120 minutes of Tinker, Tailer, Soldier, Spy. I'll give it a solid 8 out of 10 and no I have not ready the book nor have I seen the original TV-show.