Movie #948 "A Most Wanted Man" shows the other side of spying ---it isn't all James Bond type stuff. It's a Columbo type of guy (Hoffman) who spends several minutes of this film just watching and listening to tapes, to videos, etc. Lighting cigarettes and thinking, mulling things over and what to do next. He has a company of people and when they put themselves in gear in the latter half of the film, it becomes a heist-like film, which I always enjoy. Up until then,you might find a problem with the film's pace --- it is slow. I only saw that whenever Willem Dafoe was on the screen. He acts like every word he says will win him an award in this film --- he speaks too slowly for the part he plays. Otherwise, everyone else does well, esp. Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his last roles. He doesn't look good --- he breathes heavily, he drinks hard, he smokes constantly ---- it's sad, but it works for the character here. He's terribly convincing and may be up for an award posthumously (I'd like to see that) and Rachel McAdams is wonderful ---- the character she puts forth is always interesting to watch. If you want to compare this to other LeCarre's work, this is a simpler story with a twist. I stuck with it and never got lost, but the message is weighty and tough to digest. Good psychological thriller with no car chases and gun battles. Just a battle of wits.
A Most Wanted Man I'd give this 4 stars out of 5.
Our best guess for you: 3.1 stars
Average of 1619 ratings: 3.7 stars
A half-Russian, half-Chechen man, brutalized by torture, arrives in Hamburg, where he seeks a British banker's help in recovering his father's estate. But the man may not be all he seems to be in this riveting adaptation of John le Carré's novel.
