Spy Game (2001)

Director:

Tony Scott

Writers (WGA):

Michael Frost Beckner (story)
Michael Frost Beckner (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 November 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

It's not how you play the game. It's how the game plays you.

Plot:

Retiring CIA agent Nathan Muir recalls his training of Tom Bishop while working against agency politics to free him from his Chinese captors.

Plot Keywords:

CIA | China | Retirement | Prison | Rescue

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Robert Redford	...	Nathan D. Muir
Brad Pitt	...	Tom Bishop
Catherine McCormack	...	Elizabeth Hadley
Stephen Dillane	...	Charles Harker
Larry Bryggman	...	Troy Folger
Marianne Jean-Baptiste	...	Gladys Jennip
Matthew Marsh	...	Dr. William Byars
Todd Boyce	...	Robert Aiken
Michael Paul Chan	...	Vincent Vy Ngo
Garrick Hagon	...	CIA Director Cy Wilson
Andrew Grainger	...	Andrew Unger
Bill Buell	...	Fred Kappler
Colin Stinton	...	Henry Pollard
Ted Maynard	...	CIA Administrator
Tom Hodgkins	...	CIA Lobby Guard

Also Known As:

Spy Game - Der finale Countdown (Germany)
Spy game - Jeu d'espions (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

126 min | Turkey:114 min (TV version)

Country:

Germany | USA | Japan | France

Language:

English | German | Arabic | French | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Brazil:12 | USA:R (certificate #38577) | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Beirut, Lebanon

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Part of the film was originally set to have been filmed in Israel, but due to the sudden escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (in September-October 2000), and following the requirements of the actors' insurance companies, the filming took place in Morocco instead.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Late-1990s vintage computers and monitors appear in the scenes set in 1985 (the embassy in Beirut) and 1991 (the CIA headquarters).

Quotes:

Nathan Muir: She had worked both ends against the middle for so long, the middle decided to give up and go home.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Allemaal film: De amerikaanse droom (#1.6)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Maybe a little far-fetched, but clever.

Spy Game will probably never be considered among the best spy movies to come out of Hollywood, however, it is a really entertaining movie with quite a few surprises.

The movie is set in the early 1990's. Nathan Muir (Redford) is a retiring CIA officer who learns that his former protégé Tom Bishop (Pitt) has been captured while attempting a prison rescue in China and will be executed shortly. CIA brass want to know what motivated Bishop to attempt this unauthorized action and they interview Muir to find out. Muir tells the story of how he met and trained Bishop: from Vietnam to Berlin to Beirut. While Muir is setting the background, he is also working secretly behind the scenes to free Bishop. Will Muir's cloak and dagger antics be discovered before he has a chance to free Bishop? Overall the movie is not as good as other spy genre films such as Three Days of the Condor, Spy Who Came in From the Cold, or Hunt for Red October. I think Redford does well in the role of the retiring, slightly jaded CIA officer Muir. Pitt does well with what he's given, though I think his character suffers from poor writing, especially near the end of the film. Think of Spy Game as a more sophisticated Mission: Impossible (that's no knock on M:I) and you'll be pleasantly surprised.