I went into this expecting the typical Bruce Willis barely-a-B-film, and thought Gibson took over Willis' reigns due to his illness. Wow I was wrong. Even the RT critics went hard on this at 15% and here with the current 3.8. Did everyone who gave this ones watch the same film as me? What is everyone expecting from a film these days?
This was a very impressively enjoyable non-stop action-thriller with constant suspense, especially with all the unexpected twists. The 90 min runtime was spot-on - I actually wanted more, and the pacing was perfect. The cinematography was excellent (the reviewer who said it was too dark, you need a new better TV) and the score was fitting and great, especially for a B film.
Considering this is newb director Grant S. Johnson's third film ever, I think he did a better job than some films from seasoned directors I've seen lately. And the two seasoned producers turned to newb writers did a decent job with the script. I'm not a fan of back and forth timelines, especially more than two, but they made it easy enough to follow, and I feel it was needed for the suspense and twists. Sure there were a few plot and technical issues, but no one attached to this film is a seasoned filmmaker, so some slack is to be expected.
So considering that this was put together by pretty much newb filmmakers, it was very impressive, especially considering the low budget. Had this film had a huge Hollywood budget and some assistance from experienced filmmakers, it could've easily been an A-film blockbuster.
Casting and performances were outstanding and convincing, especially the main characters. Gibson's small role was decent, but I wish he was in the story a little more. Sure we all wanted a better/more of an ending, but maybe the budget was exhausted and/or the ending left for a sequel. Either way, I'm fine with whichever, although I hope there is a sequel. The story in itself was very well thought out and not your typical cliched espionage/spy story. In fact, I'll even bet the CIA is responsible for many of the low ratings (ya, I said it),because I'm sure this film is close to reality in their international black ops.
I'll be watching this one again for sure, so ignore the ridiculous low ratings. This is not a 10, but a far cry from anything below a 6. Just the cinematography alone doesn't deserve anything lower than a 5. It's a well deserved 8/10 from me, and fingers crossed for a sequel.
Agent Game
2022
Action / Thriller
Agent Game
2022
Action / Thriller
Plot summary
A CIA officer finds himself the target of a rendition operation after being scapegoated for the death of an interrogation subject.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU 720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 2160p.WEBMovie Reviews
What did I just watch?
It's surprisingly better than I expected
Agent Game. Horrible title I agree but you know what? I didn't hate it!
Now don't get me wrong, this straight to streaming (or maybe it'll show in theaters for a week, who knows) stars Mel Gibson and a bunch of other people who'll have you saying "hey! It's that guy/gal!". For example we have Katie Cassidy of The Arrow fame where she played Black Canary (or Canaries, I lost count) as Miller a CIA agent, Barkahad Abdi of the now meme-worthy "I am your Captain now" fame as Omar, a wrongfully detained Muslim man, with Adan Canto from The Cleaning Lady (by the way, this show is really good, you should definitely give it a go) and Jason Isaacs who's does a ton of great voice work but who I remember most recently as the charismatic Captain Lorca from Star Trek: Discovery, all make appearances here.
Surprisingly the actors involved are doing their best to make this paint by numbers espionage thriller work and I appreciated that as these types of movies are best for playing while doing your household chores and yet I found myself actually paying attention to the story! I'm not saying it's a great story but it does have enough going for it to make things engaging at times. There aren't many action sequences so if you're going in hoping for them you'll have to be satisfied with a handful here and there and a larger set piece at the conclusion and the film actually sets itself up with an open ended finale, so I'm guessing they have a sequel in mind. Call me crazy but I'm not mad at the idea.
In a world filled with mediocre straight-to-stream movies, Agent Game is a tad better than the rest. Not a lot better, but certainly not the worst by a long shot. Trust me, I'm just as surprised as you are.
Awful
The plot is ridiculous, the script is preposterous. The acting is difficult to gauge because of this but spans between competent and inept with some of the cast being clearly out of their depth with the material.
Its a poorly directed poorly produced piece with few redeeming factors, though the heavy handed sound track that permeates every scene is probably one of the more agonizing.
Give it a miss and save yourself the aggravation.