In Spy Game, Robert Redford plays a spy with feelings. He's risen high in the Central Intelligence Agency and looking towards a nice retirement on some tropical beach. But Brad Pitt who he brought into the agency straight from being a sniper in Vietnam has gone off on an unauthorized mission that's not something the spy people usually deal in. He's gotten himself caught in a Chinese prison and is ready to be executed in 24 hours.

The CIA has written him off, but Redford hasn't not by any means. As he plays agency politics, he also reminisces about his 16 year relationship with Pitt from Vietnam in 1975 until the capture which takes place in 1991.

It's a particularly embarrassing situation for the agency because the president is just about to embark on a good will mission. More so because if you remember the president in 1991 was one George H.W. Bush who was both a former CIA director and Ambassador to China.

Spy Game is a good, not great film. Unfortunately the film does not develop any secondary characters at all which in Redford's scenes at the Langley, Virginia headquarters would have been of vital importance. Spy Game is strictly a star vehicle.

Why is Redford doing this, it could be any number of reasons, not the least of which is a not too subtle gay relationship he's having with Pitt. Also whereas spies are disposable people, and folks know that going into that field of employment, Redford is still operating as a military man from Vietnam who has a great distaste for not going back for his men on a given mission.

Why has Pitt got himself in this jackpot in the first place. For that you have to see the film.

Here's an atypical but enthralling thriller from sure-hand director Tony Scott which plays out most of its tale in various flashbacks, but is held together through an excellent leading turn from Robert Redford. Redford is an ageing CIA agent and on his last day of work before retirement (gee, where have we heard that one before?) he learns that his young protégé has been captured for spying in a Chinese prison and is due to be executed the following morning. Much of the film consists of him relating previous experiences and adventures to his superiors as the clock ticks down towards his partner's imminent death. Whilst this might not sound to be very interesting viewing, the flashbacks are invariably exciting and involve lots of secrecy, death, and open warfare in some cases (an excellent interlude in Beirut for example),elements all woven together well.

The present scenes of Redford using his own contacts and methods to help his captured chum are excellently portrayed and even if the film comes a little loose towards the ending, it still engages the senses through the quality of the acting. Here's a film with some fleshed-out characters brought to vivid life through the strong actors playing them. Redford and Pitt are excellent in their two very different roles, and we also get strong support from Catherine McCormack as Pitt's love interest and Stephen Dillane, excellently snide as an enemy of Redford's at the intelligence agency. Flashily directed by Scott and never lulling for a moment, this is an exciting and intelligent movie with plenty of incident and dynamism to recommend it.

In 1991, CIA agent Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) is captured trying to help Elizabeth Hadley (Catherine McCormack) escape Chinese PLA Su Chou prison. Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) on his last day before retirement tries to navigate the politically sensitive situation. He recruited sniper Bishop back in '75 Vietnam for a mission.

Director Tony Scott is making a slick espionage movie with two of the greatest stars in the universe. This should be better but it's only passable. Scott is pulling out all the editing tricks to artificially juice up the excitement. I'm not sure it fits the material but it's perfectly watchable. It wants to be an action movie when it's more of a tense chess game.