Bridge of Spies
Rent & Buy
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan, recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate his release. Donovan boards a plane to Berlin, hoping to win the young man's freedom through a prisoner exchange. If all goes well, the Russians would get Rudolf Abel, the convicted spy who Donovan defended in court.
What critics thought
Broadly acclaimed as a return to classical Hollywood craft, Bridge of Spies works best as a slow-burn character study rather than a pulse-pounding thriller — Spielberg and Hanks earn consistent praise, but a minority of critics found the film more admirable than gripping, arguing that its impressive parts never quite cohere into something greater than their sum.
“Spielberg has taken an important but largely forgotten, and hardly action-packed slice of the Cold War, and turned it into a gripping character study, and thriller that feels a bit like a John Le Carre adaptation if Frank Capra were at the controls”
Richard Roeper·Chicago Sun-Times
“a confident, slightly square, highly satisfying example of old-school Hollywood craftsmanship, starring a major movie star brandishing a briefcase, and a handkerchief, rather than a pistol”
Michael Phillips·Chicago Tribune
“one of the most handsome movies of Spielberg's latter-day phase, and possibly the most eloquent [...] Bridge of Spies turns a secret prisoner exchange between the CIA and the KGB into a tense and often disarmingly funny cat-and-mouse game”
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky·The A.V. Club
“Bridge of Spies, with its stop-and-go momentum, is also more merely interesting than it is full-on riveting. It's still quite good stuff, but despite its impressive pedigree ... it doesn't feel as if it's quite the sum of all of its parts”
Mike Scott·New Orleans Times-Picayune
“For all Spielberg, his star-packed cast, led by Tom Hanks, and his on-screen and off-screen team (Joel and Ethan Coen co-wrote the screenplay) bring to the table, Bridge of Spies is remarkable only for how stuffy and surprisingly inert the film becomes”
Preston Jones·Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Accolades
Genres
Drama, History, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Steven SpielbergDirector
Tom HanksJames B. Donovan
Mark RylanceRudolf Abel
Amy RyanMary Donovan
Alan AldaThomas Watters Jr.
Sebastian KochWolfgang Vogel
Austin StowellFrancis Gary Powers
Billy MagnussenDoug Forrester
Michael Simon HallReporter
Edward James HylandChief Justice Earl Warren
Stephen KunkenWilliam Tompkins
Mike HoustonMan in Courtroom
James LorinzGentleman on Subway #2
Thomas NewmanComposer
Joel CoenWriter
Matt CharmanWriter
Ethan CoenWriter
Janusz KamińskiCinematographyFrom the studio
Bridge of Spies
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan, recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate his release. Donovan boards a plane to Berlin, hoping to win the young man's freedom through a prisoner exchange. If all goes well, the Russians would get Rudolf Abel, the convicted spy who Donovan defended in court.
What critics thought
Broadly acclaimed as a return to classical Hollywood craft, Bridge of Spies works best as a slow-burn character study rather than a pulse-pounding thriller — Spielberg and Hanks earn consistent praise, but a minority of critics found the film more admirable than gripping, arguing that its impressive parts never quite cohere into something greater than their sum.
“Spielberg has taken an important but largely forgotten, and hardly action-packed slice of the Cold War, and turned it into a gripping character study, and thriller that feels a bit like a John Le Carre adaptation if Frank Capra were at the controls”
Richard Roeper·Chicago Sun-Times
“a confident, slightly square, highly satisfying example of old-school Hollywood craftsmanship, starring a major movie star brandishing a briefcase, and a handkerchief, rather than a pistol”
Michael Phillips·Chicago Tribune
“one of the most handsome movies of Spielberg's latter-day phase, and possibly the most eloquent [...] Bridge of Spies turns a secret prisoner exchange between the CIA and the KGB into a tense and often disarmingly funny cat-and-mouse game”
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky·The A.V. Club
“Bridge of Spies, with its stop-and-go momentum, is also more merely interesting than it is full-on riveting. It's still quite good stuff, but despite its impressive pedigree ... it doesn't feel as if it's quite the sum of all of its parts”
Mike Scott·New Orleans Times-Picayune
“For all Spielberg, his star-packed cast, led by Tom Hanks, and his on-screen and off-screen team (Joel and Ethan Coen co-wrote the screenplay) bring to the table, Bridge of Spies is remarkable only for how stuffy and surprisingly inert the film becomes”
Preston Jones·Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Accolades
Genres
Drama, History, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Steven SpielbergDirectorTom HanksJames B. DonovanMark RylanceRudolf AbelAmy RyanMary DonovanAlan AldaThomas Watters Jr.Sebastian KochWolfgang VogelAustin StowellFrancis Gary PowersBilly MagnussenDoug ForresterMichael Simon HallReporterEdward James HylandChief Justice Earl WarrenStephen KunkenWilliam TompkinsMike HoustonMan in CourtroomJames LorinzGentleman on Subway #2Thomas NewmanComposerJoel CoenWriterMatt CharmanWriterEthan CoenWriterJanusz KamińskiCinematographyFrom the studio
Rent & Buy