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#609

Simbiat
Simbiat

I would not say it's bad, but I would not say it's good either. It is mostly forgettable, but aside from that I see 2 main issues, that kind of ruin it.

First one is somewhat simple: false advertisement. The ads, that I've seen suggested heavily that Henry Cavill plays a main role in the movie, but... He's not. In the end he is more of a side character and a "gateway" to inter-franchise thing they are planning. So if you went in for him specifically - you probably will be disappointed. I do understand, that doing it differently might have been difficult because of certain plot twists, but I am sure there was a way. Unless I greatly misremember the ads, that is.

Second thing is a bit more complex: the movie does not really know what it wants to be. At first it starts as a clash of ideas of a spy from a novel and a real spy. That part was quite enjoyable, really, although, personally I would have doubled down on the "real" aspects, to show even more how reality is more cruel, dirty and generally not idealistic. But the level that they did was kind of fine, too.

But the real problem is that they abandoned that idea relatively quickly, which started the next portion of the movie. It became the "spy novel" thing all the way. But not really all the way. It felt like they were trying to keep it real, until they dropped that as well with some serious plot holes (even for a spy novel, like the "server authentication" thing).

Closer to the last 4th of the movie they seem to realize that and start going more into the "stylish" aspects of proper spy movies, but it feels a bit forced and all over the place. There was the scene with smoke of multiple colors, which I liked, since it looked really cool. But later they also had a... "Oil skating" scene? I think it did not fit not only the earlier "pseudo-realistic" approach, but also the wacky spy action approach.

I am also not sure I see Bryce Dallas Howard in her role. It won't be much of a spoiler, I think, but she kind of "becomes a spy" at some point. They even gave her a make over, with blonde hair and weird make up, which was really bad, and did not suit her at all. And she just did not fit that role. The clumsy novelist - perfect match. A spy - no. I was reminded of her role in "Jurassic World" franchise, where her character did not make sense most of the time because of all goofiness, and she just did not connect with me.

Still, as I said, it was not necessarily "bad". I can totally see it as a one evening movie, that you watch and forget right after. Probably would have been better if it was at least 30 minutes shorter, but we have what we have. Just don't go in expecting much from it.