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[SCULLIBUNDO]

Film completely underwhelmed me. Absolutely plodding and has no interest in its characters beyond what is necessary to the mystery. If I don't care about any one of your characters, why should I give a fuck about the needlessly convoluted mystery they're taking part in?

 

[Dead Man]

Well, finally saw it. Got to say, it was completely understated and confused the hell out of my girlfriend. I think it was the best film I have seen in ages, no unneeded exposition, no overly leading score to tell you how to feel, just a simple spy story, with almost no sentimentality, just like the book.

I though the ending was handled brilliantly, really a punch in the guts for the characters involved.

 

[Feature]

Hated it. Not my kind of movie. Boring and slow as fuck.

 

[nomis]

Film completely underwhelmed me. Absolutely plodding and has no interest in its characters beyond what is necessary to the mystery. If I don't care about any one of your characters, why should I give a fuck about the needlessly convoluted mystery they're taking part in?

Not a fuck was given?

Hated it. Not my kind of movie. Boring and slow as fuck.

Fair enough, but it kinda comes with the territory.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Just watched the Blu-Ray. Fucking loved it. The cast is truly best of British, I knew that going in but it still surprised me just how great they were. Colin Firth was deeply underutilised, mind- that kind of makes sense, given he's one of the title 4, but still. At least we got to see Toby Jones spitting acid. Neat to see Trigger and him off Waterloo Road in a film too. :lol

Anyway, yeah, I found myself very into the mystery; it gets kinda convoluted fast, sure, but it quickly becomes manageable too, once it becomes clearer what Smiley is remembering/being told and what's happening in real time. Kept me thoroughly hooked. It's definitely going to be one film that I'll have to wait a while before I watch again, though (that comes with the genre, I guess).

Looked good too. The period was handled very well. Anyway, I'd recommend it highly. Deserves all the Bafta nods.

 

[Nander]

Just saw this, and absolutely loved it. But then again I've always been partial to a good spy story, with great double agent twists. And to think you could make a film look this damn good by essentially only using shades of brown.

I don't want to say it was the best film of 2011 just yet (I have to let it sink in a bit first), but I can safely say it's the best film I've seen this year.

 

[Mifune]

Saw this today and...

Best movie of 2011. Easily. I can't get over how such a complex story was told with such a deft hand. So much of the storytelling is visual.

The performances, my god. I completely forgot I was watching Oldman. Cumberbatch was phenomenal, as were Mark Strong and Tom Hardy.

As a straight adaptation of the book, no, it's not better than the miniseries. But as a living, breathing motion picture, it's far superior. The acting, the cinematography, the score, it's just pure cinema. It's based on a book largely about people talking in various rooms for two hours and it's somehow pure cinema. And it brings out the heart of the novel that was buried under all the gloom and misery; that final montage was just fucking beautiful.

Yeah, it helps to have read the book but EVERYONE should read the book. Hell, it's such a cultural fixture that if you were at all interested in crime or espionage you should have already read the damned thing.

 

[rizz]

Finally watched it last night, started of pretty slow and took some time to click, but once it did I immensely enjoyed the movie.

One major complaint is that almost all the characters felt underdeveloped. I haven't read the book so not sure whether it comes from the book, but I felt that the movie gives you very little to care about the characters. Everything else is top notch though. One of the best movies I've seen in a while. But its definitely not for everyone. Looking forward to read the book.

 

[Slavik81]

Finally watched it last night, started of pretty slow and took some time to click, but once it did I immensely enjoyed the movie.

One major complaint is that almost all the characters felt underdeveloped. I haven't read the book so not sure whether it comes from the book, but I felt that the movie gives you very little to care about the characters. Everything else is top notch though. One of the best movies I've seen in a while. But its definitely not for everyone. Looking forward to read the book.

No, it's not from the book. I read half the book then watched the movie, and it was only my impressions from the novel that gave me a real sense of the characters.

I was pretty disappointed at the lack of characterization in the movie. Betrayal can't sting when they're all strangers. It was my #1 complaint. You barely even know half the suspects.

 

[OrangeGrayBlue]

Film completely underwhelmed me. Absolutely plodding and has no interest in its characters beyond what is necessary to the mystery. If I don't care about any one of your characters, why should I give a fuck about the needlessly convoluted mystery they're taking part in?

This. This this this!

 

[Peru]

I think the characters and their relationships ARE what's at the centre of the movie, not a "needlessly convoluted mystery" - and I felt the movie did this very well indeed, which was my main concern. It's an emotional, personal story, not a thriller at heart.

I have seen the even better masterpiece of a TV series, though, so obviously I knew more about the characters and maybe gave the movie some goodwill knowing what I did about their stories. And sure enough, the movie has a narrower perspective, honing in even more on Smiley, and our teacher, and giving less time to some of the other key secret service people. It had to, unfortunately, with only two hours available. The TV series had 7 hours and was still jam packed with development. But as a movie, I think it did as well as could be done, and managed to be emotionally rich as well as stylishly shot.

 

[Red_Man]

Finally saw this last night, I loved it, I was getting a bit confused at the end and got some of the characters mixed up but I plan on going back to it in a week or so. It definitely is a lot slower and in a different style of most spy thrillers these days, but I loved it for that, it didn't spell everything out with big explosions and over dramatic music. Like it's been said in this thread already, Gary Oldman is amazing in this.

 

[Man]

I loved this film. Great atmosphere, interesting, superb casting.
Having read a plot summary (of the book) online I will now rewatch it a second time.

 

[Suairyu]

I can't remember who it was who said it, but one critic described it as "faithful to actual spy and espionage work in that it's really boring... and that's not a bad thing".

I'd have to agree. I think it was definitely worth the watch, but it wasn't enjoyable. No problem with that - a film doesn't have to be enjoyable to be worth watching. But I probably won't ever re-watch it.

 

[Protome]

Saw this today and...

Best movie of 2011. Easily. I can't get over how such a complex story was told with such a deft hand. So much of the storytelling is visual.

The performances, my god. I completely forgot I was watching Oldman. Cumberbatch was phenomenal, as were Mark Strong and Tom Hardy.

As a straight adaptation of the book, no, it's not better than the miniseries. But as a living, breathing motion picture, it's far superior. The acting, the cinematography, the score, it's just pure cinema. It's based on a book largely about people talking in various rooms for two hours and it's somehow pure cinema. And it brings out the heart of the novel that was buried under all the gloom and misery; that final montage was just fucking beautiful.

Yeah, it helps to have read the book but EVERYONE should read the book. Hell, it's such a cultural fixture that if you were at all interested in crime or espionage you should have already read the damned thing.

I mostly agree with you, although I felt Cumberbatch was by far the weakest actor in the bunch. He just felt out of his league being up there with Oldman and Firth and the like.

Spoiler

Also it was really pointless and kinda dumb that they made his character gay. It came out of nowhere and felt like a completely needless change from the book.

 

[Dead Man]

I mostly agree with you, although I felt Cumberbatch was by far the weakest actor in the bunch. He just felt out of his league being up there with Oldman and Firth and the like.

Spoiler

Also it was really pointless and kinda dumb that they made his character gay. It came out of nowhere and felt like a completely needless change from the book.

Spoiler

I liked it, he had this thing hidden away, no one knew, and he was ready to give it up. If it had just been a girlfriend it would not have mattered as much becuase everyone would have known he had a girl or wife, it would have been normal in a sense. But to have to go away from the only person that knows your secret wooulf be immensley difficult.

 

[Enco]

Really didn't like it.

Very slow, unnecessarily confusing and very boring. Nice acting but completely overrated and I'm pretty sure most people say they like it because they feel like they should.

 

[Peru]

Fuck off. Don't ever accuse people of liking something for any other reason than actually liking it. Worst fucking argument, only made by cheap, insecure idiots.

 

[delirium]

My brother hated this film but I loved it. Great atmosphere and great acting. I never read the books but I guess they're on my backlog for reading now.

 

[Protome]

Spoiler

I liked it, he had this thing hidden away, no one knew, and he was ready to give it up. If it had just been a girlfriend it would not have mattered as much becuase everyone would have known he had a girl or wife, it would have been normal in a sense. But to have to go away from the only person that knows your secret wooulf be immensley difficult.

That's...actually a good justification for it.

 

[Zeppelin]

Watched it couple of weeks ago. Found it enjoyable but not as good as the mini-series. I didn't really feel you got to know the members of the Circus that well in the film as you did in the series. Now it just ended quite abruptly with one guy you've barely seen on screen getting nailed. I can totally see why people don't like it.

 

[StealthGoblin]

I really enjoyed it. I like movies with a slower pace and I thought the quality of acting was very good. Very solid performances all around IMO.

 

[War Peaceman]

Fuck off. Don't ever accuse people of liking something for any other reason than actually liking it. Worst fucking argument, only made by cheap, insecure idiots.

Exactly. You don't like it? Fine, there is nothing wrong with that. If you can articulate why you didn't enjoy it, then even better. But to question someone else's reasoning? That is atrocious.

 

[Forceatowulf]

Movie wasn't anything extraordinary, considering it's cast, but it was definitely a fine movie. Enjoyed it.

 

[Memphis Reigns]

Saw this the other night on demand. I thought it would be much better. I need to see it again, but I don't know if I want to.

 

[Stinkles]

Really didn't like it.

Very slow, unnecessarily confusing and very boring. Nice acting but completely overrated and I'm pretty sure most people say they like it because they feel like they should.

I liked it because I was afraid people on the internet would judge me if I said I didn't.

 

[Seraphinianus]

dudes with british accents saying spy movie one liners: the movie.

whenever I see films like this, I wonder why all the people in the organization are so incompetent as to get into such a thick backstabbing/conspiracy game.

 

[MaritalWheat]

You guys are talking about a mini series? I'm gonna pick up the book, would love to see the mini series as well, was it a BBC thing or what? This movie was absolutely fantastic...it made me, tense, uncomfortable, even at seemingly insignificant moments, which is exactly what a spy movie should do.

 

[Grinchy]

I thought this movie might be building into something great a couple times while watching it, but it never did. I am a relatively patient person when it comes to TV and movies. I can watch something slow when there's substance behind it, but this was like an empty shell of a good spy movie.

It's not a horrible movie and some of the performances are great, so it saddens me to realize that this is one of the few movies I truly regret watching. I really want my time back.

 

[Alucard]

Watched this last night and was bored beyond belief. What's the fun of following a thriller like this when the movie doesn't let you in on the fun? Everything is vague, and the reveal of the mole seemed to come out of nowhere, to the point that all of the previous interviews were barely relevant to the climax.

I'm not an idiot, but this movie made me feel like one for the first hour and a half. I barely understood what the hell was going on. It's like the movie was trying to be too clever for its own good. Unfortunately, it did it as the expense of maintaining the viewer's interest. No one wants to follow a movie for that long without knowing what's going on unless the conversations are interesting and feel like they're building to something. I didn't get that with this movie.

 

[Talon]

Huh. I was nonplussed by the flick, but I didn't hate it either. Just very neutral. It was very slow and subtle, but it didn't feel overstuffed either. It was a ponderous yet lean movie - so very British.

There was that one scene where Oldman's character is recounting a story that was absolutely excellent. Absolutely the best scene in the movie and one of my favorites of last year.

 

[Memphis Reigns]

the reveal of the mole seemed to come out of nowhere, to the point that all of the previous interviews were barely relevant to the climax.

This.

It's like the movie was trying to be too clever for its own good.

and this.

Another thing that bothered me was that the scenes jumped around too quickly without any transition. Going from past to present to new character etc etc all seemed to happen so quick I got lost several times. Also I could have sworn there was a flashback within a flashback at one point, but if there wasn't that's how confused I was with the scene jumping.

 

[Chris R]

Should be in Redbox on Tuesday, can't wait to rent it.

 

[Buxaroo]

Having been a avid spy novel reader in my day (along with a multitude of science fiction), I remember reading this back in 87 or thereabouts, and I thought it was pretty good, even though a bit over my head at the time (I was 16 and was still learning about espionage). I generally prefer a bit more action going on like Clancy's Red Storm Rising or more intense suspense, but I thought they did a great job of making it into a movie. This movie has a lot of the feel and styling of Russia House (another Le Carre adaption), complete with the jazz scoring and the relationships of the people involved.

You can say that it is plodding, but it's really the entire point of the story. Espionage wasn't always about gadgets and high tech, James Bond sort of spoiled everyone in that regards. Le Carre always told the stories from the human point of view with the psychological perspective of the players in the plot. Le Carre has usually told the story from the humanist point of view honestly. It's not for everyone, I can understand that. But Le Carre's novels were never about the chase or the tech speak or what have you.

Lot of people today take for granted all of the tech we have today, but back in the 60/70's, espionage was done like this, it wasn't glorious, it was and still is really, a laborious and plodding sifting through information trying to find intelligence.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Wow, what a great movie!

I just rented this on Apple TV and absolutely loved it. Excellent performances and a very engaging plot. Gary Oldman was fantastic as always.

I completely disagree with "slow" and "confusing" remarks. Do some of you guys require frantic action scenes every few minutes and in-your-face exposition that lays everything out?

I'm going to have to check out the novel now. What a great film.

edit: After reading some earlier posts in this thread and on IMDB, I'm a bit sad that people just seem to not pay attention without explosions in their movies or somehow can't comprehend what isn't very obtuse at all. I don't think of myself as some extraordinarily intelligent individual, but I see people asking things like, "who is Karla?", "what's all that stuff with the lighter?" and wonder what the hell they were doing during the film. Then there are the comments like "snooze fest" and "just a bunch of old British dudes talking!"... It makes me a bit sad that something like this film, which really felt quite straightforward to me, is seen as some incomprehensible enigma to certain folks.

 

[Tom_Cody]

I finally watched it over the weekend. I generally enjoyed it and I will look forward to reading through this thread after work.

Quick thoughts: The script failed to successfully adapt the novel into a 2 hour film but beyond that everything was spectacular. 11/10 for casting and great performances all around. Great, super stylish direction. I loved all the retro details.

It's really a shame that the rest of the package wasn't paired with a more appropriate script. As I starting watching it I felt like this was going to be a movie that I could watch over and over again just to bask in the performances and visual details. In the end I felt very underwhelmed.

 

[Discotheque]

Good casting and acting. Easily prefer the miniseries over this though.

 

[alex chilton]

the book was one of the most confusing things I've ever read. by the end of it I was still trying to figure out who was who that none of the reveals really had any payoff too me.

 

[FStop7]

I thought it was very good but it did suffer from starting in the middle of a larger series. There was no attachment to Control or understanding of the history of the conflict between Control, Smiley and their rivals in the Circus without having read the books. A lot of the finer points that made the movie were lost on viewers who didn't know the source material, even if they paid close attention and fully understood what was going on. It's kind of a pet peeve of mine when films do that. I don't expect (in fact I hate) endless exposition, but that doesn't mean viewers who go in cold to the series should simply be left out.

 

[Gambit]

I thought it was very good but it did suffer from starting in the middle of a larger series. There was no attachment to Control or understanding of the history of the conflict between Control, Smiley and their rivals in the Circus without having read the books. A lot of the finer points that made the movie were lost on viewers who didn't know the source material, even if they paid close attention and fully understood what was going on. It's kind of a pet peeve of mine when films do that. I don't expect (in fact I hate) endless exposition, but that doesn't mean viewers who go in cold to the series should simply be left out.

I agree with this. A friend of mine watched it with me and disliked it especially because he didn't feel for any of the characters. Having read a couple LeCarre books, I felt quite different. In fact, I loved seeing these characters cast so perfectly.

Anyway, "the Spy who came in from the Cold" was the better book. Should have remade that instead.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Anyway, "the Spy who came in from the Cold" was the better book. Should have remade that instead.

There's a movie that doesn't need a remake. The Richard Burton film is pretty awesome.

 

[Tom_Cody]

I thought it was very good but it did suffer from starting in the middle of a larger series. There was no attachment to Control or understanding of the history of the conflict between Control, Smiley and their rivals in the Circus without having read the books. A lot of the finer points that made the movie were lost on viewers who didn't know the source material, even if they paid close attention and fully understood what was going on. It's kind of a pet peeve of mine when films do that. I don't expect (in fact I hate) endless exposition, but that doesn't mean viewers who go in cold to the series should simply be left out.

I agree with this. A friend of mine watched it with me and disliked it especially because he didn't feel for any of the characters. Having read a couple LeCarre books, I felt quite different. In fact, I loved seeing these characters cast so perfectly.

Anyway, "the Spy who came in from the Cold" was the better book. Should have remade that instead.

That's interesting. So you enjoyed the movie more thanks to the greater context provided by the books? This kind of makes me want to read the books just to be able to enjoy the movie. Rarely have I ever longed for a movie to be more enjoyable while watching it.

 

[FStop7]

That interesting. So you enjoyed the movie more thanks to the greater context provided by the books? This kind of makes me want to read the books just to be able to enjoy the movie. Rarely have I ever longed for a movie to be more enjoyable while watching it.

The first time I saw the film I wasn't familiar with the characters. One of the first things that happens is the ouster of Control and Smiley, followed by Control's death. I had no idea if this was a positive or negative event, if Control died of natural causes or if the implication was that he was murdered because he knew too much. If Smiley was involved, etc, etc. Watching it a second time with an understanding of the context made it much more enjoyable.