Spy Game (2001)

Overview
User Rating:
6.9/10 36,991 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Tony Scott
Writers (WGA):
Michael Frost Beckner (story)
Michael Frost Beckner (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Spy Game on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
21 November 2001 (USA) more
Genre:
Action | Crime | Thriller more
Tagline:
It's not how you play the game. It's how the game plays you. more
Plot:
Retiring CIA agent Nathan Muir recalls his training of Tom Bishop while working against agency politics to free him from his Chinese captors. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
CIA | Retirement | China | Espionage | Prison
more
Awards:
3 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(29 articles)
'Taking of Pelhalm 123' trailer doesn't look bad
(From screeninglog. 15 February 2009, 10:45 PM, PST)
Cruise, Denzel, Cronenberg Play a Spy Game
(From Get The Big Picture. 11 February 2009, 5:15 PM, PST)
User Comments:
High quality Hollywood thriller more
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)

Robert Redford ... Nathan D. Muir

Brad Pitt ... Tom Bishop

Catherine McCormack ... Elizabeth Hadley
Stephen Dillane ... Charles Harker
Larry Bryggman ... Troy Folger
Marianne Jean-Baptiste ... Gladys Jennip
Matthew Marsh ... Dr. William Byars
Todd Boyce ... Robert Aiken
Michael Paul Chan ... Vincent Vy Ngo

Garrick Hagon ... CIA Director Cy Wilson
Andrew Grainger ... Andrew Unger

Bill Buell ... Fred Kappler

Colin Stinton ... Henry Pollard

Ted Maynard ... CIA Administrator
Tom Hodgkins ... CIA Lobby Guard
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Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for language, some violence and brief sexuality.
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
126 min | Turkey:114 min (TV version)
Country:
UK | USA
Language:
English | Mandarin | German | Arabic | French | Cantonese
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Certification:
Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Brazil:12 | USA:R (certificate #38577) | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15
Filming Locations:
Beirut, Lebanon more
Company:
Beacon Communications more
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The film was dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth Jean Scott. She died in 2001 and was the mother of 'Tony Scott'. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: The San Diego Padres hat Tom Bishop is seen wearing in Beirut, in 1985, was not available until 1991. more
Quotes:
Tom Bishop: Happy Birthday, Nathan. Did you know Langley has seven different birth dates for you?
Nathan Muir: And they're all wrong.
Tom Bishop: I know, believe me, it wasn't easy. KGB, Mossad, also wrong. Fortunately I was well trained.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Das Kommando (2005) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Rocky Mountain Way more
FAQ
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User Comments
(Comment on this title)
59 out of 74 people found the following comment useful:-
High quality Hollywood thriller, 5 December 2001
8/10
Author: snake77 from Portland, OR

Spy Game is everything we're not supposed to expect from a major Hollywood movie: engrossing, intelligent, well written, acted and directed. But that's just what it is and more, this is definitely the best thing I've seen since Memento. Although Pitt is really good and Redford plays himself as well as he has in years, I think the most credit should go to Tony Scott. In the hands of a lesser director this could have been something more like Mission Impossible. But Scott stays right on target, keeping us interested, developing the characters, and keeping the pacing nearly perfect. Scott also shows us that he's stayed with the times: he employs the full array of modern camera tricks like fast motion, reverse zooms and funky lenses but in a way that actually makes the film better instead of being an annoying distraction. The dialogue feels natural, all the actors do good work, no one tries to steal the show or be the star. The story is interesting and almost never lapses into the kind of hyper violence or sappy sentimentality one has come to associate with modern studio pictures. You get a feeling this is pretty close to how the CIA really operates, a place with fantastic technology at its disposal but who's ultimate effectiveness is determined by the fallible people who run the missions and take the chances. I really enjoyed this film, I hope it's a sign of things to come and not a rarity.