Spy Game

A flashy, fun ride of an intrigue-and-action thriller, Spy Game takes place in the 24 hours after retirement-bound CIA veteran (Robert Redford) learns that his most talented protégé (Brad Pitt) has gone rogue and been captured while trying to break someone out of a Chinese prison circa 1991. While the U.S. government is willing to let Pitt get executed, Redford is not, and using the excuse of providing some key background info he elbows his way into a pow-wow of CIA brass to bide for time and abscond with enough classified intel to put a rescue into play. Piled up with borderline-implausible layers of CIA subterfuge and laden with director Tony Scott's superficial techno-soundtrack-backed three-ring circus of frenetic imagery (as Redford's briefing introduces flashbacks of his history with Pitt--Vietnam in '74, Berlin in '76, Beirut in '85), Spy Game is still an exciting thriller, and watching the wheels turn in Redford's head makes it all seem credible somehow. Recommended. (R. Blackwelder)[Blu-ray Review—May 26, 2009—Universal, 127 min., R, $29.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2001's Spy Game sports a nice transfer and includes DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras include two audio commentaries (one with director Tony Scott; the other with producers Marc Abraham and Douglas Wick), 14 minutes of alternate scenes, six minutes of deleted scenes, a “Script-To-Storyboard Process” segment (3 min.), a text segment on “Requirements for CIA Acceptance,” a “Clandestine Ops” option allowing viewers to go behind-the-scenes during the film and see brief clips and text documents, and trailers. Also included is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray debut of a solid spy flick.]