CJFouraki
I've never seen the original TV series that this film comes from, but after watching this, I'm more than happy to.Spooks, or MI-5, is an entertaining spy flick with enough twists and tense moments that kept me entertained throughout. Harry Pearce, played by Peter Firth is quite the bad ass agent, and there's a gritty realism to him as he makes tough choices for national security that result in the deaths of the few to save many. Peter Firth gave a solid, contained performance, and was great.Kit Harrington was good as the younger agent, but was nothing special. Jennifer Ehle and Tim McInnery were also really good in their roles.It was well shot, had good direction with the action being clear to follow. The story was engaging and the bad guy wasn't hammed up.The soundtrack and score wasn't memorable, being the generic action/thriller soundtrack but doesn't take away from the film.The special effects worked well enough, and although you can tell when the effects weren't real, they were well done for the most part.Overall, an entertaining spy film that passes by quickly, with no real need to have watched the TV series beforehand. I had a good time with it. 7/10, good.
Andrew Gold
Action is a genre that hinges solely on entertainment value. Even if it's a blatantly dumb plot and objectively not that great, something like Machete or Bullet to the Head, you can still have fun watching it and appreciate it for its pure insanity. MI-5 lies on the opposite side of the action spectrum. It tries to be serious and dark and much smarter than it actually is. This sucks the atmosphere dry and leaves you with a bland, brooding, and tasteless thriller with little to no thrills. The movie starts off with a criminal escort gone wrong and develops into an espionage mission that can only be done by a specific agent who was kicked off the force, Will Holloway played by Kit Harrington. I can't fault any of the actors here because these characters are paper thin. They're just either giving orders or receiving orders or having secrets meetings or reciting some other form of lifeless expository dialogue for a majority of the movie. There's no chemistry between anyone, they have no development whatsoever. It just doesn't look like anyone is having fun. And with a script like that, how can you blame them.There is a sleek, glossy feel about MI-5, which is one of the few positive things about it. Kit Harrington is a badass in general and it's nice to see him in a modern action setting. Unfortunately, the action in this movie is so scarce and underwhelming, it's hard to even call it an action movie. Instead of exciting action sequences, we're left with cliché double-crosses and triple-crosses and back stabs that no one cares about because none of the characters are engaging in the first place.MI-5 is kind of like background music. It's not gripping and won't get your adrenaline pumping, but it's quite harmless to have on. It's just completely run-of-the-mill, linear storytelling that takes a page out of every spy book and streamlines it all into a two hour film. Kit Harrington can certainly be an action star, but this is not the proper vehicle to showcase his talents. MI-5 is a miss.
Chappy Watched
I had heard of the show but never watched any of it but was still interested in watching this movie.It was a lot more drama filled than the cover and trailer led me to believe. It was still an enjoyable movie but I can't help but still be a little disappointed about the lack of action. There was a lot of running, about one fight and a couple more 'action' scenes but nothing action packed.It has an excellent cast of British talent including Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Tuppence Middleton (Sense8), Peter Firth (Spooks), Elyes Gabel (Scorpion), David Harewood (Supergirl), Jennifer Ehle (A Gifted Man) and plenty more.I could just be me, as someone who hasn't watched Game of Thrones, but I didn't think much of Kit Harington in this film. I mean he seems good at the little bit of action that's in this film but I looked like he only had one emotion throughout the whole film!Something that annoyed me was this was supposed to MI-5 but in a lot of scenes, they weren't very inconspicuous when they were tailing someone or hiding during an op (Please note: If the real MI-5 is reading this – I mean this movie. I'm sure you guys do a great job!).Overall the cast and an entertaining story made this an okay movie to watch.While this movie seems to leave things open for a sequel, which I would probably watch, I don't feel the need to watch this film again.
Paul Vernon
Great TV series - pacey, edgy and dynamic. However on the BIG screen it loses that edge. Some terrific set pieces and great use of some London locations, but Harry Peace's character was not engaging enough and unfortunately the new boy Kit Harrington was not at all convincing. Disappointing film, as I loved the TV series. This review on the RadioTimes website says it all for me.... "Had The Greater Good been on BBC1, perhaps over two nights, it would have felt like espionage Christmas had come early, but in the isolation of a single hit, it struggles to fill the screen. It gives me no pleasure to write this. But perhaps it should have stayed retired, for the greater good."
AD
