Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Bridge of Spies (2015)

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Posted by Matt Russell (Member # 8989) on 10-18-2015, 12:25 AM:

After a three year hiatus, Spielberg is back and in full-gear with Bridge of Spies, a throw back to classic "American spy in foreign land" flicks. In one of his finest performances, Tom Hanks portrays lawyer Jim Donovan who's placed with defending KGB spy Rudolph Abel (who's brilliantly portrayed by Mark Rylance). Donovan clearly puts his work front and center and does everything he can to defend Rudolph, who's seen as a criminal to the Americans. The first half of the film is very slow, very "artsy" feel to it as Spielberg likes to do often. It shows off his ability to give you background on a character without any dialogue needed. The production is incredible and really captures that feeling of the late 1950s. The script, which was co-written by Matt Charman and the Coen bros, and you can definitely feel the latter's dark sense of humor in many spots of the film. It's all Oscar worthy material, and it truly shows that Hanks and Spielberg are a strong duo who can pull of a pretty outstanding film even if it's not very ambitious. Hanks' Donovan and Rylance's Rudolph share good chemistry throughout the film, and it's ending is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Overall, it's tense, dramatic, and a pretty fun time! Bridge of Spies continues what is turning out to be a very great year for award-spotlight movies.

The presentation wasn't as impressive, as there was something sounding like a generator going off and on throughout the film, and the audio was muffled at times. I didn't complain because I didn't wanna leave during the film, but I think it was just an auditorium issue that I hope they fix. There were some staff members entering the hall during the previews, so someone must of complained about it. The screen quality was great though!

Film: 3 and a half out of 4 stars
Presentation: 2 out of 4 stars

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 10-28-2015, 08:56 AM:

it's a fascinating story, but I thought as a Spielberg film it was pretty mediocre. I DID like the music and Richard Hymns/Gary Rydstrom's 7.1 mix was intricate and engrossing.