Rating: 
Summary: Slick thriller with lots of special features.
Review: Spy Game is a movie that is so slickly made, it's hard to come to an immediate impression about the film. Sure it looks and sounds great, but is there any substance? Going through the commentary tracks, we learn that of course there was a lot of thinking about what was going on behind the scenes. Unfortunately without the commentary tracks, the glossy feel, constant fast cuts, and other devices that director Tony Scott uses, takes away from the viewer's ability to get into the minds or emotions of the characters and even to understand everything that it transpiring. Spy Games is a thriller set in 1991 right after the cold war has ended. Robert Redford, playing Nathan Muir, an old-school CIA agent about to retire, learns that Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt), a much younger agent who he had trained years ago, has "gone rogue" and has been captured in an attempt to rescue a prisoner in a Chinese prison. The Chinese are threatening to execute him as a common criminal in 24 hours and Muir has been brought in to shed some light on who Bishop is. From here the story unfolds as a series of flashbacks covering the past encounters between Bishop and Muir, how Bishop was trained, various missions in Berlin and Lebanon, etc. Intermixed between these flashbacks Scott refocuses onto the present (which is 1991 in the film) and Muir's struggle to get to the bottom of what his superiors want to do with Bishop's situation and trying to launch his own independent plans to circumvent the Agency's. Perhaps it is because they are all spies, but the characters don't seem to be fully developed. We see their actions and some heated dialogue, but I was left with not really knowing how much was the "game" that they had to play in order to use people. As I mentioned, there is a lot of fast cutting, stills, and other camera tricks in this film, and this makes it similar to other Scott efforts like Enemy of the State. To some extent you almost feel like you are in an MTV video - everything's so stylized. Perhaps this distracts us enough to where it makes it difficult for the viewer to understand the players beyond the obvious and superficial, but it does admittedly add lots of texture and energy to the film as well. Spy Game is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, anamorphically enhanced for 16x9 TV's. The transfer is very clean and sharp, and shows off well the different coloring schemes that Scott utilizes throughout the movie (he uses different tones and saturation levels to depict various places and times within the story). The 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track is very lively - Scott is as slick when it comes to sound as he is with video, and this is definitely a film that one can use to show off one's audio system. There is also a DD 5.1 French track as well as a DTS 5.1 English track. The disc has a pretty sizeable set of special features, adding a lot of value, and without which the film would probably seem very incomplete. There are nine "deleted scenes" and "alternate versions of existing scenes" available both with and without the director's commentary. These clips uncover alternate storylines that could have added a lot more depth both to the characters and to their relationships with one another, shedding a whole new light on the film itself. So these are very helpful in understanding the film beyond its slick exterior. The commentary tracks are, of course, very helpful as well. There's a commentary by Scott, which runs the gamut from talking about the actors and the making of the film to more of the background information that puts the story into much greater perspective. The second track is with Producers Mark Abraham and Douglas Wick and is expectedly more focused on the making of the film and all the technical and logistical aspects surrounding that. Both tracks are fairly interesting and insightful, but I would not rate them among the best commentaries I've listened to. Next comes "Clandestine Ops" which is billed as "A unique viewing experience that puts you in control. Go behind-the-scenes and gain access to classified information simultaneously while watching the film." What this boils down to is that you have to watch the entire film over again and watch for a graphical cue that tells you to hit a button that will bring up a kind of mini "making-of" clip relating to something you just saw in the movie. Although an interesting method of getting info, after watching the 2+ hour film and much of the commentary tracks and deleted scenes, I would have much rather had a simple making-of featurette which encapsulated all of the ones in "Clandestine Ops." Hey, they could even have provided both and left it up to the viewer to choose which method he would like to view these making-of clips! There's a small textual piece, which shows the requirements for getting into the CIA, which was interesting. There was also a short piece that included some recounting by Scott (and examples) of how he creates storyboards and gets his filming ideas from them - he was originally a painter before getting into film. Finally there is DVD-ROM material which I did not view as I dd not have one at my disposal. Spy Games is a good bet for those who are into spy thrillers and slick action flicks. Even for those who are not necessarily into these genres but like the challenge of watching something that appears mostly superficial and yet actually has a lot going on behind the scenes, there's a lot on this disc to sink one's teeth into. If you are looking for lots of character and relationship development, you'd probably best be served with another film.
Rating: 
Summary: Felt so real and so scary if it is real!!!
Review: The only negative comment is the Beirut action. Is it so difficult to find people who speaks Lebanese. A film as good as this one should not have this kind of flaw
Rating: 
Summary: !!!
Review: This is my absolutely #1, favorite, top of the list movie. Lot of language but otherwise a definite 5 star.
Rating:
Summary: Spy vs. Spy
Review: Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) has an exciting last day of retirement as his protege Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) is arrested and put in prison in China. Back at Langley, the top members of the CIA are trying to figure out what went wrong with Bishop's mission. The movie is exciting and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It tracks the history of American covert operations through the last couple decades; moving from Vietnam, to Berlin, to Beirut, to China. You're caught up in the adventure as Muir trains Bishop to be the perfect case officer. I give this movie four stars because it's exciting and it realistically portrays the world of a spy. There are no laser watches, evil doctors, sports cars with rockets, or explosive pens. In short it's not a James Bond spy film, but its great none the less.
Rating:
Summary: Spy Games is a super movie
Review: I saw this movie on the big screen and loved it. Great story, action, and keeps you thinking the whole way through. The movie kinda reminded me of Usual Suspects. Redford is awesome like he usually is with all his movies. Can't wait to see it again when it comes out on video.
Rating:
Summary: Great Spy Thriller With Two Great Actors
Review: This spy thriller is simply amazing. They work action and drama to perfection. Brad Pitt and the legendary Robert Redford are great together. I know many people who have seen this movie, and they all loved it. This is simply the best movie since Memento. If you want to see a good spy thriller with a great cast, go see Spy Game!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Takes me back to "3 Days of the Condor"
Review: This was an excellent film. I won't bore you with the same details that others have written, but I would suggest that you watch "Spy Games" and "3 Days of the Condor" as a double feature. I found myself contrasting the two films and the roles that Robert Redford played in each film. Both are definitely worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: one of the best movies of the new millenium
Review: This film is definetely up there with Memento and Usual Suspects and other fantastic films of this genre like Ronin. It is absolutely brilliantly written and directed, and the acting is amazing. Don't even bother renting it first, just buy it
Rating: 
Summary: Is a movie without logic storyline a good movie?
Review: Bring a gun into China prison without being detected?
Fly back forth between US and China by helicopter?
Prison soldiers speak Mandarin in first 5 minutes, then speak Cantonese in next 5 minutes?
Is a movie without logical storyline a good movie? Not even included those illogical timelines mentioned below.
Rating:
Summary: Cool action film.
Review: I really enjoyed this film. I even watched it twice. It's action packed and clever in several ways. There's an ending that you just have to watch. The movie starts with a rescue-mission-gone-bad which leads to the capture of a CIA spy (Brad Pitt). From here on, there is a series of flashback back to when Pitt was recruited and trained by Robert Redford. The editorial review does a better job of summarizing the other details of this film. So I won't repeat them. As a guy, all I can say is that it's a cool film to watch.
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