Popular reviews

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  Review by Sacha ★★★★ 12

  This film is so unlike anything I've seen Hollywood churn out recently that I was genuinely staggered. You have to concentrate. Hard. For the entire film. Alfredson gives you no easy routes, and you find yourself crossing your eyes in frustration. Is this a flashback? Is this guy dead? What's happening here? And yet despite how much effort you have to put in, the atmospheric approach makes it seem worth it. A malevolent, dreary London; a secret service turned corrupt bureaucracy. There are no James Bonds here, no glamour. Just paranoia, creeping cynicism, overwhelming nostalgia. Oldman's turn as Smiley is note perfect. Betrayed personally and professionally, doggedly pursuing the truth.

  Go in with your thinking hat on. It's worth it.

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  Review by Josh Lewis ★★★★★ 9

  "It was an aesthetic choice as much as a moral one. The West has grown so very ugly, don’t you think?" Bureaucratic barbarism, an empire on its deathbed, a movie about how state espionage is as tedious and soul-sucking as it is impotent and grisly. I hope this will get the best of the decade consideration it deserves.

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  Review by matt lynch ★★★★½

  THE FUTURE IS FEMALE

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  Review by Dan Ryckert 1

  This seems like it’s probably a four-star movie, but I didn’t understand any of it.

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  Review by fran hoepfner ★★★★½

  love this boring movie so much

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  Review by SilentDawn ★★★★★ 1

  94

  "The spy sub-genre frequently acts below its material. Gadgetry and the thrill of espionage — chases, gunfights, assassinations — is preferred to the slum of work, the intensity of mistrust, and the mundanity of keeping the world safe. The genre, at least, is unaware of the spy game's constant dangers. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, directed by Tomas Alfredson and gorgeously photographed by Hoyte Van Hoytema, is a revelation for committing to such banal trials and tribulations, enhancing the image of a sought-after file or an open window to a level of similar dynamism. Based on John le Carré’s novel of the same name, intelligence isn’t ignored or put aside in favor of visceral kicks; instead, it realigns to an…

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  Review by Josh Lewis ★★★★★ 2

  there are no more morals left to be eroded, no more heroes, just a bunch of weary sociopaths looking for any kind of aesthetic pleasure in a labyrinth of confusion and carnage.

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  Review by hailey 🌼 ★★★★ 3

  need a prequel to address the intense eye fucking between colin firth and mark strong in this movie please and thank you

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  Review by nathaxnne [hiatus <3] ★★★★★ 7

  Spooky action at a distance, alchemickal glamour, enthralled servants, reality distortion, clairvoyance, telepathy, the killing word, the torture dungeon, enchantments woven and spells cast, the charged magickal object which gives power over another, the power of naming, of re-naming, of with-holding, the perilous keep entowered, the vaults of secrets, movement in the shadows. It has come to this. My favorite wizard-battle movie is Tomas Alfredson's adaptation of John Le Carre's 'Tinker Taylor Solider Spy'. Gary Oldman as George Smiley is not only the most terrifying person in this movie, but the most terrifying I have ever seen him in anything. In his rumpled, exhausted, whispering near-stillness, the aetheric vibrations are almost visible. We never see the face of his opponent,…

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  Review by Nakul ★★★★½

  This is such a well-crafted movie, Tomas Alfredson adapts the classic Cold-War-based novel of John le Carré for people who are patient with meticulously paced & complex narratives. This spy thriller is a smart, subtle, tense and riveting piece of filmmaking anchored with subtly by the great Gary Oldman and many British heavyweights like John Hurt, Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Mark Strong and Benedict Cumberbatch.

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  Review by ScreeningNotes ★★★★★ 14

  "It's the oldest question of all, George. Who can spy on the spies?"

  I don't have a whole lot to say that I didn't already cover in my first review, so I'll try to keep this simple. I think it's an incredible testament to this film's success that an idiot like me can enjoy it. You see, I'm horribly incapable of following convoluted storylines. I can always understand enough to know generally what's going on, but if you asked me for specifics I'd probably just shrug my shoulders. If I watch a movie enough times I can eventually take it all in (eg. after countless watches I can finally explain what happens in Primer), but this is only my second…

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  Review by Khef ★★★ 17

  Very slow pace, hard to follow, it put me off. It was difficult to capture my attention in some scenes. Talented cast, performances were fine. I really wanted to like it more, but the pacing is just absolutely painful.