The 2015 historical drama was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Matt Charman and Joel & Ethan Coen , it’s the story of James B. Donovan ( Tom Hanks ), a lawyer defending a Soviet spy.
PLOT:
James is a family man living with his wife and three kids. One day he hears of Rudolf Abel ( Mark Rylance ), a Soviet spy captured, who won’t talk. Believing firmly in one’s right to a defense, he offers his services to Rudolf. Together they try to win the case, being as public as it is, and being in the middle of the Cold-War, the press begins stalking James, leading to him doubting if he should pursue the case.
Ultimately, he loses the case. The Judge ( Dakin Matthews ) sentences Rudolf to 30 years inprisonment. On the other side of the country, a CIA operative plans to send a group of four young pilots ( including Jesse Plemons ) to the USSR on a top secret mission, the details are never revealed. They’re also supposed to commit suicide to avoid potential capture. Well, one of them does get captured and is taken hostage.
All of this leads to the US and USSR making an agreement to exchange each other’s spies to avoid any of their secrets to leak. James secretly goes to Berlin, which has not yet been wall off into two. He arranges the trade between Rudolf and the captured US agent.
CONCLUSSION:
Bridge of Spies was honestly one of those movies I never thought I’d actually get around, but since Corona has started and I have significantly more freetime on my hands, I actually managed to do it, hell I literally just got around to The Godfather.
Tom Hanks as expected gave out a terrific performance and Spielberg did a great job at directing. The two really are a pair that just work together like cinematic bacon and eggs. Being a big King of Queens fan, it was also nice to see Joe Heffernan sprinkled into the film as the judge, along with Jesse Plemons as one of the pilots. Ultimately, Bridge of Spies was a very well-done film that I highly recommend, especially if you’re a history buff like myself. BOS also does a godo job at explaining itself, in the sense that you don’t necessarily have to be an expert on the subject to understand what’s going on. Overall, I’d give this a 8/10.
-The Screenwriter