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One day before his retirement, veteran CIA officer Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) receives news
that his one-time protιgι Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) is in prison in China on a charge of espionage. As the president is making a visit there for trade negotiations in a week, to
try to rescue him would be too risky. Besides, it might create an international incident. The CIA decides to sacrifice Bishop. The CIA head informs Muir of this, adding new
information that the charge has been changed and Bishop is going to be executed in 24 hours. The organization's top brass calls Nathan to attend a formal, taped and
transcribed inquiry into, purportedly, Tom's CIA activities and the relationship between the former protιgι and his tutor. He decides to cooperate with the intention of buying
time to rescue his highly valued CIA agent and friend. Will he give the facts to the inquiry board? Will he succeed in getting his friend out of China?
Nathan's responses to his investigator's questions about events, visualized as flashbacks are effectively
interspersed with scenes of his behind-their-back maneuvers to rescue Bishop. Tension increases as the countdown of the 24 hours deadline is regularly flashed on the screen
for the audience. Besides, Redford's half-smile and glint-in-the-eye tell the audience that he is up to something, which keeps the CIA suspicious about they don't know exactly
what. Both Redford and Pitt give interesting and effective performances, especially the former.
Nathan Muir counteracts the official decision of sacrificing Tom Bishop for the "greater good". To attain
his objective he has to resort to subterfuge, half-truths and evasions. But isn't this way of "doing things", and other "necessary actions" part and parcel of undercover and
espionage work? To attain, say, "the higher good", "the greater benefit" or simply, justice, it seems the use of "any means" is justifiable. How does the viewer process what
is right from wrong, or what is acceptable as last resort measures according to existing standards of ethics? The ability to discern the differences should be a requirement
for viewing Spy Game and films of the same nature.
(Date reviewed: January 11, 2002)
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