This is a movie you just can't say an awful lot of bad things about. It does everything capably and regardless of your thoughts and feelings toward Roman Polanski, there is no denying it that this is a tight and well put together movie.
In essence it really is being a standard thriller, with a somewhat formulaic story and characters in it. Things however still get made interesting and better than average to watch, not just thanks to Polanski's directing and storytelling but also its actors, that did a great job with their roles.
Ewan McGregor seems to be really in his element with his role in this movie and he possibly always is at his very best playing in smaller movies like this one, as opposed to some big blockbusters, which he still often gets cast in, due to his popularity. It's a bit harder to take Pierce Brosnan serious as a former prime minister but through his acting his characters works out as a convincing one and Brosnan gives his character plenty of depth and interesting layers as well.
I said that the movie its story is being somewhat formulaic but that doesn't mean that it's being a predictable one as well. When you know nothing about this movie in advance, some of the twists might come as a surprise to you, even though the most hardened thriller watchers can see most of the stuff coming from miles away already. But really, this is not a complaint or a problem for this movie, since it at all times remains a perfectly watchable one, due to all of the professionalism and class that got put into it.
It's the more slower type of thriller, at least in the way it's getting told. This says nothing about the pace though, which is still fast and fine for this movie. Some people might still complain about it though that this movie is not exciting and thriller enough for them.
The story still doesn't make this the best or most surprising thriller you'll ever see and it also is hardly being Polanski's best. As a matter of fact, there is very little about this movie that screamed out Polanski's name for me. but again, this is not really a complaint, since it doesn't make the movie a bad one, it just makes it a bit shy of a true genre classic and an absolute must-see. For the lovers of a good political thriller is still is being a very recommendable movie though.
8/10
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