Verräter wie wir

Good thriller from the master, John Le Carre, with some very interesting visuals by the director, Susanna White.

The story concerns a young couple (Ewan McGregor and Naomie Harris) who meet a Russian, Dima (Stellan Skarsgard). It turns out that Dima wants something delivered to British intelligence, which the naive McGregor does. Dima is involved with the Russian mafia and he has information that will bring down corrupt politicians in London. When the couple delivers the flash drive to Hector (Damien Lewis) in British Intelligence, they find themselves embroiled in a dangerous situation.

Some real revelations here for me anyway - first of all, I've never heard Damien Lewis speak with his native British accent; second, I've never before considered Stellan Skarsgard as having any sex appeal. His portrayal of the loud, friendly, charismatic Dima is fantastic. With people like Lewis and Skarsgard in the cast, you know the acting will be top level, and it is. McGregor and Harris hold their own, as good people who can't walk away from Dima and his family.

Very good.

A smooth thrill ride is how I would describe Our Kind of Traitor. I didn't realise until after watching it was based on a John LeCarre novel (i missed half the opening credits, my bad) but nobody does cool thriller like Carre.

I'm familiar with some of his other material and have seen a couple things turned into film also. This movie delivers man.

Its intense, deep character development, and sometimes you are changing what you want/think the outcome to be.

There are some majestic performances here by Stellan S. And Damian Lewis. Ewan Mac is gold as always, never seen a bad performance from him.

I really enjoyed this film. Held my attention all the way through. If you like films about espionage or the sort. This is something you might enjoy.

All in all just a really well made film. Worth the watch.

Overall Score 7/10 Entertainment Value 8/10 For a continuous plot that doesn't lose its way.

Sometimes you get into a situation without really doing anything. And then you have to ask yourself where to go from there. Something like this happens to Ewan McGregors character. Someone with a past, but also someone with morals. And someone who seems to be struggling with his life, so he may be welcoming whatever gets thrown at him.

This is based on a novel which I haven't read, so I can't compare those two. I can tell you that the movie is more than suspenseful enough and it seems very much rooted in reality (of course heightened at certain points of the story). There are many obstacles and you may see a lot of things coming before they happen, but the movie is played very well and is more than decent enough to enjoy

Not the best big-screen adaptation of a John LeCarre novel but even a second-rate LeCarre offers its pleasures. The plot of "Our Kind of Traitor" may be a tad far-fetched but then the plots of most good spy yarns often are. The Cold War having ended it's the Russian Mafia who take centre-stage here and as the Russian oligarch who wants to defect Stellan Skarsgard is one of the best things in the picture. Indeed, it's well cast throughout, (Damian Lewis is particularly good as a cynical MI6 operative), and typically there is some nice location work nicely shot by DoP Anthony Dod Mantle. If the director Sussana White doesn't do anything particularly innovative with the material at least she doesn't muck things up. Minor, then, but also surprisingly entertaining, too.

This is a proper screen adaptation of a John le Carre novel. If you're looking for a film to watch or rent, this is a good one. It tells the story of an ordinary British couple who, while on holiday, get caught up in a drama involving a member of the Russian mafia. This follows them after the holiday, and it turns into a terrifying adventure.

I thought the movie was gripping. There were many scenes that had me at the edge of my seat. The scenes were set in various locations around Europe and the rest of the world. I disagree with those who say the plot developments were not credible.

I think this movie is a little under-rated with it's current IMDb score. It's worth about 7.5.