The Company

Having read the book, I feel that the screenwriter did a magnificent job in conveying the story & characters. Almost 900 pages of a very complex novel were captured in a clear, understandable way. Michael Keaton's performance in particular, was as my husband said, "Awesome". This is no surprise to us because he has always been so versatile. I noticed that although some of the scenes in the book could have been shown as they were written, very graphic & difficult to watch, they instead played to our imagination, which for me, is enough, & pointed out the Class of this presentation. Too many stories on TV are played for sensationalism, without regard for the viewers' sensibilities. I can see Emmys in this series' future.

This is no James bond.This has nothing to do with superheroes and supervillans(except the part with GOOD USA vs. EVIL SOVIET UNION).Its a gripping spy drama for the masses and the same time for the history buffs.The performances are very good on the behalf of Alfred Molina,Chris ODonnel and Rory Cochrane.Alessandro Nivola seems a bit out of pace.The real treat comes from Michael Keaton who goes stainless in his role.The action sequences and special effects are some of the best quality and i rate it just after band of brothers in the series branch.The show has a plus for the moments where the language of certain nationals is respected(the Russians speak Russian ,the Hungarians speak the Hungarian and the mobsters are so Sicilians).The big budget of the series is put to good use and the places you see in the movies are the ones where the things actually happened.There are little flaws for an epic of such proportions.I sense no TV feel in the image,sets,performances etc. so i must give this show a 10!job well done!

Where to begin. The performances in the show are quite good the action is established and the historical aspect of the show is right on in most respects. The cast includes a few veteran actors and a few younger actors. Rory Cochrane from CSI Miami, and Chris O'Donnell from the Batman* movies and the Bachelor are cast in very good roles. Followed by Alfred Molina and Michael Keaton taking on the leading roles, who I might add fit there roles perfectly. Having only seen the first of the three episodes and watching the preview for the next two I see that the show will go on only to get better with the addition of even more actors and cameo's from some of my personal favorites the outlook is good. In my opinion espionage has never looked so good.

I thought that The Company was brilliant!! I enjoyed all 6 hours of the mini series!! When was the last time a movie(series) revolved around such an event as The Bay Of Pigs?? I know I haven't, and it's probably because it was a huge flop as a tactic and made the U.S and JFK look foolish. Plus the series doesn't just focus on one aspect of U.S. and world history, it focuses on the CIA's involvement in The Cold War from just after WWII, until the early 1990's, which entails a huge portion of 20th century history. The Company involved so many important world events that it in my opinion, it far surpassed any other movie/series of its kind. These days all of the movies are about much more physical wars such as Pearl Harbor, Letters From Iwo Jima, Saving Private Ryan, etc. It's just really refreshing to see a movie/series that is not just so unique in it's composure, but also shows the opinions of the "war" from both sides.

The miniseries went out of fashion when the networks started economizing, so it's nice to see this one from TNT. "The Company," which refers to the CIA, stars Chris O'Donnell, Alfred Molina, Michael Keaton, Rory Cochrane, Alessandro Nivola, and Natascha McElhone, along with a huge international cast.

The series purports to tell of some of the big events in which the CIA was involved throughout its history, woven in with the search for an elusive double agent, an American version of Kim Philby (who is also a character in the film, portrayed by Tom Hollander). The period covered is 40 years, from the start of the Cold War to the fall of the Soviet Union and focuses on the experiences of three fictional Yale grads, class of '54: Jack McCauliffe (O'Donnell), Leo Kritzky (Alessandro Nivola), and Yevgeny Tsipin (Rory Cochrane).

This is a very absorbing miniseries with some great, good, and blah acting, in my opinion. Though it's understood that Alfred Molina is an excellent actor, for me, his portrayal of Harvey, Jack's boss, was a little too stagy. Chris O'Donnell was okay, coming off as a lesser Leonardo di Caprio or Matt Damon. For me the two great portrayals were those of Michael Keaton as James Angleton, the real-life chief of the CIA's counterintelligence unit, and Alessandro Nivola, who is an accomplished stage actor and gives a strong performance.

Not surprisingly, this film came on the heels of the feature "The Good Shepherd," also about the CIA and starring Matt Damon. Because it has the luxury of being a miniseries, it's more detailed. Recommended.