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One of Benedict Cumberbatch's best performances to date, which makes it one of the greatest acting performances period. His startling physical transformations, spot-on dialogue delivery, and appropriately subtle and highly-effective character manifestations (he's a spy not a Hollywood super-hero for those hung up on the film not emulating Bond or Bourne "big moment" scenes), are all testimony to his commitment to the acting craft. He once again proves why he is (simply-put) one of this era's greatest actors.

This role should garner award nominations across the spectrum of such ceremonies for Benedict.

The Courier is well above average as espionage films go - subtle pacing actually magnifies tension in the story - the most elemental fuel for any thriller.

No spy film is better at emotionally connecting the viewer with the lead character - painting an accurate portrayal of both a spy's methodology, and the inevitable inner conflicts and angst involved in the job, and in one's personal life. This unique trait elevates the film.

The Director maintains a refreshingly low-key atmosphere in scenes, befitting the "trade-craft" of espionage that thrives on innocuous and concealing behavior (rather than the overly dramatic big moments too often leaned upon in blockbuster spy films). None of that nonsense would actually occur as spies would bring too much attention to themselves - a sure way of having a short career and brief lifespan.

This is a spotlight film role carried by Benedict, but a film of this immense achievement does not occur without similarly great performances by the supporting cast.

Merab Ninidze hits one over the Berlin Wall and deserves recognition for his remarkable supporting role performance.

Rachel Brosnahan was spot-on as well, and is clearly on a roll after her deserved critical praise for 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'.

Tom O'Conner's screenplay is brilliant as is Dominic Cooke's directing, and Gareth Scales' editing which somehow brings this fascinating true story to film in under two hours.

The Courier has me once again ('Spotlight' being the first in 2015) breaking my long standing rule of not putting a film on the Top 100 All Time Greatest list within a year of its release. I often view better films multiple times over the long haul. Some hold up; some gain respect; and some regress. I'm anticipating The Courier will not lose ground over time, and may gain, but we shall see.

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As for me, the most important reference point for watching films is the cast. If I see interesting actors who select roles wisely and don't star in anything, it means that the novelties with their participation are mandatory to see. And since Benedict Cumberbatch starred in "Spy Games", such a movie can't be missed.

The storyline takes us back to the early 60s. The businessman Greville Wynne becomes a spy in the service of Her Majesty. While in Moscow, Neville gets instructions from a Russian colonel who has decided to go over to England's side, and who would have thought that very soon the stakes in the espionage game would become extremely high. The lives of millions of innocent people around the planet will depend on them.

Benedict Cumberbatch's performance is as good as ever. Once again I am convinced that he is one of the best actors of his generation and I can't remember a single bad film with his participation. And as for "The Courier", Cumberbatch drastically differs from Sherlock or Doctor Strange. He doesn't play a superhuman, capable of anything, but at the same time he bestows us strong emotions and we really worry about his hero.

In general, the film's worth seeing to understand its full dramatic and historical depth. The shot is interesting, there are no unnecessary moments, everything is in essence. These are the kind of films you need to watch and discuss!

Excellent film,first class acting.the while film is remedy to the big blockbusters.the transformation of Benedict Cumberbatch,from clueless pawn in a political high stakes game to a more caring person as well as the physical change is staggering.abetted by a solid supporting cast.a must see film this year.

It was the early 1960s, the USA and Russia were in a race to amass nuclear weapons. It was to the point that if both of them did a maximum launch at each other it would destroy most of the world as we knew it. In truth they wanted to bury each other.

In October 1962 I was a senior in high school and that is the month of an event that came to be called the Cuban missile crisis. Russia decided to move nuclear missiles to Cuba, just a few miles off the coast of the USA. There was nothing favorable about that move. The still new US President JFK had a tough decision, how to confront Russia and get them to reverse their plans. As history witnessed Russia backed off.

That is a central theme in the story here, based on real people and real events. An English businessman was convinced to expand his business dealings to Russia, there he would befriend a Russian who would pass him photographic microfilm. He became the courier. A main topic were the plans to place the missiles in Cuba. This spy work was what tipped England and the USA off to the Russian plans and allowed them to monitor the situation which eventually resulted in the confrontation to get Russian ships to turn back.

This is a very good movie, well-acted and well-told. My wife and watched it streaming on Amazon.

Edit July 2023: Watching it again, it is such a well-made and well-acted movie you can watch it every year or two and still enjoy it as much as the first time.

Real life stories can be tricky. In the horror genre they can fail miserably ... in the War scenarios or spy and real people stories, it does look differently though. Like with this one. And while I reckon one could argue that side characters feel shallow or one dimensional (the wives for example), I'd argue there is not enough time to get and have everyone have their moment.

Still the British wife we have here, does have some zingers and you can really feel her pain and understand her anxiety over all that is happening. Even if she has the wrong idea of what is going on. Having said all that, the actors are fantastic and the tension is really holding up throughout ... you may know where this is going (and what happened with Cuba and the missilie crisis), but it won't take anything away from what we see on screen.