The Spy Code

In short, f-grade acting, f-grade dialog and the whole thing looks like it was filmed on a Samsung S9+ and then color graded with a potato. Seriously, a random, free LUT from the Internet slapped on everything.

Drone spots seem to be done with a DJI Air, main lighting dive with a subtle Aputure without bounce or softbox.

Also, the entire island of Malta seems to be devoid of other people or bystanders. Rooms are also very very foggy. Shootout scenes take place within a 10m radius and were filmed with compression ratio 200:1, with weird purple smoke explosions.

Elementary school students would have done a better job with their iPhones and some flower on a rainy afternoon on a Sunday.

Can't believe they dragged Aaron Eckhart into this.

I love Tim Roth and Aaron Eckhart USED to be a reliable choice for an entertaining film. Every actor, no matter how successfull, manages to be in bad films. Usually they still manage to be decent even if everything around them is terrible.

Unfortunately, when you have a bad script, there's not much you can do. It's even worse when you're saddled with a really bad and unconvincing performance from a main actor. That's what you get here. I really hate bashing anyone for their acting skills, but the actor playing his "daughter" was absolutely terrible! It was a cringe-worthy effort on her part. I had mental images of Eckhart thinking to himself "WTF" everytime she was on screen.

Roth looked like he signed on for an easy three-day assignment and a paycheck... he was barely there. He tried with what they gave him, but there was really nothing to work with.

It was terrible, absolutely no redeeming qualities... even if you're a massive Roth or Eckhart fan.

Yeah, nope!

One of the dullest "action thrillers" I've seen in recent memory. One that is easy to follow.. but maybe too easy! With a strange and lethargic pacing that makes the first 20 minutes feel like an hour! A dull and lackluster execution, and a storyline that hardly goes anywhere. It's so underwritten it almost feels like a mystery!! As that expected layer of depth or a message is strangely missing. This is a Saban film through and through! With their level of 'effort' being all too present. It's as if the film was made on autopilot, coasting on bland tropes to fill in the space. If the sluggish pace doesn't lull you to sleep, the slow, melodic music just might. The action scenes could be skipped completely, as they don't help move the story forward.. much less keep your attention on the screen. Even worse, you could watch this on mute, and take away as much as I did trying to pay attention.

Don't even think about it.. it's not worth your time.

I like Tim Roth. I like Aaron Eckhard. What drove them to take part in such a disaster?

The combat scenes are so extremely dumb that Shoot Em Up looks like a documentary compared to this. They managed to mess up even the slightest detail. Mercenaries without body armor, not hitting a barn door from close up, even when they surprise the protagonist. Sure. Oh, and always attack one by one, so the hero wins!

Nothing makes any sense. Fittingly, the CGI is awful.

And, yeah, the rest of the "story" fits right in. The premise is so idiotic that even a little more effort on the writing couldn't have saved it. My guess is they knew, so they didn't bother anyway.

Aaron Eckhart is generally a pretty great actor, and Tim Roth used to have some amazing roles in films, but Classified has really let them both down. The script and dialog sound like it was written by a 14 year old film student, and the acting from every other cast member other than the aforementioned actors is appalling. Abigail Breslin and Brandon Lessard let this film down no end. The acting from Brandon Lessard is especially poor, and the story line that follows his character is non existent.

The only redeeming feature is the cinematography is fairly good, and its great they shot so much of it on location in Malta.