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Starts good, money spent on the action but honestly how can a director miss key important areas...half way through it's becomes more like a b movie... I had to send it to my daughter a future continuation director to use as an example! For example (1) the lock on the door opened by the necklace! It's a padlock... with a screw on hinge... one kick and the door would open.. or just break in through the glass windows! Seriously all that effort for the necklace... to open a padlock!! Should have been access to a bank vault container or secret sealed room.. (2) shooting in the warehouse... with 2 trained soldiers shooting straight down the corridor at him... in a million years a kid wouldn't miss that shot! (3) car exits warehouse past the soldiers and crashes... time it takes for the soldiers to get outside they must have been on a coffee break!! (4) bullet holes in the driver side door of his car! But he's still ok (5) not ducking down when driving towards 2 gunmen, fairly sure thats not typical human behaviour (6) the last scene in Paris looks like a Hollywood stage set... anyway so many more but mainly in the last half of the movie...almost like they sacked a continuation director half way through or ran out of money... would have cost nothing to fix this and make it a way better movie. I'll happily review movies for free lol.

I had recently sat through, and thoroughly enjoyed, the 2023 movie "The Bricklayer", and thus I opted to sit down and watch this 2024 action thriller titled "Chief of Station", as it also had Aaron Eckhart in the leading role.

Sure, I had never heard about this movie prior to sitting down and watching it, so I didn't really know what I was in for here, aside from it being an action thriller. So writer George Mahaffey and director Jesse V. Johnson essentially had every opportunity to entertain me.

The storyline was watchable, sure, but at the same time it was also somewhat bland and forgettable. Writer George Mahaffey didn't exactly conjure up something grand or thrilling here. "Chief of Station" didn't manage to stand out from so many other action thrillers like it, and thus it was a bit of a disappointment. Now, don't jump to conclusions here, because I am not saying that it was a bad movie, not at all, it definitely had some good parts. But overall it was essentially just a generic action thriller.

This wasn't exactly the highlight of Aaron Eckhart's career, nor was he particular distinguishable in the movie. It was as if he was running a bit on auto-pilot. There were a couple of familiar faces on the cast list, joining Aaron Eckhart on the screen, with the likes of Olga Kurylenko, Nick Moran, James Faulkner and Daniel Bernhardt.

There is a fair amount of action in the movie, and that definitely helps to keep the movie afloat, and thus director Jesse V. Johnson didn't fully deliver a dud.

Watchable for what it was, but don't get your hopes up for "Chief of Station", as it was a rather bland and generic action thriller.

My rating of "Chief of Station" lands on a five out of ten stars.

I like Eckhart. I like action espionage movies, but whilst this one holds the attention, it is a bit bland. I swithered between a 6 or 7 score but gave it a 6 due to the clunky, slowly fight scenes (Pettyfer's looked especially un-coordinated & slow - I swear I could almost hear/see him counting down the timed movements in each sequence. I just don't rate him as an actor at all & much preferred Otto Farrant as Alex Rider to Pettyfer's bland interpretation. A pretty boy lead for RomCom maybe, but no action lead).

Bleak landscape (which they could've made more use of), bleak storyline & very dark cinematics helped create a feeling of oppressed pressure - for which, TBH, there wasn't much release. I wanted to rip that gun out of his son's hands when they were under fire in the films big dramatic car chase (is it just me, or have these obligatory action car chases in EVERY film become boring? There's no replacement for great acting, character building or suspense building on a decent storyline. Big budget doesn't always = quality.

This could've been so much better & a whole lot brighter in colour. Continuity was also an issue (see earlier reviews). Eckhart & Kurylenko were watchable as always, but more could've developed for her character more for role & story development. Some real depth would've been good. Ok for an easy late night or rainy day watch, but not to be properly entertained. A quick burger type of movie, rather than a steak dinner one. In a few weeks, I doubt I'll remember this one. It passes the time quite pleasurably, but it won't rock or change your world. 6/10.

I am a big Aaron Eckhart fan and HE was THE reason I started watching this, but what a disappointment it turned out to be...

The bad: from the get go I notice this is a cheaply produced movie, with uneventful photography, a way too overbearing soundscore and above all WAY too many below average supporting actors.

More bad: what's really annoying (and disappointing) though is the fact that this is meant to be a serious and tough crime movie, but the action is so silly that it flexed my laughing muscles.

There simply is NO suspense, NO thrill, NO originality, it's a nothing burger. Aaron Eckhart has made some solid movies lately, but this is defnitely not one of them!

Started out pretty good. Good plot actually. But what killed it for me were the fight scenes and the shoot outs. The bad guys were as poor a shots as Stormtroopers in Star Wars! And of course the good guys can't miss. Oh, and how he all of a sudden has a change of clothes after finding the laptop with the evidence on it! Could have been good, but it wasn't. Car chase scenes too were poorly done and like most of the film totally unrealistic. Best thing about it was the scenery in Europe. I would have thought with the cast they had it would have been a little better. But unfortunately it was basically not good.

This is a solid action flick.

Are you going to be intellectually challenged by a highly nuanced and convoluted story? Nope!

Is the acting skills the barometer to judge here? Not really.

This is a popcorn movie. Pure escapism & hollywood pulp - at its best!

Its not intellectually stimulating, complex or difficult to understand.

Its just a basic plotline - typical of the genre. With a moderate cast. (ALL the 'stars' are B list player - lets be clear!) And the action sequences & beautiful backdrops/scenery make the movie. I enjoyed them & if you expect that & enjoy them. This film rocks! In my opinion, at least. Ignore the folks giving it low ratings. They are just letting off steam.

If you like the type of movies with some simple plot that tries to sound complicated and some shooting and cars flipping that you have seen many times but somehow you always enjoy the next one than this is a movie for you.

Aaron Eckhart does good, Olga Kurylenko is only a minor role she has maybe 20 minutes screen time but it's always nice to see her she is still one of the most beautiful women ever.

Gun go bang, car go vroom then boom. I am satisfied.

There is no superfluous sex scene, the violence isn't particularly graphic it's mostly people getting shot with gun, I would say 10 year olds can watch no problem.

Director Jesse V Johnson is better known for his collaboration with martial arts actor Scott Adkins in movies such as The Debt Collector.

In Chief of Station he goes for espionage but comes up short both in action and story.

Ben Malloy (Aaron Eckhart) is the CIA station chief whose world falls apart after his wife's death.

However Ben is drawn back into the shadowy world, after his former adversaries are killed. He learns that his son is in danger and discovers that he cannot trust anyone, even his former allies.

From very much the early scenes, you can guess who will turn against Ben Malloy. There is nothing here in terms of a good story.

That leaves the action scenes to do the heavy lifting. Unfortunately Eckhart is no Adkins. He is perfunctory with the action scenes but the script is not good enough for him to stretch his acting chops.

No pun intended - also not Wick, John or otherwise. It seems like action movies have a bit of a ... well I don't want to say comeback. But at least they upped the game when it comes to stunts and action scenes. Eckhart is a bit of the new action hero - a bit more mature than others, but everyone can get into the game nowadays.

Don't expect there to be much in the way of story - what it does do though: really go all out in some of the ... well violent scenes! There is one scene in particular (torture) that will go under your skin! Quite literally ... and no pun intended. Just be aware and don't be too sensitive about things like that ...

...

And I only said that out of respect. Sometimes the film is so bad that it becomes good in a sort of back to front logic .... this here does not

It is thoroughly bad through and through the only saving grace and this has been mentioned in other comments is the fact that it moves around beautiful cities... Everything is spelt out for you as if anything more complicated than a comix For a six-year-old would make your brain misfire.

The fight scenes are so bad we wonder why anybody included them here; they make absolutely no sense they must have been choreographed by some canines at the pound Who could not find a home and had to been given a task to keep them occupied. It is an absolute shocker

And yet and yet if you can fully disengage your mind for an hour and a half and you really have nothing else to do and I mean absolutely nothing else to do you might get through it

A solid three for Budapest and other locations which might or might not be what they claim to be.

"Chief of Station," the latest attempt at espionage intrigue, is a forgettable cocktail of clichés and mediocrity, leaving audiences with a sour taste of disappointment. Aaron Eckhart, usually a reliable presence, struggles to breathe life into a tired script that feels like a rehash of every spy thriller you've ever seen.

The plot follows the predictable trajectory of a seasoned CIA operative (Eckhart) navigating the treacherous waters of international espionage, complete with double-crossings, femme fatales, and the obligatory ticking time bomb scenario. However, any semblance of tension or excitement is suffocated by the film's inability to break free from its formulaic shackles.

Despite its attempts to inject relevance with nods to contemporary geopolitical tensions, "Chief of Station" fails to offer any meaningful commentary or insight. Instead, it relies on tired tropes and shallow characterizations, reducing complex global issues to mere backdrop for its uninspired plot.

Even the action sequences, typically a saving grace for films of this genre, feel uninspired and lackluster. It's as if the filmmakers ticked off a checklist of obligatory set pieces without bothering to inject them with any genuine excitement or creativity.

In the end, "Chief of Station" is a forgettable addition to the spy thriller genre, offering little more than a rehash of tired clichés and missed opportunities. Save your time and money for something more deserving of your attention.

I love the actors in this movie but they did themselves a disservice in this movie. I find it hard to believe that the chief is station of Moscow could be so affected by his wife death six months later that he's resting his head on a fridge full of ham and unable to live normal life. Its a shame because the movie actually has potential if only they had given more depth to the characters and a little more sophistication to the story line, but unfortunately the plot lines are vague, the acting is erratic, more due to direction than skill. Thoroughly disappointing movie. Could have been so much better.

A big fan of Aaron Earhart and Olga Kurylenko but unfortunately neither one of these actors can save this low budget B film that is so poorly written that it quickly falls apart into a silly out of date silly script that's so predictable table and dull that not even the action scenes can make it feel entertaining. And Olga comes into the picture to save the day almost at the end which is too late and too little.

The directing is decent considering the script is terrible and if you remove Aaron and Olga this would be a terrible low budget B film.

Go in with super low expectations and ready for laughable moments where terrible accents make you cringe and the action fight scenes look like something from the 1970s completely outdated where guys have slug fests rather than shooting each other and all that was missing is Charles Bronson.

Looking forward to next action film from Aaron E and anything Okga K stars is - maybe with higher budget and better script

3 stars for 2 main stars and some great shots of Budapest.

A solid thriller carried by the always resonate Aaron Eckhart.

He's really one of the best working actors out there today.

From Thank Your for Smoking to Chief of Station, you just can't help but believe the sincerity of the guy - and now we find out he's great at action!! Seriously, he did the stunts and looked flawless.

The action sequences are very good, very credible, not cheesy over done, impossible stuff here - but instead, gritty, in your face, real looking sequences that carry the tension in the film.

It's starts with a well paced opening, slows down in all the right places, and then boom - here we go again. The film looks big.

For sure, worth a watch.

Hot men with auto weapons can't hit the mark.. lol... cliche and slowwwwwwww as f. Aron E. Is a poor actor and only wears a scowl and moves like an old stiff guy. Sorry but he is b movie material and worse then nick cage and reminds me of Bruce Willis.

If this guy is cia we are in a lot of trouble... lol.. his kid in this show is an idiot too like dad. I don't wanna kill you, Nick but I will. I mean who wrote this like a kid in high school? Oh god what a letdown this actor reminds me of Someone's dad that's always pissed off. Never smiles thinks he's tough. Can't stand that he's just an average Joe.

I don't often leave reviews but was compelled to leave one for this because it was such a waste of time.

Basically everything about it was terrible. The dialogue was cliche and predictable. The acting was okay at best and there was no chemistry between the lead & his wife. There is a serious lack of logic in the script, there are too many plot holes to count. The action scenes were downright offensive given how it's supposedly an action movie, any hand-to-hand combat scenes were performed so slowly it was like watching a novice level sparring match and the bad guys couldn't aim their guns properly if their lives depended on it. The ending scene had me literally cringing back into my sofa it was just so cliche and terribly written. The cherry on top was the sound editing. It already felt like a B-movie, but may have been saved somewhat if the sounds of gunshots and punches actually felt impactful, but someone made the choice to have all of the sound effects leveled way down so that they sounded like minor thuds. It really took away from the potential effectiveness of the fight scenes.

In short, I would not recommend this film.

Chief of Station is a cinematic misfire that fails to ignite any spark of excitement or intrigue. This lackluster spy thriller stumbles through its runtime, leaving viewers more perplexed than entertained. Aaron Eckhart and Olga Kurylenko, both capable actors, find themselves adrift in a sea of narrative confusion, their talents wasted on paper-thin characters and nonsensical plot twists.

The film's action sequences, which should be its saving grace, fall flat with uninspired choreography and unconvincing stunts. Fight scenes lack the necessary intensity, while shootouts border on the comical, with antagonists displaying an almost supernatural inability to hit their targets.

Director Jesse V. Johnson's attempt at creating a sophisticated espionage tale results in a painfully dull experience. The pacing drags, making the film feel much longer than its actual runtime. George Mahaffey's script is a patchwork of spy movie clichés, filled with dialogue that ranges from forgettable to cringe-worthy.

The film's attempts at building tension are laughable at best, with plot twists that can be seen coming from a mile away. The supposed intrigue of the spy world is reduced to a series of confusing encounters and poorly explained motivations.

Chief of Station ultimately proves to be a forgettable entry in the spy genre, offering neither the excitement of action-packed blockbusters nor the intellectual satisfaction of more nuanced espionage tales. Viewers seeking thrills or thoughtful storytelling would be better served looking elsewhere, as this film delivers neither, instead providing a masterclass in how not to make a spy thriller.