Spooks: Il bene supremo

When I was buying my ticket to "MI-5" (R, 1:44), the cashier asked me if I knew that this movie was not "Mission: Impossible 5". I said that I did, and we briefly spoke about the confusion caused by the title of the movie that I was about to see. As if on cue, as I walked away, I heard the woman who had just come to the box office request a ticket for "Mission: Impossible 5". She decided to choose another movie.

Her confusion is understandable. Just a few months before the British spy thriller "MI-5" hit American theaters, "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation" (sometimes referred to as "M:I-5") was playing widely in the U.S. Lest anyone think that "MI-5" is trying to ride the coat tails of "M:I-5", I should mention that the former is a cinematic continuation of the 2002-2011 British TV series of the same name. And, ironically enough, the jump that "MI-5" made to the big screen mirrors that of "Mission: Impossible" in which the first of the movies has the hero of the TV series going rogue. If all that is too confusing, maybe this will help: The British series is called "MI-5" in the U.S., but was titled "Spooks" in the U.K. (after the common nickname for spies around the world) and the film version is known overseas as "Spooks: The Greater Good". I hope that clears up any confusion, and I'll just talk about the British film from here on in.

"Spooks: The Greater Good" / "MI-5" takes its name from the legendary British Secret Service which is responsible for counter-terrorism and counter-espionage as it works to protect British governmental and economic interests. When Adem Qasim (Elyes Gabel), the CIA's most wanted terrorist, escapes British custody while being transported to American agents, Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), head of MI-5's counter-terrorism department (Section D), is blamed. With "MI-5" facing an existential crisis and trying to save face after Qasim's escape, the organization pressures Pearce to resign. Instead, he disappears.

Former MI-5 agent, Will Holloway (Kit Harrington), who was only with the agency for a year, is brought in to help find Pearce. Holloway's father used to work with Pearce. MI-5 agents Geraldine Maltby (Jennifer Ehle) and Mace (Tim McInnerny) – with their boss, Francis Warrender (David Harewood) backing them up – tell Halloway that Pearce has more information about Halloway's father's death in the field than the young man had previously known. Halloway is reluctant because Pearce was the one responsible for Halloway's dismissal from MI-5 years before, but he really wants to get the whole story behind his father's death, so he sets out to find Pearce.

Holloway uses some of his MI-5 skills to catch up to Pearce in Berlin, but gets much more than he bargained for. Before Pearce tells Holloway anything else about his father, Pearce enlists Holloway to help him in his self-assigned one-man mission to find a traitor within MI-5. Holloway doesn't like or trust Pearce, especially when he finds out Pearce has been in contact with Qasim, but his encounters with another agent (Tuppence Middleton) lead Holloway to believe that Pearce is right about the traitor within their organization. The rest of the film involves a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in which Pearce works Qasim to discover the traitor's identity and Holloway works desperately to prevent a terrorist attack on London.

"MI-5" / "Spooks: The Greater Good" effectively mixes influences from the "Mission: Impossible" movies and TV shows like "Homeland" and "24", but isn't quite as good. Some of the film's plot points feel contrived, but the main story is interesting and keeps the audience guessing. The script contains great lines ("You can do good or you can do well. Sooner or later they make you choose.") as it delves into the complicated world of counter-terrorism in the 21st century and explores the difficult decisions we must make to survive in that world. Gabel isn't quite menacing enough as the villain, but Firth brings forward his character from the TV show wonderfully, while Harrington is great in this modern "Game of Thrones". It's too bad that woman chose not to see "MI-5". She missed a very entertaining movie. "B+"

Spooks was undoubtedly a riveting espionage drama series for the BBC which never shied away from killing off some of its key cast members. Now four years after its final episode Spooks returns as a feature film for the cinema.

Nothing unusual about this move. I remember in the 1970s the TV show The Sweeney spawned several films for the cinema with the television cast reprising their roles.

With Spooks not many of the television series cast remained so Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) is central to the plot and he is joined here by new cast member Kit Harington who plays a former agent brought in to flush out Harry after a wanted terrorist escapes.

Of course in the cinema this film will compete with Mission Impossible, James Bond and Jason Bourne but with a lower budget and lower wattage stars.

Mission Impossible was a television show re-tooled for the cinema backed by Tom Cruise and the off centre talents of Brian De Palma. Spooks has one of the show's director back for the film but its a plodding style without the flair, style and pacing of the television show. In fact I found it pedestrian despite some international location filming and bigger budget.

The escape part of Qasim looked silly in the first place. A wanted terrorist is being transported and they are stuck in traffic with no police sirens anywhere to shift them all.

The film was decent enough but not a cinematic event. I watched it closely mainly because my brother was an Extra in the film, never spotted him though.

For those who have billed this as an answer to Mission Impossible or The Bourne series... they are setting this up for a fall. It is not. But I don't think that has ever been the intention.

If you cut all of the stereotypical American patriotism and bravado, add a more intelligent approach (one too intricate for that US market). You're about there.

Although you won't be seeing Kit Harrington drop forty feet on a rope, catch a bead of sweat in slow motion, before it hits the floor sensors. You will see a nod to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and the internal corruption of the British Secret Service. Its well put together, takes you one way and then spins you 180.

Its a stimulating spy film, which engages the audience to actually have a think while watching it. As good as the M.I and Bourne franchises are, this is all together different. I have never seen Spooks on BBC, but this has pushed me to take a look at what I've been missing out on.

I unfairly went in with a low expectation of this film, and was pleasantly surprised.

A good watch, and one I wouldn't turn anyone away from. Though it does make you think... what am I missing out on, what do the public not find out about, how good are the MI5?

Action is a genre that hinges solely on entertainment value. Even if it's a blatantly dumb plot and objectively not that great, something like Machete or Bullet to the Head, you can still have fun watching it and appreciate it for its pure insanity. MI-5 lies on the opposite side of the action spectrum. It tries to be serious and dark and much smarter than it actually is. This sucks the atmosphere dry and leaves you with a bland, brooding, and tasteless thriller with little to no thrills.

The movie starts off with a criminal escort gone wrong and develops into an espionage mission that can only be done by a specific agent who was kicked off the force, Will Holloway played by Kit Harrington. I can't fault any of the actors here because these characters are paper thin. They're just either giving orders or receiving orders or having secrets meetings or reciting some other form of lifeless expository dialogue for a majority of the movie. There's no chemistry between anyone, they have no development whatsoever. It just doesn't look like anyone is having fun. And with a script like that, how can you blame them.

There is a sleek, glossy feel about MI-5, which is one of the few positive things about it. Kit Harrington is a badass in general and it's nice to see him in a modern action setting. Unfortunately, the action in this movie is so scarce and underwhelming, it's hard to even call it an action movie. Instead of exciting action sequences, we're left with cliché double-crosses and triple-crosses and back stabs that no one cares about because none of the characters are engaging in the first place.

MI-5 is kind of like background music. It's not gripping and won't get your adrenaline pumping, but it's quite harmless to have on. It's just completely run-of-the-mill, linear storytelling that takes a page out of every spy book and streamlines it all into a two hour film. Kit Harrington can certainly be an action star, but this is not the proper vehicle to showcase his talents. MI-5 is a miss.

I am a humongous fan of the Spooks TV series (MI5 to our American friends) and really got my hopes up when I found out a feature film was coming out as a follow up to the ending of series 10, which did itself need a lot of redeeming.

If you're a fan of gritty British films, and prefer Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy over your run-of-the-mill bullet fest, this film could well be for you. Strong cinematography throughout, and it's clear that this is written - in a way - to honor Spooks and keep it alive, but little things like the set design of the new Grid just ruin the atmosphere that the old Spooks stayed strict to, for a reason. That however was nowhere near as bad as the films "Main" characters. I say "Main" because there weren't really any, just a group of monotone bores, a youthful touch from Kit Harrington (the writer personifies his idea of revitalizing the show) and Peter Firth, stretching his ability to always be the rock of the team to the limit by making him the only life in the movie.

It's amazing that throughout the first 6, maybe 7 series of Spooks, every spectator felt like they were watching a 2 hour film squeezed into an hour slot. Spooks:The Greater Good feels like a 50 minute TV show stretched into 104 minutes, without any added storyline or plot developments.

If you've never watched Spooks, you're mad and you're missing out, but watch this film first. You'll probably like it, it's confident in its approach, strictly realistic and contains a fantastic Peter Firth performance. But once you've done that, go back to Series 1 of Spooks and watch the whole thing. The film won't be so annoying to you that way.