Le joueur de base-ball était un espion

There are going to be lovers and haters of this movie depending on your taste and how much you like to pick holes in the acting and plot. Picky people will find many in this movie.

With all the big name actors it had you would expect it to be at least good and for me it was, I enjoyed it and never once wanted to stop watching, for me that is a sign of a good movie.

Paul Rudd, who I don't always like as and actor was very good in this, the rest of the cast do a fine job, most are prominent actors who I expect to do well in any movie they are in.

The fact it is based on a true story can be either a benefit of hindrance depending on how the story is handled, this one was handled quite well in my opinion and while it will never win any awards it is worth watching.

Not a perfect movie, but good enough to watch more than once.

In an intriguing story about an intriguing true life individual.

He was very ably supported by a very talented cast.

Interestingly. I'd only recently seen the 1946 film "Cloak And Dagger", starring Lilli Palmer and Gary Cooper, which touched on the same issue of an American spy going to Italy and Switzerland in an effort to prevent the nazis from developing a nuclear weapon.

But this story was much more than that, looking at various facets of the fascinating life of Moe Berg.

We watched this at home on DVD from our public library.

Over the years there have been many movies made regarding interesting WW2 stories. This one caught me by surprise because it could have had such a significance in the worldwide Scientific community.

German Physicist Werner Heisenberg was one of the great minds of the 20th century. He was responsible for the development of Quantum Mechanics and most science students know him for his "Uncertainty Principle." But the US intelligence worried that he might be on the verge of developing the technology to build atomic bombs.

Paul Rudd comes across really well as Moe Berg, former MLB catcher. Although he was a mediocre big league baseball player he was highly intelligent and highly educated, and spoke several languages fluently, including German, Italian, and French. And he was a patriot, willing to die for his country if it came down to that.

Berg was given the spy assignment as a scientist, to travel to Italy and meet with Heisenberg, find out what he could about their progress. Berg was armed, he was to kill Heisenberg on the spot if he determined that they were on track to develop the bomb. It would be his decision alone.

There isn't a lot of action but it is a very realistic accounting of the Moe Berg story in a very well made movie with some of the best actors in key roles.

FEB 2024 edit: I just watched it again, for me, being a Scientist acutely aware of Heisenberg's role in 20th century Physics, it is one of the better movies I have ever watched.

This is decidedly a film for those with a sense of historical curiosity. Moe Berg was an extremely interesting fellow; not just a ball player who became a spy for the US. He was proficient in several languages and an Ivy League scholar; not your typical jock ballplayer. Rudd does a very good job of convincing us that he is in total control at all times. The race for the atom bomb is the subplot in the film and is nicely accented by the director. Production values are excellent and the only weakness of the film is the hurried entry into Nazi Germany from the front lines established by the Allies. I would have preferred a longer sequence on that circumstance. However, the viewer is kept in suspense as to whether Berg will carry out his orders; assassinating a German scientist capable of creating the atom bomb. I found this film to be very entertaining.

It reminds me of the Steven Spielberg, Tom hanks collaboration, Bridge of Spies, but did not hit me as hard.

World war 2 was the type of war that all good Americans wanted to be a part of, so no surprise that a Major baseball player (our fav pastime) wanted to get in on the action.

Moe Berg was an over the hill baseball player who happen to have went to college and became a master of a lot of languages. Right there, he sounds like the type of spy they make TV shows out of, which is why I think this movie is so good.

Paul Rudd was good at playing this type of spy too. I felt it to be believable in the situation. Possible not that important, but I like it none the less. Not exactly James Bond but Rudd used his overall charming and humorous persona to be the leading man this movie needs.

Good Watch.