Le couteau par la lame

A small-scale, ale Carré-esque spy thriller that both moves and grips. Centering around a meal shared between Thandiwe Newton and Chris Pine, former lovers and espionage colleagues, it uses flashbacks deftly to tell its story, and convincingly portray the way former partners share remembered intimacies and conflicting agendas. The story itself unfolds layer by layer, and the economic run time is refreshing. There are just enough hints to the truth to make you think you know what's going on, but not enough to spoil the final act revelations. It's deftly played, emotionally truthful and gripping right to the end, with Newton especially impressive with her layered performance.

This spy thriller is more about spy-relationships with hardly any thrills. It's a very slow burn, and I can see how many would become impatient. I'm also not a fan of timeline back and forths, and this has many, and more than just two timelines. However, although not perfect, the timelines are what kept me intrigued to continue to watch, as they revealed small pieces of the puzzle throughout. The reward at the end is worth it imo, I just wish the felt-longer 101 min runtime with slow pacing had been shorter and faster. Huge credit goes to Pine and Newton for their exceptional performances, and another reason why I didn't throw in the towel mid-way, plus adding Fishburne and Pryce into the mix was a bonus. So if you don't go into this expecting a James Bond action spy thriller, and have the patience, you may enjoy it once it reaches the end. All the Old Knives had sharp performances, but the story-telling was dull and needed much sharpening. It's a 7.5 rounded up to an 8/10 from me.

Slow boil thriller. Moves at a deliberate pace over two timelines. A solid cast and story. Just as things get predictable, a third act plot twist adds to the story intrigue.

The story centers on (fictional) Flight 127 in 2012 that was taken over in Austria by terrorists, their demands weren't met, everyone died, including the terrorists. Now 8 years later, in 2020, the American "agency" again sets out to examine how things unfolded back then with the new, unverified information that a captured terrorist said there was an inside informant that gave them some key information. Henry is assigned the task to interview key personnel to try to verify or refute that information. One of those is his ex-lover Celia.

The movie uses an editing approach that is frustrating at times, as they switch frequently between present time and eight years earlier. Then as things start to jell near the end, a key scene is replayed showing information that was withheld from the audience the first time around. Then everything we saw is tied together only during the last few minutes of the movie.

It certainly is manipulative, to keep viewers guessing until the very end. Ultimately the doomed flight 127 is just an event that allows the story to explore the real relationship between Henry and Celia and what some people will do for love.

My wife and I watched it at home on Amazon Prime streaming movies. Not a great movie but we were entertained. Pine and Newton are good.

Definitely a 7 or more. Right now showing a 6 is very underated. Great acting by both Newton and Pine. Keeps you interested throughout. I'd recommend for sure.