Our Kind of Traitor: Average Guy Movie Review

For Christmas, a member of the family often gets a dvd or blu-ray. In my family it's usually me, I know...you're shocked! Last Christmas (it already seems so far away) my sister got me Our Kind of Traitor, a movie I really wanted to see when it first came out but never got the chance. Well I can say it was well worth the wait!

While on holiday in Morocco, Perry (Ewan McGregor) and Gail (Naomie Harris) meet Dima (Stellan Skarsgard) who unbeknownst to them is a high ranking accountant for the Russian mafia. After inviting them to his teenage daughter's outlandish birthday party, Dima gives Perry a memory stick which he asks him to deliver to MI6. The memory stick contains information linking British politicians to corruption, Dima wants to use the information and his testimony as a bargaining chip for asylum for his family in the UK. With the mafia closing in and corrupt politicians attempting to block the deal, Perry and Gail have to work with Hector (Damian Lewis) - an MI6 Agent with a personal agenda - to protect Dima and his family.

Based on the novel by John Le Carre, Our Kind of Traitor has a great cast, beautiful locations and a tense story. A story that - in the current climate - feels way too close to believable. The movie does move at a slow pace, something that can make some movies boring, but in this case it only adds to the suspense. This is definitely not meant to look like a Bond film, it's a suspenseful drama rather than an action movie. You never know who you can trust, sometimes the good guys aren't so good. Damian Lewis described the story as a "can they do it?" rather than a "who done it". I think this is a very good description of the movie, although not an edge of your seat thriller, you genuinely don't know how things will turn out.

Our Kind of Traitor really is a classic espionage thriller in a modern setting. Lewis is brilliant as the secretive and unreadable spy, but it's Skarsgard who steals the show as the outwardly larger than life Dima who will do anything to protect his family. If you're looking for a suspenseful and engrossing thriller you can't go far wrong with Our Kind of Traitor. Between this and The Night Manager, 2016 really was a great year for John Le Carre!

8/10

What did you think of Our Kind of Traitor? Let us know by leaving a comment below or find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Comments

Jason Bourne: Spoiler Review

I don't usually write spoiler filled reviews because I don't see the point. But considering my not so positive review of Jason Bourne, one of the most highly anticipated movies of Summer 2016, I thought it might be worth trying to explain why I reached the verdict I did. If you haven't seen this movie stop reading because there are spoilers ahead. Click here to see the spoiler free review. The movie begins with Bourne in Greece. He's laying low, making money by competing in underground fights and still struggling with his past. He lacks purpose which is making him miserable. Nicky Parsons on the other hand is busy hacking the CIA in order to expose their black ops programs. So far so good. But when Nicky finds something out about Jason's (or should I say David's) past, she heads to Greece to find him. Unfortunately her activities have drawn the attention of CIA Agent Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander), a cyber ops specialist who begins to track her. Using a ...

American Assassin | Average Guy Movie Review

When his girlfriend is killed in a terrorist attack, Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien) goes in search of vengeance. His activities soon draw the attention of the CIA and Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) who decides to recruit Rapp. Kennedy sends him to the Orion Group - a black ops unit - where he'll be trained by Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton), a former Navy Seal and the team leader. On Rapp's first mission, Orion are tasked with finding missing plutonium and the American (Taylor Kitsch) who has it, a man Hurley trained. The movie is based on the 11th book in the series by Vince Flynn. I can't say how closely it follows the book, but this is one of those spy movies where the spies do very little spying before shooting up the place, combined with a typical trainer/trainee story in which the trainer continues to doubt the trainee until he proves himself in the third act. As a generic action movie it's fine, the fight scenes are well choreographed and O...

A Million Ways To Die In The West | Average Guy Movie Review | Movierob's Genre Grandeur

For Movierob 's Genre Grandeur on Western Crossovers, I am looking at Seth MacFarlane's guide to surviving the old west for all those who aren't Clint Eastwood, A Million Ways To Die In The West. It follows Albert Stark (MacFarlane), a sheep herder on the frontier who seems to be the only person that sees the west for what it is; a dangerous, disease infested, unforgiving shit hole. "Hell, this was Miss America in 1880... ..."Holy Shit!" After his girlfriend dumps him, Albert prepares to leave his hometown of Old Stump for San Francisco. But his plans are interrupted by the arrival of Anna (Charlize Theron), who shows him how to enjoy life. Unfortunately for Albert, Anna is married to Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson), one of the most dangerous outlaws in the territory and he's none too happy about Albert spending time with his wife! The story for A Million Ways To Die In The West began as a joke between MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin and Welles...

Search This Blog