Spooks: The Greater Good (2015)
Certified: 15
Duration: 104 minutes
Directed by: Bharat Nalluri
Starring: Peter Firth, Kit Harington, Jennifer Ehle, Elyes Gabel, Lara Pulver, Tim McInnerny, Hugh Simon, Eleanor Matsuura, David Harewood, Tuppence Middleton, Elliot Levey, Michael Wildman, Cosmo Jarvis
KRS Releasing Ltd
When BBC aired its first season of Spooks in 2002, there was little to indicate that it would end up becoming a hit, with the series running for 10 seasons.
Spooks: The Greater Good continues where the series had left off. It plays heavily on its British style, origin and sensibilities, making it interesting viewing to the usual gung-ho approach that is the staple of their American counterparts.
Peter Firth returns as Sir Harry Pearce, who leads MI5’s counter terrorism unit. The film opens with Qasim (Elyes Gabel), a terrorist escaping from his captors. This leads to Harry carrying out a ruse and going rogue in a plan to discover the who and why of certain events.
Will Holloway (Kit Harington from Game of Thrones) enters the scene as a young agent and troublemaker who is always defying instructions and rules. He has been brought in to find Pearce since there was some connection between him and Will’s late father. He must trace Harry, who is now on the tracks of a secret within the MI-5 in a plot that is threatening to destabilise society. The two know each other but there is bad blood between them, which keeps things off balance.
The film plays heavily on its British style, origin and sensibilities
Spooks: The Greater Good makes a much better job at bringing a British television series to the screen than the likes of recent efforts like The Sweeney. Bharat Nalluri upgrades the production values but keeps to the TV series’ essence. The result is an efficient and direct film which makes the most of the characters at hand and the editing process to amplify the proceedings.
Firth is excellent in his role: the manner in which he delivers his lines, with rigorous and state-of-fact manner, makes him a hero to be reckoned with. Harrington has been brought into the film in what is an obvious ploy to attract a younger audience, however he acquits himself well with all the requisite panache.
Other members of the cast who deliver a good performance are McInnerny and Ehle. Newcomers Tuppence Middleton and Eleanor Matsuura are promising.
Nalluri makes good use of such locations as Britain’s National Theatre, familiar London streets and Heathrow Airport well.
The film lives and breathes the Cold War in ways that the razzle dazzle of the Hollywood action spy movie cannot hope to do. The plot twists and weaves in the same manner as a mix of John Le Carré and Len Deighton novels and is designed to make the audience scratch their heads, thinking about where the film is heading.
The result is an entertaining mix that will keep the fans of the series more than sated.