Breach --- A true story about espionage; starring Chris Cooper and Ryan Phillippe
Written: Mar 16 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: good cast, true story
Cons: lacking in action and real drama, telegraphed ending, spoiled story
The Bottom Line: The presentation of the film looked nice, but it lacked a lot in the departments of action, drama, suspense, and intrigue.
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| three_ster's Full Review: Breach |
Breach was and is inspired by what has been called the greatest security breach in United States history. Taking its cues from the true story on which it is based, the film seeks to explore the two months leading up to the arrest of one man, who for years had sold secrets to the Soviet Union. Working on task forces, including one looking to find the very mole that he was, this man cost the U.S. billions of dollars and countless lives by feeding secrets to the other side for many years. It took the hard work of one diligent agent, putting himself at risk, to lead the FBI towards bringing down this double agent. It's hard to tell how real this interpretation of the real story is, but I am sure there were some internal things that were never actually released about how this man was brought down.
Chris Cooper plays Robert Hanssen, a man who has worked for the FBI for nearly 25 years, dealing with codes and secrecy within the bureau. Now however, it is believed that he could be dealing secrets for money, and the agencies of the U.S. start thinking that they need to put a stop to Hanssen before he disappears. In order to do that, Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe) is brought in to spy on Hanssen in order to gather information on him. Posing as his new assistant, O'Neill is under the impression that he is there to investigate sexual allegations against Hanssen, but quickly finds out that this is more than he bargained for in the beginning. The audience is aware from the first few moments of the film what Hanssen as done, and that eliminates some of the drama from the early segments of the story.
As the film progresses, Hanssen falls into trusting O'Neill more and more, and of course O'Neill figures out that he is just playing a part in the play that is designed to catch Hanssen in the act. For his part, Phillippe does a good job as the new up-and-coming FBI agent, and it could have been even better if we didn't have everything telegraphed early in the film. In fact, that is one of the things that really hurt the dramatic events in the story for me, because we already know what is going to happen, and the story doesn't work hard enough to provide any surprises for the viewer. On the other side of things, Cooper really does a great job as the dark and dreary agent who has seen too much, and no longer feels that he has been corrupted by any means. Together the two leads do a good job of back-and-forth, but some of the drama just doesn't work when you know what is coming.
I really wanted to like Breach, and having been a fan of past espionage thrillers such as this, I was really excited to see it after viewing the trailers. When I finally did get to see the film, I ended up disappointed that they didn't take an approach of keeping the ending secret so that the viewers could have a few surprises. Instead they give you the ending at the start, and then flash back to 2 months earlier in this story. That was unfortunate, because it took away the heart of the story, and though it is a true one that many people may already know, it ruins some of the suspense for those people that don't quite remember the details. The acting was good, and the writing done just as well, but keep in mind this is a movie of the mind, devoid of any real action. Missing that action made me think too hard about the lack of dramatic moments, and the film just didn't win me over in the end. Maybe if I had just fast-forwarded those first few minutes it could have been better, but I think Breach really left too much to be desired in the end.
Recommended:
No
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