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Spy Game (2001)

R  |   |  Action, Crime, Thriller  |  21 November 2001 (USA)
7.0
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Ratings: 7.0/10 from 114,632 users   Metascore: 63/100
Reviews: 354 user | 139 critic | 29 from Metacritic.com

Retiring CIA agent Nathan Muir recalls his training of Tom Bishop while working against agency politics to free him from his Chinese captors.

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(story), (screenplay), 1 more credit »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Todd Boyce ...
Robert Aiken
...
Vincent Vy Ngo
...
CIA Director Cy Wilson
Andrew Grainger ...
...
...
Henry Pollard
...
CIA Administrator
Tom Hodgkins ...
CIA Lobby Guard
Edit

Storyline

CIA operative Nathan Muir (Redford) is on the brink of retirement when he finds out that his protege Tom Bishop (Pitt) has been arrested in China for espionage. No stranger to the machinations of the CIA's top echelon, Muir hones all his skills and irreverent manner in order to find a way to free Bishop. As he embarks on his mission to free Bishop, Muir recalls how he recruited and trained the young rookie, at that time a sergeant in Vietnam, their turbulent times together as operatives and the woman who threatened their friendship. Written by ck

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

It's not how you play the game. It's how the game plays you. See more »

Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some violence and brief sexuality | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Official Sites:

Country:

| | |

Language:

| | | |

Release Date:

21 November 2001 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Juego de espías  »

Box Office

Budget:

$92,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,019,847 (UK) (23 November 2001)

Gross:

$982,874 (Brazil) (9 August 2002)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (TV)

Sound Mix:

| |

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

When the film was previewed in the summer of 2001, Brad Pitt said that it dealt with blow back from unsuccessful CIA operations and suggested that it might mean America had been the world's leading power for too long. However, after the 9/11 attacks, Pitt was quoted as saying the movie indicated that CIA operatives were needed "now more than ever". See more »

Goofs

In the beginning of the movie Muir is traveling eastbound over the TR bridge into Washington D.C. If he were going to Langley he would be traveling west bound on I-66 and onto the GW parkway coming from Maryland. See more »

Quotes

Nathan Muir: When I was a kid I used to spend summers on my uncle's farm. And he had this plow horse he used to work with everyday. He really loved that plow horse. One summer she came up lame. It could barely stand. The vet offered to put her down. You know what my uncle said?
Charles Harker: No, Muir, what did he say?
Nathan Muir: He said, why would I ask somebody else to kill a horse that belonged to me?
See more »

Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, many of the credits are each preceded by a jumble of letters flickering on the screen. This may be a reference to the opening credit sequence of one of Robert Redford's earlier spy movies, Sneakers (1992). See more »

Connections

Referenced in Allemaal film: De amerikaanse droom (2007) See more »

Soundtracks

I'm Always Here (Baywatch Theme)
Written by John D'Andrea, John Henry, Jimi Jamison, Cory Lerios
Performed by Jimi Jamison
Courtesy of Fremantlemedia North America
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Maybe a little far-fetched, but clever.
18 February 2005 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

Spy Game will probably never be considered among the best spy movies to come out of Hollywood, however, it is a really entertaining movie with quite a few surprises.

The movie is set in the early 1990's. Nathan Muir (Redford) is a retiring CIA officer who learns that his former protégé Tom Bishop (Pitt) has been captured while attempting a prison rescue in China and will be executed shortly. CIA brass want to know what motivated Bishop to attempt this unauthorized action and they interview Muir to find out. Muir tells the story of how he met and trained Bishop: from Vietnam to Berlin to Beirut. While Muir is setting the background, he is also working secretly behind the scenes to free Bishop. Will Muir's cloak and dagger antics be discovered before he has a chance to free Bishop? Overall the movie is not as good as other spy genre films such as Three Days of the Condor, Spy Who Came in From the Cold, or Hunt for Red October. I think Redford does well in the role of the retiring, slightly jaded CIA officer Muir. Pitt does well with what he's given, though I think his character suffers from poor writing, especially near the end of the film. Think of Spy Game as a more sophisticated Mission: Impossible (that's no knock on M:I) and you'll be pleasantly surprised.


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