Synopsis: A Yale graduate is invited to be one of the leading players of the OSS in Europe during WWII, then after the war he is invited to be one of the leading players of the CIA. All this is intertwined with an investigation of a tape containing a conversation that might have some relation to a mole and the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Appraisal: This film's plot is on a comic book level - precisely Hollywood's standard level for most of its history (during the 60s and maybe also 70s it got upgraded a little, then reverted to this in the 80s, and is presently on a consistent downward course). Which is funny, since it is told against a background of grand historical events and features big real organizations - why not tell a more true-to-fact depiction of these events? There are several far-fetched elements, but let's just mention one: why would someone who is sending a revealing tape murk its contents in such a way that it requires an expert forensic investigation in order to understand what it is revealing? To look for other inconsistencies or logical flaws, go to IMDb and probe the User Comments or the Message Boards. That being said, I don't agree that the film is tedious, or that the acting is deficient. On the contrary, it is entertaining (on a comic book level) and well acted. And it has one or two things to say about the psyche of spies, although in the same somewhat dumbed-down manner.
Rating: 58
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