Interesteg What makes it different from others?

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Walter Sloane Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

lisaflynnscroggins With LeCarre writing, and the talents of Phillip Seymour Hoffman & Rachel McAdams, we were hoping for a classic spy story. But with northern Germany as the backdrop and the glacial pace of the movie, it's a downer from start to finish. A couple of giant holes in the story also never get closed; i.e., why does Rachel McAdams have a change of heart mid-story? Acting is great; storyline and ending left us lacking.

Alyssa Black (Aly200) John Le Carre is known for his thrilling tales of international espionage, spies and the gritty underworld of the government. In this haunting tale, late great actor Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as Gunther Bachmann, a veteran German investigator who is assigned to interrogate a young Russian refugee who may or may not be a terrorist.The acting from Hoffman was one of the actor's final performances before his untimely death in Feburary 2014 and is one of the greatest final works by the Oscar winner. Hoffman's Gunther is intelligent, but silent and brooding while being methodical in his techniques. However the man often clashes with his superior who prefers to quickly wrap up the case while Gunther wants to take a "wait and see" approach to be sure of his suspicions. The actor's German accent is even solid.The supporting cast around Hoffman is equally engaging. Russian actor Grigory Dobrygin delivers a mostly silent, but powerful portrayal of the suspect, Issa Karpov. Speaking mostly in his native tongue, the actor is compelling making question his motives as much as the likes of Gunther and his associates, Robin Wright as CIA big-wig Martha Sullivan and Rachel McAdams's reporter Annabel Richter. Rachel McAdams delivers one of her best performances as the nosy Annabel, a reporter who throws a kink into Gunther's operation when she begins to aid Issa in his plans. This course of action ultimately plays into the cat and mouse game between the German investigators and their target and culminates in a shocking final act. And rounding out the key players is Willem Dafoe as banker Tommy Brue, the key-holder to Issa's pursuit to go off-grid in Germany. Given the American actor has played a few German characters, Dafoe's accent is solid and never sounds forced or fake. As Brue, Dafoe first plays Brue as cool an confident in his interactions with McAdams' Annabel (even flirting with the visibly annoyed reporter) to a frightened and nervous man when confronted by Gunther and becomes a reluctant pawn in Gunther's plan to capture Issa.The film's narrative is exciting from the minute the camera starts rolling to the final frame. In typical Le Carre fashion, the hunt for Issa Karpov is a cat and mouse game of wits. As Gunther and his team race against the clock to get their evidence, each minute that ticks away gives their prey more and more of a head-start to escape the clutches of the law. The writing pits nearly all the characters against each other as they are forced to choose what side to be part of, this is most true of Rachel McAdams' Annabel, whose interest in Issa and his plight starts out as purely journalistic endeavor for a scoop but as she gets to know the refugee, Annabel becomes Issa's confidant and aides him; becoming a traitor to her country and a wanted woman in addition to the film's title wanted man. A compelling drama that will keep you invested and guessing as to what will happen next.

zardoz-13 Phillip Seymour Hoffman's last film with him in a leading role, "A Most Wanted Man," is a low-key, post-9/11, espionage melodrama that director Anton Corbijn and scenarist Andrew Bovell adapted from British author John le Carré's bestselling novel. Lensed on location in Hamburg and Berlin, Germany, this literate but slowly-paced genre piece piles up considerable atmosphere during its 122 minute running time. Unfortunately, Corbijn provides little in the way of tangible action. Indeed, "A Most Wanted Man" qualifies as the flip-side of Corbijn's earlier epic, "The American," with George Clooney who got to shoot adversaries and bed the ladies. Instead, people walk into and out of buildings, and bureaucrats sit around tables discussing cases. Hoffman belts an obnoxious individual in one scene that has nothing to do with the elaborate 'sting' plot involving an ultra-secret, street-level, German counter-terrorist organization out to trap a Muslim philanthropist. The big finale involves a multiple car crash. Hoffman plays a disillusioned German espionage officer who must produce results in 72 hours after a half-Chechen, half-Russian refugee, Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), tortured recently by the Russians, slips into Hamburg without a passport. Karpov convinces an ordinary, blue-collar family to house him after he performs an act of kindness to a woman who has too many grocers to tote him. Meantime, Günther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and the clandestine squad with whom he struggles to uncover links to Islamic terrorist organizations by recruiting people within those organizations sets out to trap Dr. Abdullah (Homayoun Ershadi) whom they suspect is funneling money to Al Qaeda. Eventually, the complicated but gritty plot involves a reluctant German banker, Tommy Brue (Willem Dafoe), and an idealistic immigration lawyer, Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams), who wants to help Karpov. When Bachmann introduces himself to a surprised Brue, he says, ""I head an anti-terror unit that not many people know about and even less like." Essentially, this is an above-average, believable, slice-of-life, political thriller where nobody dies, but people wind up betraying everybody in sight. For the record, the Americans in the storyline are not very savory. Naturally, the paunchy Hoffman turns in a stellar performance while he smokes cigarettes galore.

l_rawjalaurence Let's face it, A MOST WANTED MAN is basically a Cold War thriller updated to the post 9/11 era. Only this time the enemies are not the Soviets or the CIA, but Islamic terrorists. But then what else would one expect from the pen of John le Carré?In its clichéd way, the film is a good example of the genre, building up suspense gradually until the dénouement when Gunther (Philip Seymour Hoffman) realizes that all his plans have gone awry. Granted, the action is not without its stereotypes (western filmmakers can never seem to understand the Islamic form of prayer, especially the five-times-a-day worshiping ritual, while the general view expressed by the Europeans is that most members of the Islamic faith are suspect, even if they lead perfectly normal lives). On the other hand, the direction is pleasantly low-key, with plenty of atmosphere placed on the dank, muddy-colored streets of Hamburg.In the end A MOST WANTED MAN shows nobody actually winning the battle - or should it be struggle - to "make the world a safer place." The US Embassy (personified by a sour-faced Robin Wright) are shown to be entirely self-interested, more concerned with maintain the country's status as the world's sole superpower rather than worrying about individual people. Gunther tries to show his humanity, but in the end even he reduces the people whom he deals with to ciphers.