Everyone does a spy movie at some point. If you’re Robert Redford or Brad Pitt, you even manage a few more, just to prove you can — and the two got to overlap in the genre for 2001’s little-remembered Spy Game.
A rare American–French–German–Japanese co-production, the action-thriller was a modest box office success, grossing about $143 million on a $115 budget. (That’s the best you can hope for when your movie opens the same weekend as Monster’s Inc. and the first Harry Potter movie.) Critics said that it was a breezy, charming time, giving it a 64% on Rotten Tomatoes, and audiences giving it a 75%. It’s not the kind of movie you’re mad about spending time with, especially when you’ve got Dad Movie Heavyweights Redford and Pitt at the helm. It doesn’t hurt having Tony Scott as the director; he doesn’t make this another Top Gun, True Romance, Unstoppable, or Crimson Tide, but does a solid job nonetheless.
The movie follows a group of CIA executives who pull the retiring veteran officer Nathan Muir (Redford) into a mission to save an asset (Pitt) from execution at a People’s Liberation Army Prison in China. The rest of the cast is rounded out by Catherine McCormack, Stephen Dillane, Larry Bryggman, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Ken Leung, David Hemmings, Michael Paul Chan, Garrick Hagon, and Todd Boyce.
“We can see it all coming: but it’s still fun to watch,” wrote Newsweek’s David Ansen when the movie was released. “This is the kind of movie that represents an engaging evening’s diversion, but makes no impact and leaves no lasting impression. Go see it if you like this kind of spy-versus-spy stuff.”
Where to Watch Spy Game Online
Spy Game is available to stream on Starz and available to rent for $3.99 on Amazon Prime, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV, and Google Play. It’s available to buy for $14.99 on all those platforms, as well, and for $11.99 on AMC Theaters’ website.
