Masterful Movie
everything you have heard about this movie is true.
View MoreDisappointment for a huge fan!
Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
View MoreI am a Patrick Wilson fan and have been watching several of his movies on Amazon.I'm not one for political thrillers, but I'm a Polish-American and the subject matter appealed. I was expecting a typical Tom Clancy-type action movie but what a terrific surprise this was! I was skeptical about the production, but this was extremely well done - the cinematography was top notch, the dialogue was superb, acting and directing were excellent.A truly great touch was that Polish actors played Polish characters, Russians played Russians, Americans played Americans - no Hollywood-ization of this story. If Hollywood had made this film, you could expect no less than George Clooney or Matt Damon in the lead for purpose of box office returns $$$$.This movie was a 48-hour rental, and I started to watch it late at night, expecting to only view the first few minutes and then finish the next day, but I was on the edge of my seat and watched it straight through.If you're looking for blood and guts action thrillers or sophomoric, geeky films, this is not for you.Highly recommended.
View MoreThis film had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. There were so many shocking twists and turns I literally couldn't look away! The way director Wladyslaw Pasikowski shot the car chase scene made me feel like I was in the car with them. It's all around a solid movie and worth the watch. If you like foreign films, you'll love it. The director, Wladyslaw Pasikowski does an awesome job of portraying Polish life during The Cold War. You really get a sense of the urgency Jack Strong feels throughout the film and I don't think anyone could've done a better job at doing that than Marcin Dorocinski. It was difficult to keep up with the Russian at some points, but the switching between that and English helped a lot.
View MoreI have always been an avid reader of spy novels and I was one to never turn down a good cold war era movie. Jack Strong being a polish movie raised some doubts and I was convinced it was some mediocre attempt at a spy thriller with average acting at best. Boy was I in for a surprise. This movie had me at the edge of my seat and kept me guessing to the very end. I am not going to attempt to deconstruct the movie and try to analyze it in depth but if you are fascinated by spy thrillers as I am, this movie is definitely not one you will want to miss. And to the reviewer who gave it one star I think you hold something against the poles especially as you are from Latvia. A cold war era grudge maybe?
View MoreThis film only got a very limited cinema release in UK with absolutely no marketing and no top critic reviewing despite it being released nearly a week ago as I write. In fact, even Rottentomatoes has zero critic reviews on it.Which is MADNESS. It's a brilliant and highly tense spy thriller, far superior to last year's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and nearly in league with a film like Argo. I would say its one of the best cold war spy thriller in years. Its edge of the seat stuff as well and psychologically exhausting. The film revolves around a top level Polish army officer who is concerned about the apparently destructive plans of his superiors and the repercussions it will have on his homeland. His journey is enthralling, riveting and terrifying. The soundtrack adds to the tension with its superb minimalistic impending doom beats.It's based on a true story but its so good I am sure there is lot of artistic licence taken. Nevertheless, I am enthused to find out more about the truth. It's as incredible as the Cuban Missile Crisis saga. There was tremendous world wide stakes involved, it's terrifying to think how fragile the world is in the hands of nuclear armed states and how much just one person can tip the scales either way. I fear for our damn future watching films like this.What you won't get in this film are any bouts of humour or entertaining dialogue, no George Clooney swooning his way with a cigar in a war zone or any comedy relief. This is straight up relentless reality based thriller much in the vein of Argo with tightly edited pacing, taught direction, and solid performances.If there are any negatives, it would be that some moments WILL remind you of Argo and other known political thrillers in its execution. I did get the feeling of that trick has been done before but at least its executed with maximum impact. Also, the dialogue could have perhaps be injected with some light relief humour in some places, there were opportunities but its no biggie.This is an intelligent and educational movie worthy of being seen by all. Sure, much of this film is in Polish which probably explains the lack of any marketing but if they are going to release it in UK cinemas then at least tell people about it. Its also partly in English as the film switches to and fro America and Poland. It has an American star too, Patrick Wilson, in a very prominent role. Because of the lack of marketing, it doesn't look like this film will be seen by many. It's a real shame but if you are reading this and want to see a top cold war thriller that is also a true story, be educated at how close again a nuclear war could have ignited in the early 70s, then see this film, either at the cinema or as a rental. As long as you don't mind reading English subtitles for most of the film, which very understandably is a put off for some people but it's worth the effort.8.5/10
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