A Most Wanted Man

Parental Rating: R

Contains: Language    Adult Content    

Jill's Review

Opens July 25, 2014

Runs 121 minutes

Philip Seymour Hoffman, in one of his last roles, is Gunther Bachmann, a very driven and determined spy just out to make the world a better place. His team has had their eye on Abdullah, a muslim who says all of the right things and raises money for charity but may not be what he seems. When a young half-Chechen, half-Russian immigrant named Issa sneaks into the country to claim an inheritance left to him by his father and turns up in the same Islamic community that overlaps with Abdullah, both U.S. and German spy networks become interested. They plot to use Issa to see if they can catch Abdullah at his game. Bachmann's team is running the operation and it is tedious work to set everything in place. As the operation moves ahead, the stakes rise for all involved. Will they catch a terrorist or find an innocent man?

This is a very detailed and slow paced film. Philip Seymour Hoffman chain-smokes and drinks like it's the Cold War and you feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. Spycraft is not always glamorous and this movie really gets down to the nitty gritty of what it takes day in and day out to follow up on leads and tie information together. I liked the movie but I felt like the ending was a little too abrupt. And, it itakes a while to get there. Still, it is worth seeing.

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