Spielberg and Hanks, two Hollywood pros who know how to get, and hold, an audience's attention and allegiance, over and over again. BRIDGE OF SPIES is no exception. Based on true events around the Gary Powers spy plane incident at the height of The Cold War, Spielberg manages to use all the tricks of pacing and editing and close ups and low angles etc. to create tension and suspense where there really shouldn't be any since the outcome would be predictable even if we didn't know it from history. And yet, it works, and works well.
And Hanks is masterful with moments so purely perfect you almost want to stand up and cheer the actor for his timing and precision. He's like an old pro ballplayer or musician or artist who gets the same effect with (seemingly) a lot less effort. Some of the dialogue is so distilled it's like a Beckett or Pinter play (the Coen brothers are credited with helping write the screenplay). [PS: And Mark Rylance does even more with less than Hanks and deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.]
If you want an old fashioned Hollywood movie experience, don't miss BRIDGE OF SPIES.
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