Spy Game (2001)

I originally gave this one 3 stars but after catching it a second time, I raised that to 3.5 stars and, on further consideration, 4 stars. Spy Games is not as iconic or memorable as Enemy of the State, Babel or even A Clear and Present Danger but it's at least as good as Swordfish and a good sight better than Sneakers. Redford ably plays the coolheaded, experienced but now deskbound spy who prepares his career-capping rogue operation beneath the noses of his superiors. Pitt plays the earnest junior operative who needs rescue. The action is often fast-paced, realistic and gritty, esp. when suicide bombers are involved, but the storyline often lost me during the bureaucratic subterfuge -- Redford's superiors just look like a gallery of nameless white guys I could care less about. Redford, Pitt and the two women make this movie but everyone else does a good job. Watch this after you're tired of multiple viewings of the Mission Impossible movies. 4 stars.