All the Old Knives

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source: All the Old Knives

As "All The Old Knives" (2022 release from the UK; 101 min.) opens, a plane has been hijacked and is sitting on a runway in Vienna, and it doesn't look good. We then go to "8 Years later", as the head of the CIA station informed agent Henry Pelham that "headquarters" is reopening the file on Flight 127 on suspicion that the hijackers were helped from inside the CIA station... At this point we are 10 min into the movie. Couple of comments: this is the latest from Danish director Janus Metz ("Borg/McEnroe"). Here he attempts to bring us a good ol' fashioned spy thriller. The CIA! In Vienna! Plane hijacked! There might be a mole! On paper it sounds great but alas, the execution of it is woeful, and I'm being mild. There is no tension whatsoever, the endless going back-and-forth between the now (2020) and then (2012) doesn't help matters either. And then there are just absurd details like this one: the CIA station in Vienna is in the midst of the hijacking drama, with literally lives at stake. Then, out of nowhere one of the main characters simply gets up and leaves as she has another commitment. What?!?!? In the middle of the most important meeting of her career, she has something better to do?!? Insane. I quickly lost interest in the movie after that. Chris Pine (as CIA agent Henry) seeks (and fails) to become a Pierce Brosnan-like "international man of mystery". Laurence Fishburne (as head of the CIA station in Vienna) looks utterly lost, or bored, more likely both. Tandiwe Newton (as 2012 CIA agent Celia) is sleepwalking much of the time. "All the Old Knives" opened this past weekend in a few theaters, while also streaming on Amazon Prime (where I saw it). I love me a good ol' fashioned spy thriller (where are you, "The Third Man"?). "All the Old Knives" is anything but a thriller. Call it an unthriller dud. Of course, don't take my word for it, so go ahead and check it out, and draw your own conclusion.

Greetings again from the darkness. Thanks to James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Ethan Hunt, we've grown accustomed to globetrotting action-packed thrillers in the spy genre. But of course, there is the flip side: the quiet and unheralded work done by intelligence agents ... those who typically use their brains more often than their fists or guns. Director Janus Metz (the underrated BORG VS MCENROE, 2017) has based his film on the 2015 book by Olen Steinhauer. It's 2012 and we are inside the Vienna station of the CIA as the agents meet to strategize their response to a terrorist act - the hijacking of Turkish Alliance Airline Flight 127. The team is unable to prevent tragedy, and it's clear this is a case that will stick with them. Eight years later, the station chief (Laurence Fishburne) calls Henry Pelham (Chris Pine) back in to let him know that on orders from Langley the case has been re-opened. The terrorist behind that hijacking has been recently captured and disclosed that he had a CIA mole inside the Vienna station. Henry is to re-interview everyone involved to uncover the double-agent. One of those interviewed is the former supervisor played by Jonathan Pryce. He's now retired, and Henry forces him to go back through all details, some of which are uncomfortably personal. But that doesn't compare to how personal the next interview hits. Celia (Thandiwe Newton) was not just Henry's fellow agent, but also his lover. She has since left the agency and is living a pleasant family life in stunning Carmel-by-the-Sea, perhaps the most picturesque coastal area in the U. S. Chris Pine gets to look really cool driving a convertible over Bixby Bridge. Director Metz works in numerous flashbacks to the relationship between Henry and Celia, and it's through these that we come to understand their connection and the type of people they are. But ultimately, it's their meeting at the fancy restaurant with the breathtaking view that serves as the key to the movie and the story. In fact, because their time sharing a table and wine is so substantial and critical, it could easily transition to a stage play. It's a high-level game of cat-and-mouse between two beautiful and smart characters. You may know where it's headed, but it's unlikely you'll know how it will get there. It's easy to see this being a popular streaming choice as the characters and setting are easy on the eyes. The deeper questions asked here are what to do when a loved one isn't who you thought they were. Also, can you trust those trained to not trust others? As previously stated, it's a bit of a different spin on the spy genre - less action/thriller and more character study. Streaming on Prime Video beginning April 8, 2022.

Here we have another streaming movie that stinks of direct-to-video quality. It's extremely boring with 95% of the movie being conversations between two characters. It's listed as a thriller which is a huge lie. This is a mystery which is somewhat predictable. And much of it doesn't make sense if you think about it for more than a second. This movie isn't horrible. I was somewhat intrigued and I like the cast. But this is another streaming movie snoozer. (1 viewing, 4/10/2022) SPOILERS I guessed that he was the mole so early, when he asked to be the one to do the interrogation. But it was a throwaway guess that I forgot about until the middle of the movie when someone says "it could be you." At that point I remembered my original prediction and was sure of it. At least that's only the first of three twists. The second one was surprising but, when you think about it, makes no sense. They said that two different people corroborated that he's the mole and "that's good enough for me." They said that Elyas gave up his name. So why this whole elaborate reverse-interrogation plan? She says it's for confirmation... but they already poisoned the wine. So I ask again, why go through this whole ordeal? And what if he knew it was a sham and ran? Or did something crazy like... oh I dunno, hire a hitman to kill Celia... which he did. It's really dumb. The last twist about him doing it to save her was pretty cool, but at that point I had basically given up on the movie.

Seriously, what happened to Chris Pine's face? It looks like he's been overdosing on Botox. His face looks so stretched, plasticky and strange that it's distracting to watch him on screen. This film has all the old cliches that you could ask for. Covers no new ground and the performances are average. I can't understand why the d0uches who greenlight films keep churning out the same derivative crap that nobody pays to see, they simply download the torrents for free and kill ninety minutes of their mostly useless life.