All the Old Knives
All the Old Knives
Genres Mystery ,Thriller
Directors Janus Metz
Writer Olen Steinhauer
Country United States
Votes 30508
Rating 6.1
IMDBID tt3706352
Runtime 101
Languages English
Release 08 Apr, 2022
Cast Chris Pine ,Thandiwe Newton ,Jonathan Pryce ,Laurence Fishburne ,Corey Johnson
CIA agent Henry is tasked by his supervisor Vick to close an eight-year-old hijacking case that ended in tragedy. Vick has recently learned that there is a suspected mole who helped give the perpetrators information to impede the rescue attempt of the passengers. Being cleared by Vick, Henry is sent to interview his former colleague and lover Celia, a possible suspect due to her abrupt departure from the CIA the day after the hijacking. Celia, now married and retired, meets Henry in a California restaurant after he reaches out to her and asks her to dinner. Through multiple perspectives, timelines, and interviews, Henry, Vick, and Celia hope to find out what actually happened that day.
Manuel São Bento
MORE REVIEWS @ https://www.msbreviews.com/ "All the Old Knives holds an extraordinary cast and an interesting premise, but Janus Metz's uninspired execution turns a movie with immense potential into yet another generic work with little replay value. Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton shine as the protagonists, and their astonishing chemistry transforms a simple dinner into the most captivating storyline of the entire narrative. However, the constant shifts between different timelines and distinct perspectives withdraw energy, pacing, and focus from Olen Steinhauer's decent screenplay. Furthermore, Laurence Fishburne and Jonathan Pryce are criminally underused. It's far from being a non-recommended flick, but it leaves a somewhat bitter feeling by the end." Rating: C
posts by : Manuel São BentoCinemaSerf
The scene is set in a fine restaurant where "Pelham" (Chris Pine) and ex-girlfriend "Celia" (Thandiwe Newton) and sharing some wine and considering who betrayed them many years earlier when their CIA operation around the hijacking of an airliner in Vienna went wrong. Ostensibly, "Pelham" is leading an investigation into the identity of the mole - it could be either of them, for all we know, or it could be their boss "Compton" (Sir Jonathan Pryce)... Sadly, though, John Le Carré this isn't. The narrative uses Pine's character as the conduit to interrogate all the potential suspects, and sadly that drags us into the solidly melodramatic aspects of his relationship with "Celia". On the plus side, that allows him to do what he has been trying to do ever since "Star Trek" (2009) - get his ass out on screen, but otherwise it is a terribly slowly paced affair. The espionage elements are largely subsumed into the relationship drama and frankly, neither Pine nor Newton have much to do in this dialogue heavy drudge of a film. It looks good, the production has a style to it; but quite simply not enough happens to keep it stimulating, the soporific lighting starts to take effects and after about 45 minutes I was really quite bored with it all. The ending is quite quirky, but it was all too little too late for me.
posts by : CinemaSerf