The wrap on this film, according to reviewers, is that it doesn’t hold up to the classics in the genera. Are they kidding? Okay, it is not at the level of the best 1970’s political dramas, but compared to what we are fed a steady diet of these days, this film is fantastic.

It definitely owes debts to those classic old films. You can see pieces of Three Days of the Condor, No Way Out, The Parallax View, All the President’s Men, and as my wife pointed out: Notting Hill! (“There are all these reporters outside my place … I had no where else to go;” DIRECTLY lifted from Notting Hill!) The music is straight out of No Way Out – not the style, but the (quite effective) way it is used.

The best thing about this film is that they understand the power of telling a story through dialog! True, it can’t compare to the classics, but its use of dialog is definitely way above average in world of today’s political/action thrillers.

The most surprising thing is that I actually kind of liked Ben Affleck in this film. Russell Crowe is fabulous, as he usually is when he is not teamed up with that hack Ridley Scott. Helen Mirren is good, if a little over-the-top. Rachel McAdams is solid and passible as Russell Crowe’s sidekick. Jason Bateman takes the whole film to a another level when he enters late in the game – it’s a terrific performance. And the incidental acting is very high level, which is key in a film of this genera.

Go see it!