Spy Game (2001)

It is 1991 and an ambulance arrived at a Chinese prison.  There was concern of a cholera outbreak.  Among the medical personal is Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt).  He was 'accidentally' electrocuted while trying to plug in a medical instrument.  Declared dead, he was left on a gurney in an isolated area while technicians attempt to restore power, and the rest of the med team continued with vaccinations.  Tom awoke soon after and hunted through the cells until he found a particular prisoner.  Time was short.  The extraction was almost complete when the alarms sounded, and the prison was locked down.  The extraction failed and Tom was captured.

Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) awoke when his phone rang.  Harry Duncan (David Hemmings) called to report Tom's capture.  Nathan was a CIA operative and today was to be his last day.  He had hardly arrived than he was asked about his files on Tom Bishop.  Nathan had recruited, trained, and ran Tom Bishop as an agent for nearly a decade.  As such, he was called into a meeting with CIA bigwigs to provide background on Tom.  Nathan's explanations morph into flashbacks.  Tom was recruited in Vietnam in 1975, trained in Germany in the late 70s, and broke with Nathan during an operation in Lebanon in 1985.  During training, Nathan tells Tom never to risk himself for an asset; send flowers (to the funeral) instead.  Save money for retirement and never touch it.  Much of the advice in the training telegraphs exactly how the movie will end.

All the action of the movie is from the flashbacks.  In the present, Nathan plays a game of deception and delay.  He had already deduced that the agency would let the Chinese execute Tom and that it was up to him to prevent that outcome.  That all these CIA bigwigs are led around by this retiring operative is sometimes amusing but mostly unbelievable.  Then again, Nathan is acting against many of the rules he had outlined and, to all appearances, faithfully followed throughout his career.

Though the story is good and the performances are excellent, the movie is just so-so.  As noted, all the action is in flashback and thus has no stakes; we know the characters are alive in the current day.  In the current day, Tom is helpless and Nathan must finesse a rescue with limited access and resources.  Nathan's career is already over.  What is he risking?  One supposes he would be prosecuted and tossed in jail but that is never outlined so it isn't clear for the audience.  One of the least exciting spy movies I have seen.

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

It is the late 1840s when Jeremiah Johnson (Robert Redford) arrives on the frontier.  After purchasing a horse, a mule, a Hawken rifle, and some traps, he sets out for the Rocky Mountains.  He makes a variety of greehorn mistakes but is lucky enough to survive anyway.  He eventually stumbles upon an old mountain man (Will Geer) who deigns to train him.  Armed with new skills, Johnson treks deeper into the mountains and has some success.  He acquires a mute son, a Flathead squaw, and a reputation.  He has achieved something like a happy life before tragedy changes him.  The Crow tribe wronged him and now they are at war.

The movie has an unusual structure: Johnson meets people on his journey and meets them again in the reverse order toward the end of the movie.  In the first meeting, he is a novice on the mountains while in the second meeting he is a living legend.

Based on the true story of Liver-Eating Johnson, the movie gets the gist right if not the details.  Johnson had been in the Navy during the Mexican-American War, but left before the peace.  His Flathead wife was killed in 1847, while the war was still in progress.  His vendetta against the Crow is painted as if he was satisfied after killing a handful of them.  In fact, the vendetta lasted for 25 years and saw Johnson recruiting others to assist him.   He earned his moniker by eating the livers of the Crow that he killed, a facet of the man that the film does not explore.

Overall, a terrific movie and great popcorn fun.  Highly recommended.