Gary Oldman stars in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Courtesy of Entertainment One
The Academy Awards have long been criticized for their pretentious selections of top films in cinema. This year, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy received three nominations from the Academy, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, further warranting these criticisms.
This movie is an adaptation of John le Carré’s novel and tells the story of a British Secret Service (MI6) mole hunt. To be frank, this is one of the least interesting movies to involve any level of spy operation. The characters are highly underdeveloped and emotionally disconnected from the audience, while the story is riddled with lack-luster motivation.
Gary Oldman’s (The Dark Knight) performance is nothing more than a straight-faced intellectual from beginning to end, making the Oscar nomination and tremendous praise absolutely baffling. The best performance comes from Benedict Cumberbatch, who excellently portrays the young spy trying to cope with a great deal of stress.
Fortunately, for the numerous fans of the movie, the Blu Ray + DVD combo home release contains a decent set of bonus features for you to dive into. The bonus features include five deleted scenes, a thirteen minute featurette Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: First Look, and a full length audio commentary with director Thomas Alfredson and Gary Oldman. Both the featurette and commentary provide an interesting background on the production, while the deleted scenes, if you’re anything like me, may put you to sleep.
Bottom Line: If you’re not a fan or aren’t looking to cure your insomnia, keep your distance from this movie.
Release Date: March 20, 2012
Movie Grade: C
Blu Ray/DVD Grade: B+
Runtime: 128 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
