All the Old Knives (2022)

Spy Drama - A bit Tedious - All the Old Knives review by GI

A rather over complicated espionage drama that relies on a complex structure of flashbacks that tests one's viewing patience. Based on a best selling novel (scripted by it's author Olen Steinhauer) and all very much in the vein of John Le Carré the scene is set in Vienna when a terrorist plane hijacking operation goes awry resulting in a lot of civilian deaths. Eight years later CIA agent Henry (Chris Pine - sporting a variety of very bad haircuts!), haunted by those past events, is contacted by his old Vienna station chief, the hardbitten Vick (Laurence Fishburne) and told that the reason the op went sour is they had a mole who was tipping the hijackers off. Henry is tasked with seeking out his past colleagues and trying to find out which one of them it was. This includes the shady Bill (Jonathan Pryce) and Henry's former lover, Celia (Thandiwe Newton), now quietly settled in California. The majority of the film is set in a plush restaurant where Celia and Henry talk about their past together as Henry tries to unravel if she is the traitor. It has some twists and turns and you'll probably figure it all out well before the film tells you. Overall its a film that is trying to be a serious espionage mystery but it just didn't quite have the tension it was so desperately seeking.