The Courier (2021)

I find the Cold War and anything to do with it pretty fascinating. I’ve read plenty about it, I’ve studied it, and I’ve watched many films and documentaries about it. The world of old school spy thrillers is one that I love to get lost in for hours at a times. So why did The Courier leave me so cold? (Pun intended). What makes it more disappointing is that it’s based on the fairly unknown true story of Greville Wynne (a reliable Benedict Cumberbatch) who was recruited by MI6 to help gain crucial intelligence from a Russian man by the name of Oleg Penkovsky. The performances in general are perfectly fine, but it seems trapped by needing to find a wide audience. I’ve seen a couple of Cold War thrillers in the last year old so, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965) which was an excellent tale of hard hitting danger and espionage, in which you felt the peril at every turn. The other was Steven Spielberg’s Bridge Of Spies (2015), which is a very safe film, but still remains solid and enjoyable, with cinematography that makes you really feel present in the era. The Courier doesn’t really do either of these things, and although the performances are decent, I never felt danger or much care for the characters. Cold hearted, perhaps, (pun intended) but The Courier is simply serviceable, and that’s not good enough in my book. 6.0/10