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| Title: | Spooks: The Greater Good |
| Director: | Bharat Nalluri |
| Starring: | Kit Harrington Peter Firth Jennifer Ehle Elyes Gabel |
| Genre: | Spy/Action/Thriller |
| Runtime: | 1 Hr 40 Mins |
| Music: | Dominic Lewis |
| Studio: | 20th Century Fox |
| Certificate: | UK: 15 |
| Release Date: | UK: 8th May |
| See If You Like: | Spooks (TV Show) The Bourne Identity |
Spooks: The Greater Good is the long awaited big screen adaptation of the hugely successful British TV show of the same name which ran between 2002 and 2011.
When it comes to big screen adaptations of TV shows the first question on most people’s minds is, ‘do I have to have seen the show?’ To which the answer for this film is, thankfully, no.
The set up is basic enough; Peter Firth (Spooks) plays Harry Pearce, the head of counter terrorism for MI5, who manages to lose one of the CIA’s most wanted criminals, Adem Quisem. Quisem’s escape leads to a series of betrayals that mean Pearce must go rogue in order to find out who has betrayed him and why.
To help him on his mission Pearce recruits former MI5 operative Will Holloway, played by Kit Harrington (Game of Thrones, Pompei.) Who he believes is the only person he can trust within the organisation.
If all this sounds very familiar it is because the script, written by Jonathan Brackley and Sam Vincent is yet to meet a cliche it isn’t fond of, whilst the production feels like it has been transferred straight from BBC One. That being said the film never lets up in terms of excitement and whilst the various twists and turns feel very generic and really don’t attempt to shake their TV grass roots, the film whizzes by at a fun pace and is efficiently entertaining enough.
The film does succeed in creating tension at various points with two scenes in particular; one early on in Kent and one towards the end in a control room succeeding in creating some sweaty palm moments; even if the film does take its foot off the gas in its final 20 minutes.
Kit Harrington makes for a fun addition to the Spooks line up and whilst his character isn’t short of a contrivance or two he still manages to supply the overly macho sentiment required of him. Harrington and Firth in particular share some of the movies best scenes as they both attempt to wrestle with their decisions and the effect they have had on each others lives.
Fans of the Spooks TV show are bound to find a lot here to love whilst to everyone else Spooks: The Greater Good will provide entertainment enough, but will never really rise above the usual genre fare.
