Spooks: The Greater Good
Directed by Bharat Nalluri
Starring Kit Harington, Elyes Gabel, Jennifer Ehle, Lara Pulver, Tuppence Middleton and David Harewood
In UK Cinemas May 8th, 2015
by Haresh Patel
The old hands, and I mean that politely, of long-running BBC TV series Spooks finally get a big screen outing. For this event, to get bums on seats rather than sofas, Peter Firth and David Harewood are joined by Tim McInnery, Jennifer Ehle, and the rather popular Kit Harington.
Steered by veteran director Bharat Nalluri, who has directed both for the sofa screen and the big screen, The Greater Good elevates the taut, efficient style of the TV series to great effect. Pretty much all of the good things in the TV version are here – the affectionate humanising of characters, interplay of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, ethics of murder, and so on.
The Bourne and post-Bourne Bond legacy can never be gotten away from. It’s a chapter in modern film that resonates and ripples through spy and action films almost without exception. Its influence here is undeniable, though never as a cheap rip-off. The cast swing reassuringly through the dance of mole-chasing, jumping off buildings, blowing things up, backstabbing, shooting, car chases and talking into tiny earpieces that we the audience can also hear. And much like the last season of TV series 24, the action is centered around the city of London.
It’s always going to be hard to make London feel like an exotic location, and there are many familiar landmarks on display like a rather beautiful version of London that doesn’t have tourists, homeless people, traffic wardens, or chicken shops on every corner. As the film is aiming for an international market, why not?
It’s always hard escaping your family – they slogged it out, working every evening, to raise you up good and proper, so you can shine with the big kids. After all is said and done, with Spooks: The Greater Good, director Bharat Nullari pulls off a lovely heist movie.
