Rated R
2 Hours 10 Minutes

Starring: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy

In the real world, James Bond would be lucky to last ten minutes against the ruthless and clever cold war spies in “Tinker, Tailor, Solder, Spy.”

Gary Oldman stars as George Smiley, the top British agent who comes out of retirement to track down a double agony whose secretly working for the Russians.

Oldman delivers a stylish performance in this brooding espionage thriller that depends on brains far more than brawn to tell its story. He’s supported by the usual suspects, a top notch cast of the best British character actors including last year’s Oscar winning best actor, Colin Firth.

If there is a rotten apple in the spy network, leave it to Oldman to weed him out.

The picture just bristles with tension as we travel through the bleak world of international espionage. They protect their country but they’re not nice people. This is an intricate spy story for intelligent grown ups.

It’s not just the shadowy camera work that makes this a very dark film. “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” digs deep enough to come up with 3 stars. If you’re looking for gripping drama, this is it.