Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

dsmith-25000 I nice fun film to watch if you can get around Ned Beatty swearing all the time.Plot hole #1. Kendrick hires a single engine seaplane to fly from Georgia to Martinique. But changes destination to Bermuda. a small seaplane as pictured wouldn't have the range to get to either destination nonstop and no place to refuel in open water between U.S. and Bermuda. Also, even in 1980, a plane from U.S. would have to clear Bermuda customs, not just land at a resort.Plot hole #2. At the end, Kendrick after starting his bi-plane is in an open field with no visible cover. His plan was to fly it by remote control from some building. But he would clearly be seen by occupants of helicopter coming to catch him, so they would know he wasn't on the bi-plane.

Knox Morris In Netflix's recent TV adaptation of Lemony Snicket's A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS an Uncle of three children explains that, like books, movies have an outer layer of entertainment, but an inner layer of philosophical brilliance. This best applies to Ronald Neame's HOPSCOTCH which, while truly delightful, is less consciously more about getting old and having one last bit of fun before the latter part of your life gets the better of you. All these moments are organized to the music of Mozart, and, ironically, the screenplay is like a symphony. Director Neame and writer Garfield crafted a film so suspenseful, so hilarious, and so intellectually wise that it is hard to believe critics dismissed it as just another okay comedy. They seemed to have missed what was hidden in a shallow layer of sand — the message of Shakespeare's "undiscovered country," or more commonly known as death. This is usually conveyed through images, but with this film, satire is the choice. You actually never see a word of Kendig's revelations about the CIA. Could it be so truthful that it's terrifying? Full of such lies that the agency could be ruined for nothing? We don't know. 10/10.

Rich Wright I love films where a smart guy outwits a bunch of buffoons in authority. Walter Matthua plays the veteran CIA agent who decides to resign in a blaze of glory, by revealing all the secrets of his occupation via a book. He leads his former colleagues on a merry dance throughout Europe and America, one step ahead of his dim-witted pursuers all the way. He pauses only to flirt with a very sexy Glenda Jackson, before she turned into a shrieking harridan of an MP. Humiliate your stuff shirted bosses AND have a lot of fun doing it? Am I jealous or what...The script crackles with funny dialogue and ludicrous situations, and as Matthua's plans become more convoluted, so the entertainment factor increases by a notch. He's like the funny uncle I never had (Sorry to my two present incumbents, but it's true) and his sheer presence in every scene is almost enough to make you grin. Give me this guy over 007 any day. 7/10

blanche-2 Two pros who make an unlikely but very successful combination, Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson, star in "Hopscotch," a 1980 film directed by Ronald Neame. The film also features Ned Beatty, Sam Waterston, and Herbert Lom. The film received an R rating due to the use of the F word by Ned Beatty's character.Matthau plays Miles Kendig, a CIA operative who is demoted to a desk job after he doesn't do what his boss, Myerson (Beatty) expected him to do. It's just as well with Miles - he's tired and he would like to get out, but not before giving a kick to the shins of the organization. He announces that he's writing a book that will reveal a lot of behind the scenes stuff and scandals. Naturally everyone, including the Russians, want him terminated.Thus begins, with the help of his girlfriend (Jackson), a game of hopscotch around the world as Kendig leads the powers that be on a merry chase. Aware that just about everything he touches is bugged, he feeds operatives all sorts of information, changes his name more than once, rents planes, flies commercial, steals a police car, and arranges for operatives to break into a hotel room where they think he is. In his greatest coup, he calls his ex-boss from his ex-boss' house, which is then blown to bits when there's an attempt to capture him - of course, he's long gone.Both funny and dramatic, you've really got your fingers crossed for Kendig, and the film keeps you guessing as to whether he can get away from the CIA -- and what his ultimate plan is, as well how various elements fit in.Matthau is his usual, implacable, flippant self, perfect for an operative and with the right temperament to try to escape CIA clutches. Jackson gives a classy, smooth performance as his helpmate. Sam Waterston plays it straight amidst the comic elements as he attempts to bring this spy in from the warm and into the cold. Ned Beatty plays the boss like the buffoon that he is. Everything works together to make a wonderfully entertaining film.Highly recommended. Very clever and well acted. Of course, there's nothing like seeing government operatives making fools of themselves.