Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

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

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Paul Evans What a welcome return to television for this genre, cold war spy thriller, so popular back in the 1980's and for many years criminally absent. The Game was an awesome five part series, incredibly written and scripted, it was dark, pacey, loaded with intrigue and thoroughly engaging.Superbly acted, I've been a little critical of Tom Hughes in the past, a guy that looks like a model I found a little one dimensional, but he silenced me in this, he was outstanding. Brian Cox, Paul Ritter, Judy Parfitt etc all fantastic, but Victoria Hamilton was on another level, always been a fan but here she was unbelievable, an awesome actress.Part 4 was without a doubt one of the best hours of television I have ever watched, outstanding.Utterly devastating that a second series wasn't commissioned, the BBC missed a golden opportunity with both this and Banished. Nevertheless The Game was a magnificent piece of drama, 10/10

jammasta-1 The premise is this: a Soviet agent holed up as a university professor in England gets called up for a major operation that consists in waking up sleeper cells in numbers for an unstated grievous purpose. He defects and spills the beans to the MI5. The MI5 - represented, for the most part, by the love-child of Morrissey and a flock of cats (Tom Hughes) - expects the worst and stands up to the challenge, monitoring the operation in desperate hope that they may get one step ahead of the Russians. Needless to say, with 6 hour-long episodes, it's easier said than done. All this takes place in the bleak environs of early-1970s London, in cramped spaces, dilapidated housing, and persistent rain (reminiscent of "Se7en"). The series is well-made and entertaining. The pace - initially somewhat pedestrian - quickens by the 4th episode to get you panting by the 5th. At first, the drama seems very facile - seeming to boil down to a personal duel between Tom Hughes's "Joe Lambe" and a KGB killer on the loose in England. But there's enough of side story to this to keep you thinking there's more to it than that. And, frankly, you do get rewarded. On the technical side, the editing is near-perfect and the acting is pretty good, too. I was stuck on Victoria Hamilton' performance in "Mansfield Park," but she's a completely different thing here, with enormous self-assurance and power. Brian Cox is also a perfect hit as the head of MI5 ("Daddy"). If anything, it's Hughes that seems rather odd - his appearance and demeanor is somewhat out of place. On the one hand, this may be a virtue, since he does portray a far less bleak character than it initially appears. On the other hand, he's anachronistic - a poster-boy for the new romantic or a candidate for a remake of "Anna Karenina." The portrayal of "the game" resonates with all that an avid reader of le Carre will know - that it's almost never fun and games, and that it's not about the spectacular at all. The "games" we see played out in the series are not just about espionage - they are also about the personal lives of the characters who either play or get played. While it's not on level with the classic le Carre stuff with Alec Guinness, there's enough substance here to make you hope there's more to come from this source. This is really good enough to see.

paul2001sw-1 One part 'Tinker, Tailor', and one part 'Spooks', moody thriller 'The Game' tells the story of an attempt by the British government (in a thinly fictionalised 1970s) to spoil a major Soviet intelligence operation. There's the possibility of at least one mole, office politics, and a brooding air of tension amid general social decay. But what made John Le Carre's story so brilliant was its minimalism: not one thing happened that wasn't necessary for the plot. 'The Game' needs too many set pieces and seems to present an intelligence agency repeatedly guilty of both bizarre judgement and operational incompetence. The love story woven into the story has its own tragic conclusion; but none of the subtlety of George Smiley's complicated, broken relationship with Ann. Tom Hughes is underpowered in the lead role; the supporting cast, however, at least play their (somewhat stereotyped) parts with gusto.

enofile Perhaps this reviewed is skewed since I grew up during the Cold War, but although the filming, acting, and atmosphere are spot on, there are inexplicable discrepancies in the plot that simply make no sense. Bodies are knocked out and left prone with no attempt to interrogate. Wire taps are set and the listeners just far away enough not to prevent the obvious disaster. Comedy is interjected at inappropriate moments and seems ridiculous, rather then funny. Also, the writers have thrown historical accuracy to the wind, and the story takes on a "Twilight Zone," science fiction tone. If I provide exact examples, I will spoil the show for those viewers who simply desire snappy entertainment. Thus, I will show restraint. The Game could have been a TV LeCarre, but alas, it is more pop then intrigue.