London based CIA agent Alice Racine (Noomi Rapace) is licking her wounds after she failed to prevent a terrorist attack in Paris that resulted in a number of civilian deaths. With the support of her boss and mentor Eric Lasch (Michael Douglas) she goes back into the field and finds herself as the only person able to prevent the setting off of a biological weapon at Wembley stadium.
This is an old-fashioned spy thriller from veteran director Michael Apted that has much to recommend it. As we saw in the Dragon Tattoo movies, Rapace has the chops to portray an action heroine and she is the best thing in this. Douglas, Toni Collette as the MI5 officer involved, and John Malkovich as the CIA chief are all fine but are hardly extending themselves.
The films rattles along nicely, taking in some London locations we rarely see in films, aimed squarely at the international market. Sure there are establishing scenes at the beginning that show some of the most famous landmarks, but we are spared shots of the South Bank for a change.
Screenwriter Peter O’Brien is, though, no John Le Carre so it is best to leave your brain in neutral to avoid becoming annoyed by the plot holes or seeing the obvious twist well in advance. If you watch with a critical eye you may be bothered by some things, such as Orlando Bloom’s dodgy cockney accent in his part as a burglar who helps Alice out or the use of a timer on the bomb for no reason other than to give Alice time to save the day.
Also, despite taking money from Irn-Bru for some obvious product placement, the makers obviously couldn’t afford to pay the NFL to have real teams appearing at Wembley, a stadium that does not have lifts on the outside of the building as shown in the film. Also, there is a very sloppy moment near the end when the same footage of fans at the stadium is shown twice. Finally, Alice has been traumatised and is blaming herself, incorrectly, for the atrocity in Paris, but when she is responsible for involving an innocent friend in her current investigation and that person gets killed, it doesn’t seem to bother her!
Despite all those flaws, this is an enjoyable popcorn entertainment.
Rating: 7 out of 10