I saw this at the North Shore cinema, on saturday night. I had high hopes for this one. It is based upon the John le Carre novel by the same name. The movie centers of Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), a half-Chechen, half-Russian, brutally tortured immigrant that sneaks into Hamburg to lay claim to his father’s ill gotten fortune. The man’s presence immediately grabs the attention of the foreign and domestic intelligence agencies in Germany. Is he a dangerous islamic extremist or is he simply a victim?
I really wanted to like this movie. I enjoy spy thrillers and I wanted Philip Seymour Hoffman’s final film to be a good one. Unfortunately, it seemed to drag on without end. I was very disappointed with the pacing of the movie. The characters were interesting but there was just too much movie and not enough plot. I have to say that I can not recommend it.