(US Air Force FE-006 Plane during the Cold War)
Bridge of Spies was a fantastic movie and the fact that it was based on a real story gives you a fright. I went with my dad and my sister so I had three perspectives. I had read about the incident so I already knew the story. But my dad who had only heard about the incident, said that it kept him at the edge of his seat although he had guessed what would happen, kinda. Then my sister who hadn’t even heard of the incident and is addicted to Disney and bad Sitcoms fell asleep halfway through and missed a ton of great movie. If your addicted to Disney and/or bad sitcoms then this isn’t the movie for you. Bridge of Spies is a movie about the Powers-Abel exchange with Russia in 1962. Rudolph Abel, a Soviet Spy, receives a secret message at a park bench before FBI agents burst into his apartment and he’s taken to prison. James B. Donovan, a lawyer who specializes in Insurance, is asked to defend Abel in court. James actually helps Abel instead of just letting him be sent to the electric chair. Abel is kept in prison because of a point that Donavan states, “If the Russian’s have one of our spies or men, we will have someone to trade.” This action causes James and his family to be put in danger, little did people know that Donovan would become a hero.
In the meantime, Francis Gary Powers flies a spy plane over the Soviet Union which is shot down and Powers is captured. A while after Frederic Pryor, an American Yale scholar studying German economics in Berlin, visits his German girlfriend as the Berlin Wall is being built. He is trying to get her back into West Berlin but is stopped by Nazi guards and is captured. Germany and Russia have two American men, America has a German spy, an exchange must be made. The USSR sends a fake letter from Abel’s family requesting a prisoner exchange and then the chaos begins.
I really enjoyed the realistic acting and the overall impact the movie takes in replicating this event into a two hour and twenty minute movie. My favorite part of the movie would probably just be the shots of Germany lifestyle during the Cold War. It truly represents the time and the struggle of the Germanic people. Overall the movie was very interesting and there was a ton of information shown in the film. The acting was pretty good, along with the visual effects being high quality, and the storyline was good (although it was based on real life). Since it was based on a true story there wasn’t all those impossible stunts like in action movies. I loved the realism of the movie and overall it was fantastic. With slight improvements I would give it a ten out of ten but I give it a nine out of ten because it would need slight improvements. Great movie though, it’s definitely a must see.