13. Bridge Of Spies
Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, period setting; OK, everyone knows exactly what they're getting in for, but why the complacency? The anticipation for Bridge Of Spies was oddly muted, as if two cinematic juggernauts once again working together was a passé event. Nobody was expecting a dud (Spielberg doesn't always strike gold, but he is pretty consistent), but the general critical body didn't seem to be expecting anything classic. Ha. So yeah, Bridge Of Spies is something really special. Not quite a Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan, but a highly entertaining thriller set at the peak of the Cold War with a great sense of the time and a confidence to tell its story is a well-paced, methodical manner. Many Spielberg-isms rear their head here, but like in his best work they're all adjusted to fit his wider goal. So while everything is back-lit intensely, it's framed to build to the Cold War (in particular the newly divided Berlin) feeling like a moral purgatory, while stark edits only ramp up the contrast and parallels between Russia and America. It's this sort of naturalistic symbolism that a lesser director could have easily mishandled, but in the hands of a master it never feels forced. At points it goes overly sentimental and in the third act Tom Hanks is at his most Tom Hanksiest, but what do you expect from these guys?