A Review

When Bridge of Spies previewed a few months ago, I was on the fence over seeing it.  Stories about spies are usually exciting and engaging, but Tom Hanks in that role didn't really appeal to me.  I like Hanks in funny roles.  He always plays endearing characters, some of my favorites being You've Got Mail, A League of Their Own, Charlie Wilson's War, or Saving Mr. Banks.  For some reason though, because of the characters in those films I have a hard time seeing him in more dramatic roles, especially a spy, and I was downright disappointed in his casting/performance of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon character.

With that being said, there isn't too much out at the theaters right now, so I did go see Bridge of Spies this past weekend.  

And I LOVED it!  It was an outstanding film.  Based on the true story of lawyer James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks) who defended a captured Soviet KGB spy at his trials in the US in 1960.  After pleading the spy's case, Donavan got him a life sentence instead of the electric chair on the grounds that he might be useful in negotiations if a US spy was ever captured by the Soviets.  

During this same time, a US pilot flying a U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union was shot down and captured.  This began a negotiations with the Soviets (and the East Germans) just like Donovan had predicted.  He was taken to East Germany by the CIA, tasked to handle the negotiations.  

This was not a story that I was familiar with, and I didn't know of James B. Donovan at all.  But I do think Tom Hanks did a wonderful job portraying this character.  He had the seriousness of a lawyer and someone in his position, but was quite endearing with a good sense of humor about the craziness of the affair.  

My opinion of Hanks in a dramatic role was proved incorrect in this film.  It's hard to believe he was once a Bosom Buddy.