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Jason Monk is a former CIA agent who spied for the US in Moscow. He has not returned for years, although he has family there. It is because of the chance to see his daughter that he agrees to return - as a special agent to fight against a ruthless politician, Igor Komarov, who could quite probably become the next President of Russia. Monk discovers that Komarov has plans to let a deadly virus loose in the ethnic areas of Russia, thus causing genocide. ...
...friend, Viktor, and a policewoman, Sonia Astrova, to help him on his mission. But is such a small team strong enough to bring down such a frightening enemy? And will Monk be able to rebuild relations with his daughter after so many years?

This film, made in 2005, is based on the book of the same name by Frederick Forsyth. As such, I was quite surprised that I hadn't heard of this film, particularly as it stars Patrick Swayze. To be ... more

Jason Monk is a former CIA agent who spied for the US in Moscow. He has not returned for years, although he has family there. It is because of the chance to see his daughter that he agrees to return - as a special agent to fight against a ruthless politician, Igor Komarov, who could quite probably become the next President of Russia. Monk discovers that Komarov has plans to let a deadly virus loose in the ethnic areas of Russia, thus causing genocide. Monk cannot act completely alone and relies on an old friend, Viktor, and a policewoman, Sonia Astrova, to help him on his mission. But is such a small team strong enough to bring down such a frightening enemy? And will Monk be able to rebuild relations with his daughter after so many years?

This film, made in 2005, is based on the book of the same name by Frederick Forsyth. As such, I was quite surprised that I hadn't heard of this film, particularly as it stars Patrick Swayze. To be honest, I am not terribly fond of Frederick Forsyth's books, so if this hadn't been given to me as a free DVD with a tabloid, I would probably have never seen it. However, as so often happens with films of which I have low expectations, this was surprisingly very good and I am glad that I made the effort to watch all two and a half hours of it.

Patrick Swayze is Jason Monk. As an actor, I am most familiar with Swayze for his roles during the 1980s/90s - Dirty Dancing and Ghost come most immediately to mind. His role in this film is quite different - of the very full on kick ass type and I did wonder how he would manage to pull it off. He managed very well. He looks his age - Swayze must be in his 50s now - but he can still move when he wants to and he has obviously kept himself in shape. As a character, Jason Monk is one of those James Bond types that I find so annoying - no-one is that good - yet Swayze does pull it off and I really found myself rooting for him and caring as some of his friends get caught up in the action. I suppose that the lack of realism in the character is not Swayze's fault anyway, but is a problem with the original novel.

Patrick Bergin, who plays Komarov is the only other actor with a high listing for this film, but there are other actors that I believe deserve more praise. I thought Annika Peterson, who plays Sonia, was excellent. When she first came on screen, I thought she was Marg Helgenberger (Catherine in CSI) and she does indeed look very much like a younger version of her. Her performance as Sonia was great - she sucked me right in from the beginning - and although the story that her character is part of is highly improbable, like Swayze, she managed to persuade me that it was all very real. Peterson seems to be a relatively inexperienced actress, but I hope that she goes far.

Two other good performances are those played by Michael York and Ben Cross. Michael York plays British diplomat Sir Nigel Irvine. This is a very natural role for him - he just shouts British establishment. Ben Cross gives an outstanding performance as Anatoly Grishin, head of the Federal Security Bureau, and double crosser extraordinaire. He has one of those faces that is perfect for playing an evil man and as such, he is completely compelling in the role. Bergin is good as Komarov, but not so good that he deserves such a high listing.

The idea that one man can virtually single-handedly save the fate of an entire nation from disaster is pretty far-fetched. I've never been a fan of thrillers of this type and even now, I have no desire to read the original book. However, I think it is a sign of a good director and good actors that despite this, I found myself gripped from beginning to the end - despite the length. There is simply never time to get bored. The pacing is great - there is always something going on - but at the same time, there is never any confusion as to what is going on as there so often can be with action films.

The film was made in Moscow and there are some really lovely shots of the city, generally from the inside of a speeding car! I really enjoyed this, all the more so because it reminded me of all the Russian architecture in Beijing, where I lived for many years. It is certainly a great advert for visiting Moscow.

One thing that annoyed me throughout the film was the accents. Some, particularly Sonia, had great Russian-sounding accents. Others, such as Komarov, were not obviously Russian at all. Even worse, there were a couple of secondary characters who had American accents and I just wasn't sure whether they were supposed to be Americans or whether the actors couldn't do a Russian accent.

This is a long film. At over two and a half hours, it would be bum-numbing to watch in the cinema and as such, is much better as a TV film. I certainly had to break for a rest on more than one occasion. However, I wouldn't have wanted the film to have been any shorter - I think everything we saw was necessary to the story line. Just be prepared for the length.

I really liked this film. It grabbed my interest from the start and the pacing was great. It doesn't deserve to be a big hit at the box office, but, in my view, it is miles better than many that do. If you like thrillers like the James Bond ones or the Bourne trilogy, you'll enjoy this. And even if you don't, it's worth a try. Recommended.

I am reviewing the film only, but the DVD is available from play.com for £5.99.

Classification: 12

Running time: 166 minutes 

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