Kit Harington heads up a big-screen continuation of BBC’s Spooks

Director: Bharat Nalluri

Cast: Kit Harington,  Elyes Gabel,  Jennifer Ehle,  Lara Pulver, Tuppence Middleton,  David Harewood,  Peter Firth,  Lasco Atkins

Rating: 15

Running time: 103 mins

Release date: May 8th, 2015

SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD is based on the BAFTA-winning TV series SPOOKS which ran for 10 series on the BBC from 2002 until 2011, and aired in over 60 countries worldwide. Bharat Nalluri, who was the original director of the TV show, helms the big screen adaptation of the show. It has featured some big names, including SELMA’s David Oyelowo, THE HOBBIT’s Richard Armitage and also Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes and Rupert Penry Jones.

Like the series, THE GREATER GOOD follows MI5’s efforts to keep the population of London safe from renowned terrorists, this time led by Qasim (Elyes Gabel), a wanted man known for his illegal, extremist escapades by the British MI5 and America’s secret services, who are all rather flummoxed when he makes his daring escape from the spooks in the opening reel – and it seems he may have had some inside help from the powers that be.

Of course those who are big fans of the TV series may not be able to imagine SPOOKS without Sir Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), the Head of Counter-terrorism, but they don’t need to try. He is back once more, but his position and esteem are in jeopardy as a result of the liberation of Qasim.  Consequently, Pearce goes missing while on Qasim’s trail and fresh-faced recruit Will Holloway (Kit Harington) is despatched by his superiors to track the operative down. However, things may not be as simple for the recruit, who once worked for Pearce but was decommissioned by the man himself, as he is torn between trusting the word of his former superior and following the orders of bringing him in for interrogation. All of this, mixed with the threat of a terrorist attack looming and the facts surrounding Qasim’s escape still murky, Holloway does begin to suspect that there is a mole inside the agency who has helped the villain slip through MI5’s fingers.

The film is like a slow bubbling cauldron of suspense, anticipation and suspicion that places the lead characters in situations where they have to make incredibly difficult moral decisions and act for what they believe will be right in the long term. 

“Do good or do well,” that is the ultimatum which Harington’s Holloway finds himself in; the endless battle of asking what is right and what is wrong, and whether it’s always possible to discern between the two. This movie is the first time that we have seen Harington in a contemporary role after his appearance as Jon Snow in GAME OF THRONES, a fallen war soldier in the film TESTAMENT OF YOUTH and as the doomed gladiator Milo in volcano movie POMPEII. Although the audience may be familiar with some of Harington’s previous work and are likened to seeing him wielding a sword around, they will see he is just as handy with a gun. Harington is involved in some impressive stunts scenes and if he had missed his calling in life as an actor, he could definitely be a sprint runner! He commands the screen well and effortlessly draws you into the plight and tribulation of his character.

Firth as always is enigmatic as Sir Harry Pearce, who navigates the fraught network of British, Russian and US secret services, set against a backdrop of international terrorism in Syria and the chilling rise of home-grown Jihadism. He delivers his cool, calm and collected character in style and with the right amount of emotion. He proves once more that SPOOKS would not be the same without him.

Writers Jonathan Brackley and Sam Vincent are also veterans of the TV series and have helped the film transcend from its small screen origins. Fans of the show will love the big screen adaptation and for those who have never seen the TV series, will not feel as though they have missed out on anything or feel confused by the plot, as it can quite easily be viewed as a stand alone movie in its own right.

The director Nalluri has used many home locations during the projects production, which is largely set in London, but has also been taken further afield to the Isle of Man and Berlin. It’s wide, panoramic shots beautifully show the steel-grey skyline that has been captured in a series of loving helicopter shots, giving Nalluri’s film a welcome hint of gloss, but the vistas don’t completely disguise THE GREATER GOOD’s TV roots – but then, they don’t have to.

Overall, SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD is successful in what it sets out to achieve. It may not ooze the big budget explosions and high-octane action of its more infamous spy movie counterparts, but it still has the makings of an intriguing movie of that genre. That coupled with the great casting choices, is what makes this film different to the genre it is bound to and is what makes it a different type of spy movie in its own right. 

Verdict

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