Mel Gibson takes the mantle from Bruce Willis as the king of low-budget action flicks. Agent Game is a guilty pleasures espionage thriller loaded with backstabbing and wild shootouts. The film clumsily tackles the CIA’s use of rendition and torture at black ops prisons. The mystery that drives the narrative is easily deduced by the second act. All signs should point to a dud. But drum roll please, I was surprisingly entertained throughout the breezy runtime. Agent Game has no downbeats. The veteran cast, deception, and bullet-riddled action keeps the adrenaline flowing.
Agent Game jumps back and forth in time. Olsen (Mel Gibson), a shady CIA deputy, reacts to a threat off-screen. Several weeks earlier, a CIA extraction team arrives in Antwerp, Belgium, to snatch a target. The team leader, Kavinsky (Adam Canto), watches in horror as the unknown baddie blows up the operation. Then mysteriously gives himself up. Kavinsky, Miller (Katie Cassidy), and Reese (Rhys Coiro), agents who had never worked together, dutifully take their hooded prisoner to a waiting plane.
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Before the events in Belgium, the film flashes back to another rendition at an undisclosed Eastern European location. Omar (Barkhad Abdi) wakes up tied and suspended in an interrogation chamber. Bill (Jason Isaacs) asks Omar if his charity, the CDF, is affiliated with terrorists. A terrified Omar has no idea what he’s talking about. In the control room, a young upstart, Visser (Annie Ilonzeh), wants more extreme measures. But Harris (Dermot Mulroney), a seasoned operative, cautions her to relax and let Bill do his job.
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The film reverts to the extraction team on the plane. Kavinsky starts to receive messages from an unknown sender. Control warns him not to view the messages or break secure communication. Kavinsky becomes uneasy when the plane changes course. Miller believes in strictly following orders. Reese wants to calm them both down. They all share their experiences with Olsen. Then start to wonder about the identity of their hooded prisoner as the plane unexpectedly descends.
Theme and Cast in Agent Game
Agent Game wants you to question what’s actually happening. And whether the use of extraordinary rendition is justified for national security interests. This theme isn’t handled skillfully. Omar’s kidnapping is obviously something more devious and calculated. It’s not hard to figure out the identity of the prisoner on the plane. How that individual got there makes little sense, nor does the explanation for the overall scheme. The puppet master pulls a lot of strings for a goal that should have been much easier to achieve.
Agent Game’s old guard brings gravitas to the set-up. Lesser actors wouldn’t have the same grizzled delivery. Mel Gibson chews up the screen with thinly veiled barbs as he puts the team together. Jason Isaacs lifts the entire storyline in a brief supporting role. Dermot Mulroney, the primary protagonist, ratchets up the action in a blazing climax. The Hollywood stalwarts elevate a lean script.
Agent Game will be shredded by most critics. There are glaring flaws. I could rail against the low lighting in several key action scenes. But I wasn’t bored for a second of this film. Agent Game has a brisk pace and intense character interactions. I also got a kick out of the cliffhanger ending. Action fans will not be disappointed.
Agent Game is produced by Taylor & Dodge Productions and Project Infinity. It is currently available on-demand and in limited theatrical release from Saban Films.
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About The Author
Julian Roman
(1505 Articles Published)
Julian Roman has been with Movieweb for nearly twenty years. An avid film buff, he feels lucky to have interviewed and written extensively about Hollywood’s greatest talents. In his spare time he plays guitar, treasures good company, and always seeks new adventures.
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