Director Dominic Cooke brings the life story of British engineer and businessman Greville Wynne to the big screen in The Courier from Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions. Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) finds himself recruited into one of the most significant international conflicts in history. At the behest of the UK’s MI-6 and a CIA operative (Rachel Brosnahan), he forms a covert, dangerous partnership with Soviet officer Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze). The mission to provide crucial intelligence needed to prevent a nuclear confrontation and defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Set in the early sixties, The Courier is a thinking person’s spy film or, in laymen’s terms, a movie for adults. I did not expect a movie full of death-defying stunts and hand-to-hand combat sequences from the premise alone, but I did want something a little faster-paced. Benedict Cumberbatch is acceptable in the lead role and brings some life to the script from writer Tom O’Connor. I particularly enjoyed his scenes with Jessie Buckley, who portrays his wife Shelia, who deals with her husband’s newfound job and its effects on her family.
I was not familiar with Merab Ninidze, who portrays Soviet officer Oleg Penkovsky. I assume the filmmakers wanted us to identify with Oleg Penkovsky, which explains why they chose an unknown actor. The rest of the supporting cast all give paycheck performances. The only one who stands out is Rachel Brosnahan as CIA operative Emily Donovan.
I commend Greville Wynne for his bravery, and while Benedict Cumberbatch does a great job in the lead role, as a whole, The Courier missed the mark for me.
Final Grade C-
The Courier is showing in theaters now.
Filmmaker Minhal Baig takes audiences to Windy City for her third directorial effort in “We Grown Now” from Sony Pictures Classics. Baig also pens the screenplay, which is set in 1992. In the vibrant heart of Chicago’s Cabrini-Green, two inseparable pals, Malik (played by Blake Cameron Jones) and Eric (portrayed by Gian Knight Ramirez), transform their bustling neighborhood into a playground of dreams.
John Travolta returns to the world of bank robbing in “Cash Out” from Saban Films. Ives directs the film from a screenplay by Dipo Oseni and Doug Richardson. Mason (Travolta) is the leader of a high-end crew of thieves that includes his girlfriend Amelia (Kristin Davis), his younger brother Shawn (Lukas Haas), Anton (Quavo), Link (Nataku Yura), and Hector (Noel Gugliemi). Mason decides to hang it up for good after a double-cross from Amelia, who is undercover, spells a near-miss with the law.
Acclaimed director Guy Ritchie continues churning content as his latest film, “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” from Lionsgate, hits theaters. Ritchie, along with Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, and Arash Amel, co-writes the screenplay, which is an adaptation of Damien Lewis’ book “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: How Churchill’s Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Black Ops.”
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