All the Old Knives (2022)

The story centers on (fictional) Flight 127 in 2012 that was taken over in Austria by terrorists, their demands weren't met, everyone died, including the terrorists. Now 8 years later, in 2020, the American "agency" again sets out to examine how things unfolded back then with the new, unverified information that a captured terrorist said there was an inside informant that gave them some key information. Henry is assigned the task to interview key personnel to try to verify or refute that information. One of those is his ex-lover Celia.

The movie uses an editing approach that is frustrating at times, as they switch frequently between present time and eight years earlier. Then as things start to jell near the end, a key scene is replayed showing information that was withheld from the audience the first time around. Then everything we saw is tied together only during the last few minutes of the movie.

It certainly is manipulative, to keep viewers guessing until the very end. Ultimately the doomed flight 127 is just an event that allows the story to explore the real relationship between Henry and Celia and what some people will do for love.

My wife and I watched it at home on Amazon Prime streaming movies. Not a great movie but we were entertained. Pine and Newton are good.

Fmovies: The movie has all the good accessories: sleek production, atmospheric mise-en-scene, glossy photography, powerful soundtrack.

But it's the excellent screenplay (from author Olen Steinhauer) and acting performances that make All The Old Knives a high quality espionage thriller, one made of the good old stuff.

For once the genre is not represented in movies by the usual kiss-kiss bang-bang, car chases, fistfights and the whole James Bond enchilada. This is espionage for connoisseurs.

Bottom line is that All the Old Knives is a really fine and absorbing movie. I recommend it, no hesitation. The rest of what I have to say about it just fills in details.

Spy thrillers on the screen seem to fall into two categories. The first and by far the most numerous is the James Bond path: fill the screen with action and when in doubt, add in more car chases, hand-to-hand fights, and explosions. These efforts can be extremely well done and give you a great thrill ride and if that's what you want, there's no lack of choices out there. But the generic problem with those was nicely nailed by that very wise writer Ursula Le Guin: if the only thing going on is unceasing physical action, that's a sure sign no story is being told. (Or words to that effect -- I had trouble finding the exact quote.)

So then we have the second category: the John LeCarre camp. Much rarer and ultimately more interesting. Sylistically the daddy of all of these is The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (1965, starring Richard Burton and Claire Bloom). All the Old Knives is spookily close to a modern version of that. Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton play now-retired intelligence officers tasked with getting to the bottom of an 8-year-old unsolved mystery: what went wrong with the way their agency dealt with the infamous Flight 127 in Vienna, taken over and destroyed by terrorists? Was there a mole among them, and who? The story gets laid out for us in flashbacks and replays of their memories (and sometimes flashbacks within the flashbacks), bit by bit.

Here's a spoiler for free: there's not a SINGLE car chase, fight, or explosion. Not one. (There is one gunshot.) This is grittier, realer, and tenser. If you think this is boring -- here, have a lollipop. Go away and let the grownups watch it.

The two stars Pine and Newton virtually carry the whole movie, with a bit of help from veterans Laurence Fishburne and Jonathan Pryce in supporting roles. But they are all excellent and the dialog is impressively realistic, constantly engaging. Following the twists and turns is not meant to be easy, I think, but the scenes connect seamlessly and flow beautifully. Is there a message underneath it all? It's never said out loud, but I think it is just that in this spy business, everybody taking part -- sooner or later, right side or wrong side -- loses. Be prepared to have a mix of feelings by the end.

All the Old Knives fmovies. Slow boil thriller. Moves at a deliberate pace over two timelines. A solid cast and story. Just as things get predictable, a third act plot twist adds to the story intrigue.

All the Old Knives is a genre movie trading on the John LeCarre-like tropes of intrigue and betrayal but with more of the latter and less the former. CIA agent Henry Pelham (Chris Pine) investigates the the successful hijacking of a Turkish airliner in a Vienna airport by jihad terrorists in 2012 with over a hundred people murdered-- suggesting a mole within the CIA ranks.

The pace is deliberate, slow if you will, allowing director Janus Metz and writer Olen Steinhauer (from his book) to linger on protagonist Henry and his former love, Celia Harrison (Thandiwe Newton), a retired agent who worked for the agency at the time of the hijacking. The film dwells on their intimate conversation and lovemaking with closeups too many even for me, who usually gains insights from such intimacy.

The emphasis leaves too little time to be caught up ordinarily in plot twists and distracting clues. Even the least sophisticated viewer will not miss Jonathan Price's Bill Compton as a possible red herring for the mole-the conventions of this genre don't allow an obvious suspect that early in the game.

The plot, then, misses the richness of spy mechanics and twists that point everywhere and nowhere-always an anarchic joy keeping cinephiles engaged.

When the plot devolves into Henry and Celia at a Carmel restaurant by the sea with free-range bacon and only wine, their intimate conversation struggles about who is the culprit and whether the two still love each other. It exhausts with their mooning, her cliche-required tears, and their lovemaking, which is gratuitous.

However, the virtue of this approach is to allow the film's theatrical quality to emerge and treat theatre lovers to tight dialogue and pent-up passion. However, if emphasis had been placed on deconstructing the possible perps, the mystery would have crackled. Other engaging characters are plentiful in All the Old Knives but not used.

Although that Carmel restaurant is as glamorous as the leads (even if constructed on a sound stage in the UK), it occupies almost half the film, loading us with flashbacks and incompetent waiters, none of which is fleshed out enough to be suspicious. Rest assured that ends are tied up and spy justice administered with a twist on honor to get your attention.

Betrayal is the name of the game and has always been for the spy agencies and their operatives. Here not only does the mole betray his country, but our two heroes also have a history. For those related to agents, betrayal is an everyday game of what the agent really does.

For the audience, a certain amount of action while still offering potent dialogue is welcomed in spy stories, some of that in All the Old Knives. But don't ask me about that title: It's as inscrutable as the story is much of the time.

I'm happy for the challenge at this low season for movies after Oscar.

Flashbacks are numerous but easy to follow because the characters look markedly different. Good spy thriller with stellar acting and a couple of good, though expected twists that will still keep you guessing until the final revelation. There is zero action so look elsewhere if you're looking for a Bond escapade. Nice direction, cinematography and despite the slow pace, never boring. Pine, Newton and Pryce do some nice work here. Highly recommended!!!