Spy games (film, 2001)

The action takes place in 1991 . On his last working day before retiring, CIA operative Nathan Muir discovers that his agent, Tom Bishop, has been arrested in China. The official version is espionage. The case could go undesirable in connection with the imminent summit between China and the United States . Nathan has very little time, after 24 hours Bishop can be executed. An emergency meeting is being held at the CIA headquarters - Muir is being questioned about all the details of their relationship. Muir begins to recall all the important joint operations, starting from Vietnam , where he recruited Bishop until the last days. In the early 1980s, during an operation in East Germany, Muir sacrificed an agent recruited by Bishop, and between them an unpleasant showdown took place. Muir explained to the inexperienced Bishop that agents can become a bargaining chip in a complex game at the highest level. If you need to sacrifice them, then you have to do it anyway.

In 1985, during an operation in Lebanon, Bishop met Elizabeth Hadley, who allegedly carried out an English intelligence mission in Lebanon. Between them there were feelings that Muir knew about. He feared that this relationship would prevent Bishop from fulfilling his duties and put Hadley in a Chinese prison. Bishop tried to rescue his beloved from a Chinese prison and got caught. Nathan Muir applies all his knowledge, connections and money. Forging the signature of the CIA director, he organizes a military operation code-named "Romantic Dinner" and releases Bishop and Hadley from prison. In the last shots of the film in China, Bishop and Hadley fly in helicopters towards the American base, and in the CIA building in the USA they complete an official investigation involving Muir. The pilot’s random phrase about the name of the operation makes Bishop understand who saved him, while the CIA leaders, who have already released Muir, find an insight into what happened.

At the end of the film, the inscription “In Memory of Elizabeth Jean Scott” appears. Tony Scott dedicated the film to his mother, who died during filming in 2001.

• Cape Town Access Code
• Operation Argo

• Review and criticism of the film Roger Ebert
• IMDB entry
• RMDb