Such a frustrating disappointment

hyped garbage

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Emerson (John Cusack) is a government assassin who grew a conscience and failed to kill an innocent witness. He is given a desk job at a secure bunker in England. He will work with a woman (Malin Akerman) and together they transmit codes to agents operating in Europe performing all kind of black ops...or something. When the station is compromised, Emerson has orders to "retire the broadcaster."Most of the action takes place within the Numbers Station with the two main actors. The strength of this light spy action thriller rests on their performances as they fight for survival.Cusack was more convincing in this film than he was "The Factory." The movie holds your interest as you wonder what Emerson will ultimately do, why the station was compromised and by who. It is a film you will find "okay" and then forget about it as it blends into everything else you have seen.Parental guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

The idea for a film seems good, but it did not work out for this film. The screenplay lacks some good scenes. The suspense was weaker and so the action sequences. Though the film had good actors in the lead and visually looked fine, like the locations. Most of the story was set in a single location, except the opening sequence. Almost a minimal cast film. So it had all the qualities to succeed if the plot was developed smartly.The story of a CIA's field agent who has been assigned to one of their remote stations in England after he had failed to obey the order from his fellow senior officer. A code operator Katherine, whom he has to protect find himself in a tight position when their building was breached. Once again, his professional ethics are tested, but how he deals the situation is what covered in the remaining parts.Its most certain that John Cusack days are over in the entertainment industry, just like Nicolas Cage and John Travolta. But it's good to see them at least in small flicks like this. So I did not expect much from it, hence not got disappointed. But I thought it should have been better in a few areas, because I've seen lots of good B movies these days. One time watchable film, but looks like it is a simplified version of 'Wanted'.5/10

Everybody has seen films about 'black ops' stuff. This film is completely different. In this film you see 'black ops' guys acting like barbarians towards other human beings who did nothing to deserve it. The fact that 'they might compromise something' is hardly a qualifier for shooting down an unarmed teenage girl-which is what the film depicts. The term 'disgraced black ops person' as that applies to John Cusack's character has about as much meaning as a poem from Pol Pot. I have never seen the world of clandestine operations depicted in quite this way before. It of course makes me wonder if it is true. The acting is as usual great from all involved. I think movies are not about the actors anymore-they are about the ideas presented in the movies. This isn't a very glossy film but it is thought provoking-if making people think was the filmmakers objective I think they achieved their objective.

There is only one really decent thing about this movie and that is the audio. The sound of liquid dropping and echoing at the start is cool, and each gunshot makes your heart jump. Excellent on a home theater. And HOME is where this movie should be watched, and also for free, and also if you have absolutely NOTHING to do and are really bored and can't find another movie to watch. Other than that, the girl who played Merdith (Iphone app designer -turned secret agent code cracker), from Watchmen, the girl with yellow black suit ( I didn't even know that's who played it) she fails at her performance, her lack of real emotion after getting a 3 inch piece of metal shrapnel embedded in her leg and then getting it awkwardly yanked out by Cusak with no anesthetic, it's just poor. Pointless movie. I fast-forwarded through it a few times and then just wanted to get it over with, if I was watching this in the movie theater I would leave part way through.