Pitt does well with what he's given, though I think his character suffers from poor writing, especially near the end of the film. I think Redford does well in the role of the retiring, slightly jaded CIA officer Muir. Will Muir's cloak and dagger antics be discovered before he has a chance to free Bishop? Overall the movie is not as good as other spy genre films such as Three Days of the Condor, Spy Who Came in From the Cold, or Hunt for Red October. While Muir is setting the background, he is also working secretly behind the scenes to free Bishop. Muir tells the story of how he met and trained Bishop: from Vietnam to Berlin to Beirut. CIA brass want to know what motivated Bishop to attempt this unauthorized action and they interview Muir to find out. Nathan Muir (Redford) is a retiring CIA officer who learns that his former protégé Tom Bishop (Pitt) has been captured while attempting a prison rescue in China and will be executed shortly. Spy Game will probably never be considered among the best spy movies to come out of Hollywood, however, it is a really entertaining movie with quite a few surprises.
