Not all spy movies are made the same. And Amazon Studio’s new film All The Old Knives isn’t going to win over old Bond fans or others that love the spy and espionage movies. The film follows Henry (Chris Pine) as he investigates Celia (Thandiwe Newton), a past flame from their days as CIA intelligence officers in Vienna, who is now under suspicion of having been a double agent – which on the surface seems like a very interesting premise. But that’s where the intrigue ends for us.
The movie mostly consists of a table talk between Henry and Celia and flits back and forth to moments of their past romance, their sex life, and a terrorist attack that shaped her future and is at the heart of all of it. It should be an interesting story, but what it focuses on instead is a lot of weird interactions between the characters, and of course, the terrorists are Islamic extremists – falling into another trope that will only fuel more hatred for members of that religion. It seems like lazy writing to not think outside of this realm in this day and age.
From first watching the trailer to the final film, there was something else we just couldn’t shake – Chris Pine’s portrayal of Henry. It seems that in his styling and in his acting this time he’s channeling Dermot Mulroney – and that thought wouldn’t leave through the whole film. We didn’t see the Chris Pine we’re used to seeing, and while there’s nothing inherently wrong with this, it was distracting.
All The Old Knives will be released on Amazon Prime Video today. If you’re looking for an espionage-type thriller that basically looks back on itself over and over again with a bit of terrorism and romance tossed in – this may be the movie for you. For us, unfortunately, it was a slow trog through bits of extremist thoughts and a story that just didn’t grab our attention or keep it.
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About All The Old Knives:
A modern-day espionage thriller that follows Henry (Chris Pine) as he investigates Celia (Thandiwe Newton), a past flame from their days as CIA intelligence officers in Vienna, who is now under suspicion of having been a double agent. Using flashbacks to weave together multiple timelines, All the Old Knives peels back the layers of their past romance and exposes the truth behind a devastating terrorist attack they were unable to stop.
