One of the best thrillers of the past few years and Philip Seymour Hoffman's last role, A MOST WANTED MAN is a terrific movie.
The film is set in the post 9-11 world in which Hamburg is especially dogged in their attempts to prevent terrorists from moving through Germany.
Hoffman is perfect as Gunther Bachmann, the lead spy of a secretive German service targeting terrorism. His small team uses modern computer tracking and every old school spy trick in the books.
They are put to good use as young Issa Karpov sneaks into Hamburg from Russia, seeking a powerful German banker.
At the same time, Gunther's team is tracking a famous Islamic doctor who espouses peaceful Islamic practices but seems to have multi-million dollar connections to terrorist groups.
As these two cases merge and Gunther and his team deal with other government forces at work within Germany, the film builds to an exciting climax.
Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe and Robin Wright all bring strong support as human pieces of the elaborate puzzle.
From a novel by the great John Le Carre, this is a slow burn thriller that grabs you from its opening scene to its very last frame. You won't know where it's going, but it's a hell of a ride, painting a very believable picture of the churning tides where government, spies, extremist religion and banking meet.
Seymour is flawless in every scene, with cigarette smoke, intensity and passion for what Gunther does filling every on screen moment. What a loss to films with his recent death.
A MOST WANTED MAN should be on your most wanted films list. It's one of the best of the year and a tense, cerebral A.
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