The Fourth Protocol

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simon b Aug 13 Michael Caine was under contract to the studio in the late 80's, so didn't always choose what films he was in. some were pretty awful - Blue Ice being one, but 4th Protocol is really rather good. Thumbs up from here! See more Charles L 06/24/2024 Yes Worth A Watch Caine and Bronson are good together See more Shawndell J 06/22/2024 Excellent Cold War thriller. Very young Pierce Brosnan already positioning himself as a spy film prodigy to include being the 5th iteration of James Bond. See more Colin M 02/15/2024 Spy drama involving Britain and Russia. See more Paul D @PaulusLoZebra 01/13/2021 The Fourth Protocol is a very good spy thriller, with well-developed characters, an excellent, believable premise, and a good story. The film is entirely believable, with no superheroes, no James Bond, and no obvious special effects. Both Brosnan and Caine are excellent, and Joanna Cassidy has a small but crucial role as a mysterious and businesslike Russian scientist. The supporting cast of Russian and British are also convincing. The film proceeds at an excellent pace, with a score that highlights the suspense. See more 07/25/2018 A good spy thriller can really hit the spot - but unfortunately, The Fourth Protocol, is really a by-the-numbers exercise in generic clichés that even Michael Caine can't salvage. Not that a straight genre film can't be fully enjoyable - they can be totally and explicitly formulaic and still great; however, this film is really just going through the motions. Apparently, author Frederick Forsyth and Caine were friends and dreamed up the idea of producing this version of his fifth spy novel (after successful films, without Caine, were made of his earlier books: The Day of the Jackal (1973), The Odessa File (1974), and The Dogs of War (1980)). I thought director John Mackenzie would be an added bonus, because his The Long Good Friday (1980) is so great (but alas, he never seemed to have directed anything else that good). Michael Caine is a British spy who is on the outs politically with his "acting" superior when he cottons on to a plan to smuggle an atomic bomb into the UK to blow up an American Air Force Base. Pierce Brosnan plays the undercover Russian spy doing the dirty deed. Of course, there is the usual political subterfuge going on in the background, which pulls the rug out from under the audience (sort of). However, all of this was done so much better in the awesome miniseries (adapted from John Le Carré), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979), starring Alec Guinness, and its sequel, Smiley's People (1982). Start there first and skip this one. See more Read all reviews

The Fourth Protocol

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