Colin M
Spy drama involving Britain and Russia.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/15/24
Full Review
xx x
Pretty good spy thriller. Better than some newer spy films- The Gray Man I am looking at you.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Stewart C
I put The Fourth Protocol in the "good but with room for improvement" category of movies. Like most films derived from the works of Frederick Forsyth, it has a great plot that actually sounds plausible (no mean feat for a film based around nuclear weapons). Also, Pierce Brosnan is fantastic as KGB agent Valeri Petrofsky.
However, The Fourth Protocol could have benefited from several improvements. The first is an increased budget and better production values. The film looks like a TV movie when it should have been a big-budget thriller. The second is a fresh screenplay. This film sullies its great plot through poor storytelling. The dialogue could have done with a polish, too.
The third is a change of director. John Mackenzie's work on The Long Good Friday was, I think most people would agree, superb. However, I think he was out of his depth with The Fourth Protocol. A director like John McTiernan (the man responsible for Die Hard and The Hunt for Red October, among other things) would have been a better choice.
The fourth is a major casting overhaul. Aside from Michael Caine (who is always good value), Pierce Brosnan, Julian Glover, and Ian Richardson, the cast is, well, forgettable. In a film like The Fourth Protocol, it is important that the audience can remember who a particular character is and what he or she has done. As such, it is vitally important to cast actors and actresses who make an impression. The Fourth Protocol fails to do this and suffers as a result.
For me, the Fourth Protocol is one of the few films that could warrant a remake. Address some of the problems I mentioned above and re-work the story to fit into modern times (although let's face it, the Russian angle could still work in today's climate) and you'd have a pretty exciting film.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
08/19/22
Full Review
paul d
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.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
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.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Slightly dated, but leaner than average spy action.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/20/23
Full Review
Read all reviews
Post a rating
>
