The Numbers Station

R

Released Apr 26, 2013

1 hr. 29 min.

Action

Mystery & Thriller

List

31%

26 Reviews

Tomatometer

31%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Emerson, a disgraced CIA agent, guards Katherine, a code operator, in a top secret CIA installation in Britain. When heavily armed assailants lay siege to the compound, Emerson and Katherine have to stop the deadly plot before it's too late.

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Critics Consensus

Not even Cusack's bankable hitman angst can save this dimly lit, shaky-cam, wannabe thriller from missing its target.

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Geoffrey W

This is a niche film; I was an avid listener of shortwave radio as a kid. I used to hear the numbers stations and wondered what they were. When this movie came out, due to my experience, I was excited to see it and it created a really cool story surrounding a real life childhood mystery. I admit I have unfairly rated it 5 stars due to these factors. But i have to say, I thought this was a great movie!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/04/24

Full Review

Paul W

Great action movie, have no idea why it's rated so low

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Muito bom, aquele flerte com a trolagem, quando achamos que aconteceu e foi apenas uma visão do protagonista, apaixonante, previsível, necessário, uma ótima trama, nada original, mas encantadora e hipnotizante, mistério, tensão, mortes, fugas, suspense, traição, espionagem, protagonista forte e inteligente, amo Cusak, por si só já me encanta...

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

laurie s

Okay, let's talk realism. Do you really believe a girl would come out of the house running after the killer asking, 'Why did you do that?' after he had just assassinated someone in her presence? She would have hidden under the bed at the very least. It's things like this that really annoys me and spoils an otherwise potentially decent film. What a shame.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The focus of this movie that is the most enjoyable is the relationship between Cusack (a spook) and Akerman (a cryptologist) The paranoia is well-captured in this flick. The hacking scene is cheesy, but the relationship is a solid ride for me. Very true to life I think.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

morigu p

You have seen this movie before. It follows all of the standard action and plot sequences. Hired killer grows a conscious/gets reassigned to a baby-sitting role/mayhem ensues/killer saves the day, gets the girl and walks off into the sunset. IF you like John Cusack and/or Malin Akerman then you will enjoy this movie well enough. John's his fast talking mono toned persona I have grown to love and Malin is well, just stunning. It passed the time.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Kasper Barfoed

Director

John Cusack

Emerson

Malin Akerman

Katherine

Liam Cunningham

Grey

Richard Brake

Max

Bryan Dick

David

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Critics Consensus: Pain & Gain is Visceral But Uneven

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Bill Stamets

Chicago Sun-Times

John Cusack replays his role as a lethal operative with occupational angst for a routine thriller with a female cryptographer at secret CIA site. Dire workplace issues ensue.

May 11, 2013

Full Review

Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

A predictable hodgepodge of uninteresting psychological cat-and-mouse, dimly lighted action filmed by director Kasper Barfoed in standard-operating shaky-cam ...

Rated: 2/5

Apr 26, 2013

Full Review

Lou Lumenick

New York Post

With Cusack's help, Barfoed holds your interest without resorting to car chases, a rarity in a contemporary thriller.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 26, 2013

Full Review

Frank Ochieng

SF Crowsnest

The figures simply do not add up in director Kasper Barfoed's sleepy-eyed spy thriller The Numbers Station. Inexplicably stillborn and predictable, The Numbers Station struggles mightily to incorporate a sense of slow burn thrills

Rated: 2/4

Nov 17, 2018

Full Review

Abby Olcese

Scene-Stealers.com

Ultimately this movie is better forgotten.

Jun 23, 2017

Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Common Sense Media

Danish director Kasper Barfoed, who makes his English-language debut here, makes fine use of the movie's tight constraints, painting it in concrete hallways, electrical panels, and glowing computer screens.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 18, 2014

Full Review

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Synopsis

Emerson, a disgraced CIA agent, guards Katherine, a code operator, in a top secret CIA installation in Britain. When heavily armed assailants lay siege to the compound, Emerson and Katherine have to stop the deadly plot before it's too late.

Director: Kasper Barfoed
Executive Producer: Andrew Spaulding, Doug Mankoff, Steven Silver, Neil Tabatznik, Christopher Figg, Robert Whitehouse, Chris Fenton, Chris Cowles, Jamie Carmichael, Erick Kwak, Charlotte Walls, Per Sandholt
Screenwriter: F. Scott Frazier
Distributor: Image Entertainment
Production Co: Piccadilly Pictures
Rating: R (Violence|Language)
Genre: Action, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 26, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 18, 2016

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