The Operative

Play trailer

1:55

The Operative

2019

1h 56m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

Action

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

41%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

36%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Mossad recruits a woman to become an agent and sends her to Tehran on an undercover mission. When her missions become more dangerous, she decides to quit, forcing her boss to find her before she becomes a threat to Israel.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Diane Kruger delivers an appropriately steely performance, but The Operative pursues a forgettable mission that fans of the genre will find all too familiar.

Read Critics Reviews

Michael Sragow

Film Comment Magazine

08/05/2019

With a clumsy flashback structure, The Operative never quite reaches a full boil, coming off - like its heroine - as an entity without a country

Go to Full Review

Christy Lemire

RogerEbert.com

08/02/2019

2/4

A solidly crafted if forgettable espionage thriller.

Go to Full Review

Ben Kenigsberg

New York Times

08/01/2019

A serviceable but not stylish filmmaker, Adler shoots office spaces and restaurants in a blandly shadowy style redolent of peak TV.

Go to Full Review

David Parkinson

Radio Times

01/30/2025

3/5

The storytelling also becomes a little muddled in the closing stretch, although the weapons-smuggling trip to the Turkish border is the pick of several tense set-pieces.

Go to Full Review

Danny Brogan

Common Sense Media

01/24/2020

3/5

Tense spy thriller contains sexual and graphic violence

Go to Full Review

Hannah Brown

Jerusalem Post

01/17/2020

The ingredients of an enjoyable spy flick are all present in The Operative, but they rarely come together.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Stan O

@RT81161109 May 23

I typically don’t leave reviews, but seeing that this was rated 41% made me want to. I love espionage movies, and this is one of the best I’ve watched! Thrilling and filled with suspense. And the way they ended it, leaving viewers on the edge of their seats, was brilliant.

See more

Donna C

@RT97871683 07/26/2025

A movie that kept me on the edge Not sure where her allegiance lay during the entire movie Cannot believe the ending but typical of Pommy shows, excellent!

See more

chris e

@RT78518289 07/03/2025

The first three reviews I looked at panned the movie. I had to leave a review because it hit the mark for me Real people Real dirty Espionage Slow burning. If you haven't seen it and you like the genrè Watch it!

See more

Alain E

@AlainE 01/01/2025

Kruger is nice to watch but the whole thing is so wooden I gave up after 20 minutes.

See more

steve d

@RT35616104 12/09/2022

Convoluted and not quite satisfying.

See more

lars p

@LarsP 08/02/2022

Where is the audience score? Or is there no audience? The first part of the film is OK, but does not rock, more average spy thriller. The second half consists of many scenes that make zero sense unless you happen to be a spy with an IQ below 70. My advice: Don't watch and waste less of your time, for time is life!

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Yuval Adler

Director

Diane Kruger

Rachel

Martin Freeman

Thomas

Cas Anvar

Farhad

Rotem Keinan

Daniel

Lana Ettinger

Operative 2

Viper Club

38%

42%

Viper Club

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Viper Club

Rojo

96%

40%

Rojo

Watchlist

Beirut

81%

57%

Beirut

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Beirut

Official Secrets

82%

89%

Official Secrets

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Official Secrets

Shelter

45%

80%

Shelter

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Shelter

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

The Operative: Trailer 1

1:55

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Mossad recruits a woman to become an agent and sends her to Tehran on an undercover mission. When her missions become more dangerous, she decides to quit, forcing her boss to find her before she becomes a threat to Israel.

Director: Yuval Adler
Producer: Anne Carey, Jonathan Doweck, Eitan Mansuri
Screenwriter: Yuval Adler
Distributor: Vertical Entertainment
Production Co: Bord Cadre Films, Little Mama, Black Bear Pictures, Little Shark Entertainment GmbH, Le Pacte, Spiro Films
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 2, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 2, 2019
Runtime: 1h 56m