As you may well know, Spooks was a popular television show on the BBC. Now, as it's final swansong it's been given a film lead by one of the hottest actors around at the moment, Kit Harington. Over the last couple of years, there's been an influx of spy movies from Bond's renaissance to John Le Carré adaptations left, right and centre and Spooks: The Greater Good finds it hard to not only impress, but also find it's way into the pack. It doesn't quite have the creative, compelling noose of Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy and it certainly doesn't have the masculine bravado of Ethan Hunt's latest outings or Craig's James Bond.
Its main problem stems from its weak script. The story is ridden with cliches; the script sadly isn't as smart as it strives to be, and lacks any great deal of originality – it’s not going to be pulling up any trees, but it is very solid all round. There are certain points throughout the film where it threatens to build the momentum that might push it to the next level, but it’s not quite even enough to sustain this sufficiently to the degree where the film can move from solidity to greatness. Peter Firth and Kit Harington are proven actors and I've enjoyed their work previously, but they have nothing to work with. The dialogue made me reminisce of fifties television; it's slow, it's ropey and it's shockingly wooden.
Another annoyance is the fact it's not cinematic in any aspect. Everything is by-the-books and it looks like it was made for TV. It begs the question as to why the BBC didn't just commission another series, especially because everything in The Greater Good is underdeveloped.
The Greater Good is an unspectacular revival of the longstanding British TV staple. However, Spooks: The Greater Good finds strength in its lead character Harry, but a script that’s neither particularly subtle nor original holds the film back from being anything more than a fairly entertaining spy movie entry.
