The scene is set in a fine restaurant where "Pelham" (Chris Pine) and ex-girlfriend "Celia" (Thandiwe Newton) and sharing some wine and considering who betrayed them many years earlier when their CIA operation around the hijacking of an airliner in Vienna went wrong. Ostensibly, "Pelham" is leading an investigation into the identity of the mole - it could be either of them, for all we know, or it could be their boss "Compton" (Sir Jonathan Pryce)... Sadly, though, John Le Carré this isn't. The narrative uses Pine's character as the conduit to interrogate all the potential suspects, and sadly that drags us into the solidly melodramatic aspects of his relationship with "Celia". On the plus side, that allows him to do what he has been trying to do ever since "Star Trek" (2009) - get his ass out on screen, but otherwise it is a terribly slowly paced affair. The espionage elements are largely subsumed into the relationship drama and frankly, neither Pine nor Newton have much to do in this dialogue heavy drudge of a film. It looks good, the production has a style to it; but quite simply not enough happens to keep it stimulating, the soporific lighting starts to take effects and after about 45 minutes I was really quite bored with it all. The ending is quite quirky, but it was all too little too late for me.

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"All the Old Knives holds an extraordinary cast and an interesting premise, but Janus Metz's uninspired execution turns a movie with immense potential into yet another generic work with little replay value.

Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton shine as the protagonists, and their astonishing chemistry transforms a simple dinner into the most captivating storyline of the entire narrative. However, the constant shifts between different timelines and distinct perspectives withdraw energy, pacing, and focus from Olen Steinhauer's decent screenplay.

Furthermore, Laurence Fishburne and Jonathan Pryce are criminally underused. It's far from being a non-recommended flick, but it leaves a somewhat bitter feeling by the end."

Rating: C

This film feels very much like a product of COVID filmmaking. While it hides it well, at the end of the day it is a remarkably small story, all structured around a tense reunion between two former colleagues/lovers who haven't seen each other in eight years. Initially, the limitations did start to drag things down for me, as the pace felt slow and the storytelling simple. However, this was one of those rare cases where the ending really pulled things together and made me look back more kindly on all of the setup that was needed to make it work. The reveals are suitably surprising for a CIA thriller, and more impressively, they have a dramatic impact on not just the plot, but also the character relationships that form the true backbone of the film. It's a very rare feat to write twist that successfully re-contextualizes everything we've seen prior, but I think this about pulls it off. There are probably some logical nitpicks that I could come up with if I think back through certain character's actions with full knowledge of the pending twists, but nothing so egregious as to ruin the experience. Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton are both solid in the central roles. All in all, a worthwhile, dialogue driven thriller.