United Kingdom · 2017
Rated R · 1h 33m
Director Daniel Zelik Berk
Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Olivia Thirlby, John Hurt, Jürgen Prochnow
Genre Thriller, Mystery
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A spy navigates the precarious terrain of love and survival during an undercover mission in Syria.
Setting and performances aside, Damascus Cover is a forgettable spy thriller that bulldozes over its real-life relevance in favour of shoehorned romance and hackneyed characters. Less Mission: Impossible; more ‘Mission: Thrown Out The Window’.
The film trots out thinly conceived villains and a murky plot twists that leave crucial details needlessly shrouded in mystery.
Los Angeles Times by Gary Goldstein
The serviceable but astonishingly generic Damascus Cover features the usual political-thriller tropes — tough but haunted protagonist, zigzag of foreign locales, rival spies, arcane twists, shifting allegiances, wedged-in romance — without adding much that feels unique or exciting.
The New York Times by Helen T. Verongos
As one Syrian character tells another, “Timing is everything in this business,” and timing is only one flawed aspect of this uneven movie.
Unfortunately, Berk’s movie is too plodding and predictable to generate anything more than a modest level of suspense; worse, it lacks enough excitement to qualify even as instantly forgettable popcorn entertainment.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
The twist ending is muddled, and has a rather bland and emollient equivalence between intelligence agencies.
The Telegraph by Robbie Collin
Despite the clumsy writing and production design, Thirlby and Hurt acquit themselves perfectly well, and Jürgen Prochnow makes an enjoyably ripe appearance as a former Nazi who unwittingly helps direct Ari towards his target.
The Hollywood Reporter by Stephen Dalton
Sadly, Berk’s stale screenplay simply lacks the heft or depth to lift it above third-hand homage to earlier, better, smarter films.
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