72
If you can overlook the three or four endings of Bridge of Spies, each more overdone than the last, there’s a lot to like here.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
63
Slant Magazine by Christopher Gray
The film has a streamlined efficiency, but it feels like the work of a master who wants to please rather than probe.
70
New York Magazine (Vulture) by David Edelstein
It’s Rylance who keeps Bridge of Spies standing. He gives a teeny, witty, fabulously non-emotive performance, every line musical and slightly ironic — the irony being his forthright refusal to deceive in a world founded on lies.
75
While the rousing tale of espionage has plenty of appealingly old-fashioned qualities, there's no doubting Spielberg's ability to devise visually arresting moments that speak to the movie's themes far better than its story.
70
Screen International by Graham Fuller
Unusually for a Spielberg movie, Bridge of Spies is tonally uncertain.
80
Gifts of civility small and large mark Steven Spielberg's latest film, a deeply satisfying Cold War spy thriller that feels more subdued than usual for the director—even more so than 2012's philosophical Lincoln—but one that shapes up expertly into a John Le Carré–style nail-biter.
100
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
Bridge of Spies has a brassy and justified confidence in its own narrative flair.
80
While the helmer’s myth-making approach makes for great Capra-esque entertainment, younger auds may find it terribly old-fashioned — and they’d be right to think so, although Spielberg would be the first to admit it was his intention to play things classical.
75
Bridge Of Spies is one-third courtroom drama and two-thirds Cold War thriller, and while an engaging watch thanks to fine actors and terrific filmmaking, it’s not without its issues.
80
The Hollywood Reporter by Todd McCarthy
A feel-good Cold War melodrama, Bridge of Spies is an absorbing true-life espionage tale very smoothly handled by old pros who know what they're doing.