An involving and soundly constructed geopolitical suspense film scripted with characteristic vigor by seasoned pro Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Identity, Michael Clayton). Still shaping his film career post-Mad Men, Jon Hamm fills the lead role of a charismatic-but-weary former diplomat as adeptly as, say, George Clooney might, and he is aided by a fine ensemble, including Dean Norris and Shea Whigham. The film nicely infuses an old-fashioned spy yarn with the ambiguities and anxieties of civil-war-plagued Lebanon circa the early 1980s and respects viewers' intelligence; the emotional beats are muted and standard-issue, but the deceit-and-espionage-and-pursuit storytelling is consistently fun.

B+

This is a really solid flick. Very engaging, well paced and tense at times and while certain characters might not be as fleshed out as others overall it's a solid script from Gilroy. I wasn't sure about Hamm as the lead based on the trailer, but he definitely works here. The guy is just naturally charismatic and he gives a pretty committed and commanding performance. I also enjoyed Dean Norris, Shea Whigham and Rosamund Pike's performances too.

B+