That was an excellent one.

Better Late Then Never

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This is an ultra-Leftist film. The dictatorial Prime Minister of Great Britain and the evil Americans are in cahoots hiding the secret that the Americans are running torture chambers all over the world. The good director of MI-5 (who dies halfway through) and his golden-haired protégé work to expose the Prime Minister's deceit to the nation. An added subplot, mixed with a romantic element for the fair-haired boy, is that the Israelis are shooting people waving white flags and covering up these cold-blooded murders at the highest levels of the Israeli intelligence services. The British Secret service knows about this as well, but isn't telling anyone. I guess they are not all as good as our hero. In the finale the Israelis are outed on national television and a good time is had by all. Good actors, decent dialogue, but ultimately unwatchable because of the sickening premises, which require the inversion of good and evil, with the help of a lot of lies.

Top notch BBC production from playwright David Hare, who writes and directs this cerebral spy thriller. It features an amazing cast led by Bill Nighy in top form. supported by two genuine movie stars, Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes, as well as a collection of superb supporting British acting talent. There's not a lot of action; this is the thinking wo/man's spy film, with much character development of people who think and analyze for a living. But Hare's gift for dialog makes for a smart and sly script, and Nighy has a field day with his weathered, cynical, intelligent intelligence man. The suspense comes from an ongoing and escalating battle of the wits, not gunplay or fight scenes, so if you want James Bond with explosions and girls in bikinis, you'll be let down. But if you like thoughtful wannabe John LeCarre-ish stuff, you'll probably enjoy this a lot.

Yeah, OK I agree with what they all say about the genre, etc etc ... atmosphere, etc ... It is a good story and well-toldI always love watching Bill Nighy (does he play himself or is he just brilliant at that laconic type of character ...?) BUT REALLY must we always have the fresh young girl swooning for the fella old enough to be her GRAND-DAD? Really .. it makes me laugh and sob in equal measure .... the weak link in an otherwise agreeable drama for me .... I don't really have ten lines more to say, as everything else has been said, but if we want a mini-essay on the tragedy of old-men's pathetic fantasy lives I guess I can run to one. Why would that lovely young woman fall for Nighy? Even though I open my review saying he is very watchable, and entertaining I doubt there are many women who would really fall for this character in this context. And we NEVER EVER see a tight-bodied hunk fall for the Judy Dench element, do we, though she is every bit as gorgeous as Bill!

This movie was very watchable with a good line-up of first rate actors, with easy to follow plot and plausible dialogue. Good to see Australian actor, Judy Davis, doing a great job. I liked the scene of the 2am conversation between the Prime Minister and Johnny, which typified the 'conversation you have when you're not having the conversation'.I would have enjoyed this movie far more if the initial scenes hadn't given the illusion that they were being sponsored by the cigarette industry. The first scenes showed three main characters and a minor character smoking. Tailor-made and 'roll-your-own' cigarettes featured, which seemed contrived and distracting - the storyline didn't need it. Just the visual image of the cigarette conjures up that awful smell and makes me associate the visual image with something unpleasant.Thankfully this didn't keep up through the entire movie at the same rate. If it had done so, I would have abandoned it. Apart from that niggle, a very watchable, relevant storyline for current times.