Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This is one intricate plot about the British agency, MI-5, trying to stop terrorists from blowing up Oxford Circle and murdering everybody at the top of MI-5. One unusual twist is that the Americans aren't exactly the good guys. The terrorist leader (no mention of religious fundamentalism) has an American accent. Worse, MI-5 is losing its luster and they have reason to believe that they will somehow be absorbed into the American CIA.Actually, the Brits field three or four fine intelligence agencies, including the equivalents of the FBI, the CIA, and the NSA. MI-5 is the equivalent of one of them but I forget which. In any case, the US often gets tips and evidence from the Brits. As I write this, it's just been alleged that the Brits learned about various connections between one of our presidential campaigns and Russian intelligence/business/government contacts. In Russia, under Putin, the social spheres are pretty much indistinguishable.I missed the first five or ten minutes and it must have been a crippling mistake because there were times I felt like Kier Dullea going through the Stargate episode in "2001." In one scene, for instance, a young woman has apparently betrayed someone or committed some other peccadillo and when asked why, she replies, "I just did what they told me to." I didn't know who "they" were. The plot is impossible to describe in detail because there are so many details.It's an unusual picture of London that we're presented with. It's changed a good deal since I was last there. It's all modernized now, or at least those parts of the city we see in the film. Swirling balconies and streamlined buildings and -- surprise -- it's often sunny. Even Waterloo Bridge looks clean and modern. The cleanliness of the streets, the sleekness of the mass transport, puts American facilities to shame.The performances are fine. Peter Firth, one of the many important players, acts broody and looks like a half-wrecked Anthony Hopkins coming down from battery acid. There is no beautiful gal being fought over. The women, as well as the men, are more or less ordinary. Most outstanding PRESENCE is the noble and thoroughly committed head of MI-5, Tim McInnerny. You have never seen such a somatotype. His features are all squished together, as in a cartoon, and his neck seems about two feet long and bent forward at an angle that imperils his whole head. Really. His image is unnerving.There are quite a few shootings and occasional rumbles but on the whole it's all well done. If you enjoyed, say, "Smiley's People," you should be able to handle this with pleasure.

As most movies based on television series goes, MI-5 is probably better fitted for viewers of the series. I've never seen an episode of MI-5, but I've seen my fair share of spy-action-thrillers, and this one is about as middle of the road as you can get. There isn't anything special about this movie, but there's also nothing blatantly wrong with it either.Set a few years after the end of the series' run, MI-5 picks up as Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) is still the head of section D at MI-5. But when he realizes that someone inside of his team has aided a wanted international terrorist in his escape and he himself is suspected, he decides to take matters into his own hands and recruits one of his former guys, Kit Harrington into proving his innocence. Again, there's nothing really here that's all that original, but if you're looking for a fun little action film to take your mind away from normal life, MI-5 might be one for you.Harrington his very likable, as he always has been. His character here is pretty much Jon Snow in the modern world, but his talent is undeniable. This is especially clear when he's alongside costar, Peter Firth playing Harry, because that's not a particularly likable character. In fact, for most of the film I found myself rooting against him. Which brings up my major issue with the film, the endless plot twists and double crosses. There comes a point in the film when there's been so many different plot changes and reveals that the story becomes irrelevant. The film becomes to reliant on keeping you guessing the next turn, that it forgets to tell its own story.It's nice to see Kit Harrington get a starring role, and even see David Harewood in a feature film, but there's not a whole lot separating this film from anything else we have seen. Perhaps a bigger budget, more rounded villain, and a less convoluted script would make for a better viewing experience.6.2/10

Action is a genre that hinges solely on entertainment value. Even if it's a blatantly dumb plot and objectively not that great, something like Machete or Bullet to the Head, you can still have fun watching it and appreciate it for its pure insanity. MI-5 lies on the opposite side of the action spectrum. It tries to be serious and dark and much smarter than it actually is. This sucks the atmosphere dry and leaves you with a bland, brooding, and tasteless thriller with little to no thrills. The movie starts off with a criminal escort gone wrong and develops into an espionage mission that can only be done by a specific agent who was kicked off the force, Will Holloway played by Kit Harrington. I can't fault any of the actors here because these characters are paper thin. They're just either giving orders or receiving orders or having secrets meetings or reciting some other form of lifeless expository dialogue for a majority of the movie. There's no chemistry between anyone, they have no development whatsoever. It just doesn't look like anyone is having fun. And with a script like that, how can you blame them.There is a sleek, glossy feel about MI-5, which is one of the few positive things about it. Kit Harrington is a badass in general and it's nice to see him in a modern action setting. Unfortunately, the action in this movie is so scarce and underwhelming, it's hard to even call it an action movie. Instead of exciting action sequences, we're left with cliché double-crosses and triple-crosses and back stabs that no one cares about because none of the characters are engaging in the first place.MI-5 is kind of like background music. It's not gripping and won't get your adrenaline pumping, but it's quite harmless to have on. It's just completely run-of-the-mill, linear storytelling that takes a page out of every spy book and streamlines it all into a two hour film. Kit Harrington can certainly be an action star, but this is not the proper vehicle to showcase his talents. MI-5 is a miss.

This Spy-Action Thriller film for me, enters the top 50 rubbish films of the last decade. It just could not have been any slower, brutal acting, incorrect character to actor placements, wafer thin story line. I mean seriously, who approves budgets for these movies? If you want a Movie that would have better placed as a series, then this film might just be for you.I reached a point of skipping the Movie forward in blocks about 3rd way into it. Would not recommend this film even in DVD format, no wonder it appeared and disappeared off screen so quickly. Promoters have again done an impetuous job here advertising and portraying film greatness when in fact the film itself demonstrates the opposite. Shockingly the IMDb rating is higher than 50% for this movie, I am shocked... Did a lot of people rate incorrectly?From me, Stay clear or prepare to Yawn.