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A mostly entertaining sci-fi film that struggles with pacing issues and story that isn’t very compelling outside of all the mystery, but thankfully much of that is balanced out by some strong acting and likable characters. The plot primarily follows two main characters. One feels more grounded and seems to lean into cloak and dagger territory. The other is more of a mystery and what appears to be a supernatural element. While the espionage stuff is fine, the other story is much more interesting and makes returning to the first story a bit of a chore. Once the two stories merge, the film starts to pick up but then stalls out and begins to drag. And after all of that, the payoff that the whole plot was setting up falls surprisingly flat. (There’s also a storyline running in the background about a potential World War III that never feels all that important and doesn’t gets paid off in any meaningful way.) Josh O’Conner and Colman Domingo are both good in their respective roles, but neither really seem to totally justify why they’re so important to the plot. Emily Blunt, however, is phenomenal in her role, and her character is the most interesting one in the film. Unfortunately, Colin Firth’s big bad isn’t quite menacing or interesting enough to be all that engaging. The few action sequences are decent, but fairly short. The CG looks good but is clearly CG, particularity the animals that have major importance to the story. The film also tries to dig into some major philosophical questions, but in the end, it just glosses over them.
**1/2 out of *****