Based on true events during the height of the Cold War in the late '50s and early '60s, Hanks plays James Donovan, an extremely affable-yet-shrewd Manhattan insurance attorney who is asked by the U.S. government to first defend and then negotiate the swap of captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel for shot-down American pilot Francis Gary Powers.
The first half of the film toggles back and forth between Donovan's attempt to secure Abel a fair, impartial trial (not an easy task) and Powers getting up to speed on his super-secret U2 mission. The second half mostly unfolds in East Berlin as Donovan must not just negotiate the release of Powers, but a recently detained American college student as well. There are a lot of characters and moving parts to wade through at times, but Spielberg keeps things rolling along at an efficient pace. Every shot is meticulously framed and serves the story perfectly.
The one constant in all the action is Hanks' Donovan, the epitome of unflappable, seamlessly moving through the worlds of Madison Avenue and the federal court system with the utmost of ease. His suits are crisp, his confidence high and his snappy banter neverending.
You'd think by the time the CIA dumps him in East Berlin to more or less fend for himself, he'd start to show a little vulnerability, but it never materializes, and that, unfortunately, is where the character's believability begins to suffer a little. We realize we're being drawn in by the magnetism of Tom Hanks, not a fish-out-of-water insurance attorney.
While Bridge of Spies may come off as a bit of a star vehicle at times, it's still an extremely entertaining, well-made and well-acted film that reminds us how old-fashioned Hollywood craftsmanship can still deliver something truly special. Grade: B+
