Breach is based on a true story of FBI agent Robert Hanssen being caught and convicted of selling secrets to the Soviets in 2001.
Not your typical spy movie, Breach is a thinker. You won't find action to speak of and the only time a gun is fired is briefly in a target range. There's not even a good old car chase in here. This is a mind movie. So for many it would be slow and not worth watching. I enjoyed it from the stand point of enjoying a game of chess, but I won't buy it and doubt I'd watch it again. This is not to say the acting was bad, because it wasn't.
This movie is replete with several faces you'll recognize but can't place their names to save your life. Robert Hanssen is portrayed very well by Chris Cooper, a well known face who seems to usually get the supporting roles instead of the main character. One movie I know him best for was his role as Col. Harry Burwell in The Patriot. The new FBI recruit who is assigned to collect evidence against Hanssen is played by Ryan Phillippe, whose face is not quite as well known. He's been in Flags of our Fathers and Crash to name just two. To me he ssemed to struggle to fit into his character and wasn't nearly as convincing as his co-stars. The female lead, Laura Linney, another one of those recognizable faces, did a good job playing the lead FBI investigator. Dennis Haysbert, the Allstate man and star of The Unit, played a lessor role as Laura Linney's superior. And of course, he's always good.
Breach is worth a watch, whether as a rental or possibly when it's shown on TV some day.
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