[Spooks]: The Greater Good

Stars: Peter Firth, Kit Harington, Jennifer Ehle, Tuppence Middleton, Tim McInnerny, Elyes Gabel, Lara Pulver, David Harewood

Director: Bharat Nalluri

A spin-off from the successful TV series about MI5, this does manage to inject some new life into a tired old tale of Arab terrorism in London, as well as reintroduce two or three of the characters from the original programme.

Notable among these is head of operations Harry Pearce (Firth), who is put in an impossible position when the escort of a key prisoner, Qasim (Gabel), is attacked by armed bike riders, and the requisite back-up cover is nowhere in sight.

To protect civilians, Harry is forced to let his captive go, and resigns the following day.

Clearly, there is a mole in the service (when isn't there?) and the disgraced Harry, pursued by his own side, aims to root the little devil out and deal with the bomb-happy Qasim at the same time.

He's reluctantly aided by our nominal hero, Holloway, played by the appropriately bestubbled, long-haired and idyllically good-looking Harington, whose acting talent is not quite as hot as he is. There's quite a bit of action, the traitor is difficult to spot and the film moves at a fair clip. It does, however, have a long way to go before it can challenge the likes of the Bourne films, with their dynamic pace and jolts of action and surprises.

Performances are functional enough, with the underrated Middleton a resourceful heroine.

David Quinlan

UK 2015. UK Distributor: 20th Century Fox (Altitude). Colour by Panalux.
104 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 1.

Review date: 05 May 2015