ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

CJFouraki I've never seen the original TV series that this film comes from, but after watching this, I'm more than happy to.Spooks, or MI-5, is an entertaining spy flick with enough twists and tense moments that kept me entertained throughout. Harry Pearce, played by Peter Firth is quite the bad ass agent, and there's a gritty realism to him as he makes tough choices for national security that result in the deaths of the few to save many. Peter Firth gave a solid, contained performance, and was great.Kit Harrington was good as the younger agent, but was nothing special. Jennifer Ehle and Tim McInnery were also really good in their roles.It was well shot, had good direction with the action being clear to follow. The story was engaging and the bad guy wasn't hammed up.The soundtrack and score wasn't memorable, being the generic action/thriller soundtrack but doesn't take away from the film.The special effects worked well enough, and although you can tell when the effects weren't real, they were well done for the most part.Overall, an entertaining spy film that passes by quickly, with no real need to have watched the TV series beforehand. I had a good time with it. 7/10, good.

Leofwine_draca SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD is a big screen spin-off for the long-running British TV series about the adventures of agents working on behalf of MI-5. Peter Firth returns as the inimitable Harry and gets plenty of screen time, which fans will enjoy. The film also sticks closely to its small-screen origins and feels like an expanded TV episode throughout. Plot-wise, it's about the hunt for an Islamic terrorist played by the reliable Elyes Gabel, and similar to the Sean Bean flick CLEANSKIN, but better.The plot twists are surprising at times and the 'hunt the mole' plot is well-utilised. I'm a big fan of GAME OF THRONES, so seeing Kit Harington as the lead was fun for me, although slightly jarring what with him dressed in modern attire and all. Tuppence Middleton is also less irritating than she was in the ill-advised LADY VANISHES remake. Overall, I enjoyed this film, although I'll readily admit that it's no classic.

gradyharp Indian director Bharat Nalluri (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Tsunami: The Aftermath, The Crow: Salvation, and episodes of the original television version of MI5 from which this film is adapted) has created a fine 'extended version' of the MI-5 series as written by Jonathan Brackley, Sam Vincent, and David Wolstencroft. One of the reasons the film works well is the competent set of actors who manage to make this rather meandering story hold together and offer enough back stories of each character to make them credible.When a terrorist (Elyes Gabel) escapes custody during a routine handover, Will Holloway (Kit Harrington) must team with disgraced MI5 Intelligence Chief Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) to track him down before an imminent terrorist attack on London. Or to be more precise, MI5 personnel are caught up in a traffic jam in London while escorting the CIA's most wanted terrorist to an arranged CIA handover point, when he is suddenly rescued by armed men on motorbikes. Harry Pearce, the head of Counter-Terrorism at MI5 is blamed for the terrorist escaping. Especially as Harry disappeared shortly after the incident. An ex-agent, Will Holloway, and protégé of Harry's is recalled by MI5 to assist in finding and bringing Harry in. However Harry has disappeared for a reason. Certain that there is a traitor in a senior position in MI5, he enlists the somewhat reluctant Will to help him in uncovering the rat or rats concerned.The action is fast and hard and very cleverly captured by cinematographer Hubert Yaczanowski. The large cast of characters includes Larissa Kouznetsova, Laura Pulver, Tim McInnerny, Jennifer Ehle, David Harewood, Tuppence Middleton, and the above mentioned Kit Harrington, Elyes Gable, and Peter Firth. For the popular idiom of spy thrillers this film stands its own – and is much better than many of the same genre.

Paul Vernon Great TV series - pacey, edgy and dynamic. However on the BIG screen it loses that edge. Some terrific set pieces and great use of some London locations, but Harry Peace's character was not engaging enough and unfortunately the new boy Kit Harrington was not at all convincing. Disappointing film, as I loved the TV series. This review on the RadioTimes website says it all for me.... "Had The Greater Good been on BBC1, perhaps over two nights, it would have felt like espionage Christmas had come early, but in the isolation of a single hit, it struggles to fill the screen. It gives me no pleasure to write this. But perhaps it should have stayed retired, for the greater good."