The Company

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  January 2, 2009

  twentiethcenturyfox

  Now this brilliant! Michael Keaton is great in this.

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  July 5, 2008

  ilmouzer

  Robert Littell's The Company is a massive novel that follows the history of the CIA from post WWII to the end of the cold war - 1999. As long as three episodes, the novel is rich and full of characterization. So it's obvious that any such book would be hard to bring to the screen...( read more), large or small.
  
  The TNT TV version, at around 4.5 hours, tried hard, but didn't do justice to the book. It sometimes seems like an outline of the book, and so much is left out, that the action moves too quickly, changing locations and characters, making it hard to follow. This is more so in the first two episodes; the last episode focuses on a more limited situation, the attempt to find a CIA mole and left Iraq in the 1980s out (it was one of the best parts - but I don't regret it)
  
  Sadly, Chris O'Donnell plays the main character - he does a great job as the 'Hail, fellow, well met!' overly naive Yalie, but just does not seem to ever grow or learn as he gets older.
  Keaton's growth as an actor over almost 30 years is remarkable. O'Donnell has stuck to what he does. Nothing wrong with that, but it means he is miscast.
  
  Suffering from overbearing music that is way too loud in the early parts (which makes you wonder why the music was toned down so much in the last third), and characters who are supposed to age about thirty years, but look only a few years older, The Company is, nevertheless, good TV. It will keep your attention, and the intrigue is interesting, but be prepared to give it a chance; it's hard to follow at the beginning. The acting is good, the sets and locations interesting, and the plot - good vs evil - works well, especially since we already know who "won" the cold war.
  
  But if you like this mini-series, do read the book - it is probably the best spy novel I've ever read - even Tom Clancy said it was a masterpiece. No film could do the book any justice, but I can't help but think that a couple more hours could have saved this from its weaknesses.

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  June 29, 2008

  amandavas130

  This movie keeps you guessing. I really liked this movie.

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  June 26, 2008

  WrellikW

  It's very good! It's well done, good film quality, lots of intrigue, good timeline and well acted. If you like C.I.A. intrigue movies, you'll love this one. I recommend it!

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• The Company