The Courier

A skilled, suspenseful and propulsive historical drama.

[Benedict Cumberbatch is] the perfect actor for this kind of role.

It's a difficult scene to bring off, yet Cumberbatch makes it seem effortless.

I did not know Wynne's story, so for this viewer The Courier developed into an old-fashioned will-they-be-caught thriller.

The heightened level of emotion [Rachel Brosnahan and Jessie Buckley] provide propels the story and Cumberbatch forward, keeping viewers engaged as they approach a climactic ending.

While it might not be on the same level as "Bridge of Spies," it's solid, well-acted and enjoyable nonetheless. Just don't use it as the text for any history reports.

The Courier is a tense, well-executed spy drama that wisely focuses on character and performance more than thrills, knowing that if we actually care about these men it will drastically heighten every narrowed glance, near miss, and frightful chase.

As mild-mannered salesman Greville Wynne, Cumberbatch sticks it to the commies with enough unassuming panache to stave off both nuclear war and the fallout of a banal script.

A parade of lethal errors and a success story of defusing the Cuban missile crisis told with first rate production beginning to end.

Brosnahan manages to combine a period-perfect look and a sense of timeless competence as the determined Donovan, and Jessie Buckley is affecting as Wynne's understandably bewildered wife.