The Old Man is maybe my final Summer Slack Streaming binge!
I have managed to get through a few extra series this (longer) summer period. So let's look at FX/Disney+ (In Australia)'s series based on the 2017 novel The Old Man by Thomas Perry. The first season consists of only seven (slightly long) episodes.
In June 2022, the series was renewed for a second season. Return date TBA for now!
Dan Chase (Jeff Bridges) is a former CIA operative who has been living off-the-grid in Vermont for thirty years. After killing an intruder who breaks into his home, Chase goes into hiding. He rents a room from Zoe McDonald (Amy Brenneman), who becomes his forced partner while on the run.
FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Harold Harper (John Lithgow) is called to apprehend Chase because of their complicated past during the Soviet–Afghan War. Working alongside Harper are his protégés: FBI agent Angela Adams (Alia Shawkat); CIA officer Raymond Waters (E. J. Bonilla); and Julian Carson (Gbenga Akinnagbe), a hit-man hired by Harper to kill Chase.
So we have Bridges and Lithgow. Two legends of screen, in this tense Homeland style thriller.
1 comment:
The Old Man is well worth a read and watching but we've seen retirees in the espionage genre so many times. May be that explains why there are no new recruits!
If success is to breed success the film industry must not lazily polish old gems but mine for new ones. The espionage genre suffers much from the lazy risk averse philosophy of polishing old gems. Bond, Palmer, Smiley, Bond, Palmer, Smiley, Bond and Bridges again! It’s about time new and genuine spies like Pemberton’s People were given their due, so do read an intriguing News Article dated 31 October 2022 about them in TheBurlingtonFiles website and then get in touch with your friends in the film industry.
A good example of such a new gem in the espionage genre is Beyond Enkription, the first spy thriller in The Burlington Files series. The real life story would make for a stunning TV series or films and being based on fact, it would be more difficult for actors and TV producers to deliver a lazy production.
Why choose The Burlington Files when some critics have likened its protagonist to a "posh and sophisticated Harry Palmer"? Maybe it has a touch of Michael Caine magic but on another positive note it is indisputably anti-Bond rather than merely Deightonesque. Film producers should check out this enigmatic and elusive thriller. As it's not yet a remake it may have eluded them to date.
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