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Jack Strong (2013)

Wise Rating  85%
Review Date: 2016

This movie must have one of the lamest titles ever. I thought this was going to be another patriotic gung-ho action movie about some U.S. soldier/spy/whatever saving the world with his noble heroism. But being that it had respectable actor Patrick Wilson, it was on Netflix and I had nothing better to watch that evening, I decided to give it a shot. Pleasant Surprise: the movie was extra-humongously different than what I was expecting. It delivers a taunt, intelligent, well-produced real-life thriller about a Polish general during the Soviet era who decides to spy for the U.S. after seeing the Soviets push Poland toward nuclear armageddon. Patrick Wilson as the U.S. liaison plays only a secondary role, but the other actors deliver as well, and the movie paints a very realistic picture of life in Eastern Europe under Soviet power and the extraordinary danger of doing the right thing under those circumstances. Not really a spy movie (a genre I dislike) but an excellent, suspenseful thriller. Very recommended.

Polish with English sub-titles