Classified: A spy thriller That Misses the Mark
Classified: Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin's Disappointing Spy Thriller
Classified, starring Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin, is a new spy thriller that sadly fails to deliver on its premise; the film's failure isn't because of terrible writing; nor terrible acting. The problem exists because everything appears to have been thrown together poorly without focusing on what could have possibly become a good storyline. It's frustrating, really. This movie isn’t exactly awful. Yet the incredibly generic plot; that frustratingly uninspired script is incredibly predictable. Its shortcomings ultimately prevent that potential masterpiece; it’s all so underwhelming!
Eckhart plays Evan Shaw, a mysterious lone wolf spy; however his actual backstory remains vague throughout this overly-long 1 hour 45-minute runtime. Breslin plays his daughter, Kacey; an MI6 analyst; which unfortunately doesn't quite make sense when viewing the events that occur, demonstrating just how little attention this plot was actually given when generating this storyline, and it feels strange that someone who's so skilled couldn't be portrayed effectively; failing at presenting her actual skillset and personality. It's incredibly competently made – cinematography and action are fine – however it misses almost entirely at engaging the audience, generating no excitement nor anticipation; creating something predictable, somewhat predictable and even obvious as it went on!
A Predictable Plot and Wasted Potential
The premise is a pretty typical spy trope, involving Evan discovering he wasn’t actually working for the CIA. His actual employers were a private company, which demonstrates his naivety that ultimately results in terrible consequences, further creating his initial position within that first part of this film, showing that his earlier trust has terrible impacts throughout his experience; leading to these questionable motivations for continuing even after realizing the full impact! His initially supposed mentor is really that Kevin (Tim Roth), who happens to be long dead. That discovery is so underwhelming. Why? Because that whole discovery doesn’t bring tension. The inciting incident took way too long; resulting in that incredibly lengthy and dull chase sequence.
This could have become a compelling look into espionage. It could have easily delivered many thought-provoking and even profound insights which otherwise might've never happened given that context and plot direction that failed to resolve issues as the plot moved along. The film is almost entirely too focused on pointless spectacle – completely wasting resources on spectacle which could've been used to better develop the story or its characters!
Poor Character Development and Lackluster Performances
The actors seemed completely disinterested. It’s really a pity, as these talented performers could easily make the film vastly better and the lack of emotional chemistry between Eckhart and Breslin makes every scene extremely disappointing and lacks all that excitement that those two actors have typically given. The whole dynamic between them and every single character falls flat.
The overuse of tired plot tropes– using Evan's past lover (Monica, Marysia S. Peres) to explain Evan's motivation as this almost meaningless, shallow character element makes it quite frustrating. They attempted to include depth using the trope. However, it is completely undone by focusing more on external events that failed at being developed; which failed at showing depth; especially when considered with Evan’s character.
Evan is this oddly apathetic character, displaying barely any reaction to discovering his employers’ lies, the very betrayal that fundamentally affects this plot and the overall motivations and goals he sought to attain throughout this incredibly long series of missions! It also fails to portray any significant bond with his daughter, further showing the poor construction of that key relationship between Evan and his long-lost daughter; creating an entirely non-existent and quite odd dynamic which failed to utilize an otherwise creative plot element.
An Independent Film That Doesn’t Help Its Genre
It is frustrating when films like Classified miss the mark—espeCIAlly those independent efforts that already had very little in the way of initial resources for generating such films! It creates this negative effect and it hurts other low to mid-budget projects that don't have that much available; demonstrating how poorly a script may function when attempting to generate high-level excitement without also developing its fundamental characters and the deep, core emotional impacts intended in an otherwise high-concept storyline! It feels utterly forced; a forced imitation which attempts at creating an imitation of what these actors may have actually done if they cared about this role in particular!
It could’ve succeeded. Scaling down the ambition – it would completely allow a more detailed look at the story, at those core motivations and other characters, but those opportunities failed, leaving many critical holes which cannot possibly be ignored; making it into that generic action thriller devoid of all emotional value or creativity.
Conclusion: A Missed Opportunity
Classified had that potential to do great; those amazing locations could have produced high excitement, suspense; an opportunity for those talented performers to show what they could do. It squandered all that potential. That over-ambitious script–and underwhelming performance– resulted in something entirely unoriginal; not particularly exciting nor remarkable. And this makes for a rather dull, boring viewing experience; something quite the pity because of the resources employed and those performers who clearly have more talent than what was displayed here; demonstrating the lack of focus on fundamental components in this otherwise simple premise.
