# What happened to "Bridge of Spies"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2015, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-bridge-of-spies/741066 "2015-12-22T04:18:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![botsgotme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@botsgotme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/botsgotme)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-bridge-of-spies/741066/1 "2015-12-22T04:18:57Z")
It lasted about 4 weeks here-it looks like a intelligent, interesting movie about a time quite recent. it seems to be gone from all the local theatres. My question:was it all that bad? Or was it just a movie of such limited interest, that it had a very shallow fan base? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-bridge-of-spies/741066/2 "2015-12-22T04:44:54Z")
> [@botsgotme](#): > > It lasted about 4 weeks here-it looks like a intelligent, interesting movie about a time quite recent. it seems to be gone from all the local theatres. My question:was it all that bad? Or was it just a movie of such limited interest, that it had a very shallow fan base? No, it was excellent. It was just the sort of thoughtful film that doesn’t attract the all-powerful 18-25 demographic, and the people who do remember that era just either don’t go out to see movies any more, or don’t hear about movies until they’ve been out for several weeks - by which time it’s already gone from the theaters. It’s a victim of the whole “first week blockbuster” crap. It’s really a pain. With digital projection and distribution, theaters could easily have a wide range of films, but again, they built this system based on blockbusters where every theater chain has the same set of films in all their various multiplexes. And they’ve trained the public to want to see the most popular films, not necessarily the best one or the one they are most likely to enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-bridge-of-spies/741066/3 "2015-12-22T04:47:01Z")
It was a really excellent movie, and I’m glad to have seen it in the theatre. I think it was poorly marketed; the studios assume that any “highbrow” type film will be unpopular, so they don’t bother promoting it. Also, the title sucks. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-bridge-of-spies/741066/4 "2015-12-22T06:18:57Z")
I saw it on an airliner a few weeks ago and was very impressed. It was excellent. I’d like to see it again sometime because I missed a lot of the dialogue due to ambient noise. I almost never go to the movies any more, but when I do, this is the kind of picture I want to see. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-bridge-of-spies/741066/5 "2015-12-22T07:10:30Z")
You must not be living in an area with a lot of movie theaters. It’s showing today at nine theaters within easy driving distance of me. It’s a good movie but not a great one. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-bridge-of-spies/741066/6 "2015-12-22T11:13:17Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > It’s a good movie but not a great one. Yep. It’s like an Yngwie Malmsteen guitar solo; not a blamed thing wrong with it, but, well, there are others that have a lot that this one doesn’t. I, myself, thought that I would love it. I am a Cold War geek, spies, etc…but, one can only be so excited about a movie whose plot is about a lawyer in a case of which the audience knows the denouement. This movie should more properly be called “A Tom Hanks Bonding Showcase”. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-bridge-of-spies/741066/7 "2015-12-22T17:30:08Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s one of the 8-9 Oscar Best Picture nominees, though it’s unlikely to be a major contender. The big problem is that this is the time when a ton of awards bait (worthy or otherwise) comes out, so there’s a glut of that kind of film competing for a narrow range of audience members. That BRIDGE is still out at all is impressive given it was released 2 months ago and a ton of product has come out since then. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-bridge-of-spies/741066/8 "2015-12-22T19:42:59Z")
I thought it was excellent. But, when you boil it down, it is basically about a lawyer skillfully conducting a negotiation. Even the exciting Cold-War setting can only do so much to make that interesting for a wide audience. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-bridge-of-spies/741066/9 "2015-12-22T21:46:56Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > I thought it was excellent. > > But, when you boil it down, it is basically about a lawyer skillfully conducting a negotiation. In this sense, it’s not dissimilar to Spielberg’s **Lincoln** , which also puts the war in the context of process and backroom brokering, pulling political strings and showing savvy reading of character instead of something more flashy. So while it’s not among his best films, perhaps, it’s still a solid, mature piece of storytelling. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-bridge-of-spies/741066/10 "2015-12-22T22:01:56Z")
Well, it’s about a man taking a stand in support of the Constitution and against unthinking patriotism, but that’s a fairly common narrative. The acting and direction do elevate it a little. $130M worldwide is certainly good box office for a relatively inexpensive film ($40M production cost). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-bridge-of-spies/741066/11 "2015-12-22T23:42:57Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > This movie should more properly be called “A Tom Hanks Bonding Showcase”. Or arguably “Again, Mark Rylance makes a real-life weasel likeable” following his Thomas Cromwell in _Wolf Hall_. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-bridge-of-spies/741066/12 "2015-12-23T03:43:48Z")
It’s still in my neck of the woods, although at the second-run discount theatre. My wife and I saw it about two or three weeks after it opened - I thought it was very good (“Would it help?”). I’m more intrigued at the Pit thread where someone complains about the new Star Wars film driving Trumbo off the screens. Umm, Trumbo hasn’t even opened here in flyover country yet. That’s one I’m pretty interested in, but I realize once it arrives it won’t be sticking around here very long. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-bridge-of-spies/741066/13 "2015-12-23T04:47:53Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > I’m more intrigued at the Pit thread where someone complains about the new Star Wars film driving Trumbo off the screens. Umm, Trumbo hasn’t even opened here in flyover country yet. That’s one I’m pretty interested in, but I realize once it arrives it won’t be sticking around here very long. I finally saw it today here in Chicago, figuring it will be gone after this week. Very enjoyable film, but I imagine _any_ film with an unapologetic Communist as the hero is a tricky marketing challenge.