412. The Ipcress File (1965)

Starring: Michael Caine, Nigel Green, Guy Doleman

Director: Sidney J. Furie

Running Time: 109 mins

The Ipcress File is a British film about a spy agent who investigates the kidnapping, trafficking and brainwashing of scientists, while also having to deal with the threat of an enemy within his own organisation.

Well, if you want a really clever, extremely complicated, and ultimately thrilling story, this is pretty much perfect. Using what James Bond does, and taking it to the next level, makes for a very entertaining film to follow throughout.

The first thing I’ll say is that this film is in fact very little like James Bond. It’s got all the major elements of that sort of spy thriller, along with more anti-Soviet plot lines, but rather than focus on the lavish main character, what this does so well is put all your attention into the story, allowing for a much more complex storyline to be potentially followed.

The reason I say ‘potentially’ is because it is very difficult to really get this story right. The fundamental elements on the surface are simple enough, but below that, in the lower layers of the plot, everything is completely unpredictable. It seems as if there’s no feasible way in which you can guess the outcome of this story, which makes the climax extremely tense and thrilling to watch.

The only negatives of this film would be the fact that for large parts of the story in the middle of the movie, it did become a lot slower-paced and consequently boring, and also, it’s a bit annoying not having any chance of guessing the story, which was on my mind throughout the film, but anyway, this film is indeed very entertaining and fascinating to watch, so that’s why it gets a 7.8.