The 355

Release date : 2022

 

Language : English / German / French / Spanish

 

Run time : 2h3min

 

Genre : Action

 

Cast : Jessica Chastain, Penelope Cruz, Diane Kruger, Sebastian Stan

 

 

The movie opens with this ridiculous scene in which the villain comes to negotiate the purchase of the ultimate drug. SPOILERS Once he sees the tech and what it can do,it can hack into anything anywhere, -make planes fall from the sky,as we've seen from the presentation -,he shoots the kid who created it in the head,in front of his father,and apparently his old friend.

 

Everybody starts shooting,and the villain fails to achieve his goal, getting the tech without having to pay for it,I guess.

 

In the USA ,we are introduced to Jessica Chastain's character,Mace, a CIA officer.

We see her and her partner sent on a mission to Paris to retrieve the tech. They have to play a newlywed couple,and her partner tells her he has feelings for her. His feelings are mutual. Yay!

 

The waitress at the cafe they are sent to,creates a diversion,and steals the backpack of the man they were after. This sends Mace,the lead,on a wild chase through the streets and the underground. She almost catches the woman,but she escapes at the last moment,catching a train.

Interrogated by the CIA she finds out her partner is dead. She is suspected of it. She's also scolded for losing the agency's money. She suspects the man they were after.

Her boss is telling her to work on her own,outside the CIA. She goes to a friend in London,and a former MI6 agent,enter Lupita. After doing a lot of convincing work , Lupita's character agrees to help.

 

They join a DNI Colombian psychologist,played by Penelope Cruz, who was there to bring back the man they were after as he didn't trust anyone,and sees him killed by the bad guys right in front of her.

They run into the waitress,Diane Kruger, who stole the backpack and find out she works for the German side,BND.

 

Together ,they work out a plan to find and catch the villain,and get the tech which in the wrong hands can bring the end of the world.

 

Apparently the movie is based on the idea Jessica Chastain had while working for Dark Phoenix,she wanted a spy movie like James Bond,whatever,but with women. The movie was in the works since 2018!

 

What I didn't like - two months after the events took place,they all gather at the villain's place,just to brag that they caught him. I found it ridiculous. And then there's more of them saying goodbyes on the street !..

And that's when we find out 355 is apparently a woman spy who's name nobody knows because she was that good !..rolling my eyes at this point!

 

There's not much of the villain in sight,he's just there for like,2 minutes! Also,all men are bad..

 

The acting was great,everybody was at their best,Penelope , I thought was the best of them,because she was the one who wasn't an agent,and had to be more emotional,and I thought she was top notch.

Lupita Nyong gave an amazing performance when she sees the one she loves die.

The fighting scenes and chases were great.

 

I honestly don't like espionage movies,they lose me,and this one,although lost me at the beginning with that ridiculous scene,made me care after the first 15 minutes or so.

 

The movie is streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Apple iTunes, Google Play, Microsoft Store, Vudu.

 

Rating : Worth a watch!