Beyond the basic, the movie The Numbers Station, now out on Blu-ray, puts a spy theme into action with some different twists and characters that carry out a good measure of intrigue. I like the way director Kasper Barfoed gets his action thriller going quickly, informs his audience about the spy device and then puts us into the middle of a conspiracy. If you are a fan of stories that feature undercover agents in highly unusual situations, then The Numbers Station will be a good connection for you.
The film centers on long time CIA black ops agent Emerson Kent (John Cusack) who mucks up an assignment when he refuses to kill a young witness during an ordered hit putting him in an awkward position with his section leader, Michael Grey (Liam Cunningham). Feeling he has burned out, Grey offers him a position of guarding a secret bunker that houses a bureau that contacts operatives of the government with coded assignment messages.
While there are two number coders, his charge is cryptologist, Katherine (Malin Akerman) who was recruited out of college with a guarantee of working for her country. While she’s unaware of the dangerous job she performs, the everyday routine has her focused on the bright future she’s been promised. Quickly to become accustomed to Emerson’s job of protecting the station she’s comfortable at the completely secluded heavily fortified secret workplace. One day while arriving at the bunker, the two come under attack by a sniper. When they manage to get inside the windowless building they find another assailant inside and their coding station compromised.
I am a sucker for spy films that challenge the brain trying to figure out how the central characters will be able to get out of sticky situations and Numbers Station had me glued to the video. Director Kasper Barfoed moves his characters into some very delicate positions with danger all around, leaves clues to how they may get out of them and then works more unknowns into the movie to make it even more exciting.
Both John Cusack and Malin Akerman are perfect for their roles as the protector and the subject of concern. Cusack has played similar characters over the years like his recent film The Factory (review available here in Aced Magazine) where he’s the main law enforcement protagonist against several adversaries, takes a beating, but with his keen balance of believable characterization never seems to be repetitive. Here he’s a man trained to do one job and he will do it regardless of who tries to stop him.
Katherine’s this young gullible woman who thinks she’s going to walk away from this job some day with enough money to set her up pretty. Akerman plays her sweet and susceptible until she gets cornered, then she does a complete 180 and lets Emerson know she’s got his back. She’s not ditsy here, just someone who never had the opportunity to show her ability to kick-it if necessary.
The movie has a very good bonus feature:
- “The Making of The Numbers Station”- This 15 minute show and tell does a terrific job of getting to know John Cusack and Malin Akerman who talk about their characters with scene shots, how well they worked together and some of the fun they had making the film. Producer Sean Furst chimes in with his take on the film as well.
The video quality is extremely good considering most of the movie was shot in the confines of several rooms in varied lighting. The 1080p HD Widescreen 2.40:1 Aspect Ratio, although has those pesky letterbox bars top and bottom to preserve the theater quality, does a nice job of getting the whole feature from side to side. This is especially important when Cusack has to face his adversary from distances and when all three characters are moving about in a room.
With a lot of dialogue in many different locals within the bunker and in a scenes outside between Cusack and Akerman its imperative you can hear every word and using the DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 it’s clear and very understandable. There is a lot of shooting and other action special effects in the film and with my speakers on surround I can here sounds from side to side making the film even more exciting.
The Numbers Station has been rated R by the MPAA for violence and language. It does contain some gory scenes as well so be cautious when deciding to allow anyone under 17 see the film. Always remember to not watch the bonus features on any disc before you see the feature as I have found, like in this one, that there’s a lot of spoilers.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good film for lovers of intrigue. [rating=5]
Specifications and additional film information:
- Cast: Malin Akerman, John Cusack, Hannah Murray
- Directed by: Kasper Barfoed
- MPAA Rating: Rated R for violence and language
- Genre: Action/Adventure/Thriller
- Running Time: 1 hr 28 min
- Video Release Date: May 28, 2013
- Original Film Release Date: April 26, 2013
- Language: English
- Format: Blu-ray
- Audio: DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
- Video: 1080p HD Widescreen 2.40:1 Aspect Ratio
- Number of Discs: 1 Disc
- Distributed by: RLJ Entertainment
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