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Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The acting in this movie is really good.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Appointed to defend a foreigner accused of planning an elaborate terrorist attack, two British lawyers become increasingly convinced that a government conspiracy is afoot and that their client is merely a scapegoat. Promising a premise as this might be, things are far more complex and convoluted here - something that renders 'Closed Circuit' more thought-provoking than the average conspiracy thriller but also far less intense and involving. With the past romantic history of the two lawyers, which they have to keep secret while working on the case together (why not admit it straight up?) without communicating with one another since part of the trial is being heard in closed court where only one of them is present, the film gets bogged down in so much exposition that there rarely is a chance for any sense of paranoia to develop. Considering the economical runtime (just over 90 minutes), it also often feels like too much time is dedicated to the drama between the lawyers as opposed to the drama that they are meant to be investigating... though the film actually overstays its welcome with an extraneous final scene. Comedy veteran actor Jim Broadbent is also a tad miscast in a role that a more sinister dramatic actor would usually play. Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall are at least solid in the main roles and they manage to carry the film through its less exciting patches. The film also deserves some marks for effectively including CCTV footage at several key points, if not quite as frequently as one might expect based on the very promising promotional posters.

This movie starts out with some promise, but rapidly deteriorates into a very formulaic and lazily-written attempt to ride the bandwagon of the war on terrorism and conspiracy theories. MI5 freely murders people left right and centre and in plain view to avoid embarrassment. You can spot the hidden baddies a mile off and Jim Broadbent is terribly miscast as the sinister Attorney General. The MI5 boss should never play Poker as her face contorts and she stutters whenever she is asked an awkward question. MI5 sends a single ham-fisted killer to take out an unarmed woman and fails. The security services rely on a teenage boy with a USB stick who apparently has more computer skills than all their specialists. There is zero chemistry between Bana and Hall - which probably explains why they don't end up in bed together (that fact is actually one of the strong points of the storyline). This is a shorthand, rushed and clumsy story,and the (usually strong) cast struggle to make anything of it. Such a waste of time and I'll bet the writer knew it when he handed it in.

'Closed Circuit' is one of those cases where the trailer is far better than the actual movie itself. Whatever might have looked good in the script from writer Steven Knight ('Eastern Promises'), the execution from director John Crowley has made this courtroom thriller a sub-par addition to the genre, and ultimately forgettable.The first scene of the film is quite climactic. We see dozens of images through security cameras mounted to poles in a high traffic area of London, where many people are shopping, eating and going about their daily routines. Suddenly, a white truck pulls in front of a store and explodes. We fast forward a few months later and learn that this bombing killed almost 200 people. Almost immediately after the bomb detonated, the police had a suspect in handcuffs by the name of Darroukh Erdogan (Denis Moschitto).Erdogan is a Muslim with a criminal history. As he gets ready to stand trial for this terrorist act, the people of London and of the world all pretty much believe that he's guilty. However, the government assigns two lawyers to defend him: Martin (Eric Bana) and Claudia (Rebecca Hall). Claudia is told that she'll be given highly secretive documents that have evidence revealing Erdogan's true nature. If you've seen the trailer, you already know that Edrogan might have been an undercover MI5 agent trying to stop this terrorist attack.As the two lawyers dig deeper into the case, they realize that the terrorist attack was ordered by top people in the British government, which isn't exactly an original idea in thrillers like this. The more Claudia and Martin discover, the more their lives are put in danger, since the government is now trying to kill these two attorneys to prevent them from revealing the truth.Like I said, this sounds good on paper, but in practice, it's not very suspenseful and is chock full of legal jargon and dull dialogue. There is not one single gun in the movie, and even a seemingly intense chase scene fizzles quickly. Bana and Hall do a decent job with what they have to work with. Jim Broadbent and Julia Stiles also turn in solid performances, even if their roles are small.I'd wait for 'Closed Circuit' to hit Netflix before viewing.

The tagline for this film "they see your every move" has been a very relevant theme in my country (New Zealand) lately, brought to light in our general election. The debate over spying and what was and was not acceptable raged throughout the country for months on end and was a very hot topic among the politicians. 'Closed Circuit' seems to have marketed itself as a film based around this, however when you actually get around to watching it it's very much a background issue merely used to drive the plot in a few instances. Usually I would be disappointed about being mislead like this, but in this case the film itself more than makes up for it.Here we have an intelligent, well-written and well acted thriller. The way that everything is so story driven you could easily have mistaken this for an American movie. It's taken the best of both British and American film and combined them perfectly. Eric Bana, admittedly not one of my favourite actors, is passable in this. He adequately drives the story and carries one or two scenes which require it.The ending seems to be a bone of contention for a few people. Personally I liked it. Too many people these days demand a movie be wrapped up in a tight little basket of perfection at the end, but sadly that's not how the world works. There isn't always justice in this world of ours and I admire any movie brave enough to portray that.