BY CHRISTOPHER STAMM
GUEST MOVIE REVIEWER
355 (Now showing in theatres)
Rated PG-13 – for language and violence
355 was the designation of a female spy during the revolutionary War, the identity of whom was known only to General Washington, and commonly believed to be Betsy Ross.
355 is a very fun, action-filled, smart film about a group of female spies from various countries who team up through a series of events to stop a device capable of hacking into any secure system in the world from falling into the wrong hands.
The action starts from “go!” in Columbia and gallivants around the world from that point on. I have to be honest with you – I was only moderately interested in 355, because I had this preconceived notion that this was just another ham-fisted attempt at a “#MeToo” movie, so that being said, I was very pleasantly surprised at how good this one really is. Smart writing, solid story, very solid action sequences, and good casting all combined to make 355 a fun afternoon at the cinema.
Leading the cast is Jessica Chastain as the defacto leader of our intrepid band of spies, and that team is cast with some solid actresses who do a great job: Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong’o, and Bingbing Fan filled out the team.
Our villain of the story is the always-reliable Jason Flemyng. 355 doesn’t really break new ground here, but they do take the standard spy story we all love and breathe a little bit of fresh life into that genre. It has just enough twists and turns that, to its credit, do not come out of nowhere, however, eagle-eyed viewers may catch the clues as the film progresses, to keep things interesting and fun.
Worth the price of admission, 355 gets a solid three out of five stars from me for its well-crafted story and performances. This is a fun one, folks. Take the time to catch it on the big screen.