Bridge of Spies (2015)

Steven Spielberg can’t resist tying a bow on things, and the final stretch of Bridge of Spies ties so many that the Cold War starts to look like a gift basket. A knowing glance on a train, a stranger who suddenly approves, a wife who finally understands. Before that, it’s a terrific movie about a man doing paperwork. Tom Hanks plays an insurance lawyer who wins arguments by being stubbornly, boringly decent, and somehow that’s thrilling. Mark Rylance walks away with it. His accused spy hardly moves, speaks in a murmur, and calmly asks whether worrying would help. Berlin in winter looks cold enough to hurt, and the haggling over who gets traded for whom plays like a high-stakes yard sale. Hanks also catches the worst cold of his career. It made $165.5 million worldwide on a reported $40M. An 8.3 because it trusts quiet men talking in rooms, and it mostly earns that trust. $69.01 says the next person who tells you not to worry gets a calm "would it help" back, and they’ve got nothing.

What works: Mark Rylance’s quiet, funny Abel, Tom Hanks at his decent best, and a smart script that makes legal haggling feel tense.

What doesn’t: The ending piles on sentimental bows, and the U-2 pilot’s story feels rushed next to the courtroom half.

Who it’s for: Fans of old-school grown-up thrillers, history buffs, and anybody who’s won an argument just by refusing to budge.