The Numbers Station [2013]

How to make the most of a small budget is a question that the makers of The Numbers Station know the answer to. Starring John Cusack and Malin Akerman, this movie is a nice thriller that I am sure will be seeing on your local TV station pretty soon. Cusack decided to shift from romantic movies of the eighties and nineties to more action and even horror-oriented ones. This includes his “I’m dark and mysterious” look. He pulled it off, but just barely, while Akerman was quite convincing as the nerdy analyst.

The Numbers Station is a solid spy thriller featuring a rather intriguing story. If you want to know more about its background, I recommend this wiki article about Numbers Station. This also means that most of the story takes place in a single location. It’s not very realistic and there a lot of predictable action scenes trying to maintain suspense. With a running time of just over eighty minutes, this is a forgettable movie that’s good for exactly one viewing.

After a rather violent career as a CIA agent, Emerson Kent decides he needs a change. He transfers to a more peaceful and boring post in England. His job is to protect a secret facility used to send encoded messages. They are located all over the world and serve very important role in the security apparatus. Exactly because of this, they’re the perfect places for bad guys with even worse plans.

CIA analyst who finds himself in a situation beyond his control is a familiar theme. The Numbers Station puts a twist on this premise by making him a bad-ass dude with a shady background. It all sounds like a plot for some blockbuster but this is a much more contained and suspenseful affair. The atmosphere is also pretty good along with pretty fast pacing for this type of movie. So, if you’re looking for something mildly entertaining, do check out it out.

Director: Kasper Barfoed

Writer:  F. Scott Frazier

Cast: John Cusack, Malin Akerman, Liam Cunningham, Richard Brake, Bryan Dick, Hannah Murray

Fun Facts: Ethan Hawke was set to star in this movie but he dropped out. So, the production quickly managed to secure John Cusack as his replacement.

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IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1659338