I have not read the novel(though I'd like to, as well as other books by Ludlum), so I cannot draw comparisons, but I do understand that this adaptation does not stick that closely to the source material. And this continues my running tradition of me getting the lesser of the films that Frankenheimer directed. Seriously, Ronin, Reindeer Games, and now this... on the plus side, Ambush was awesome, and Path to War was excellent. This one is fine, not great. Editing and cinematography are reasonable, and this does have a couple of sophisticated moments. The plot is interesting enough. This is well-paced, and there are exciting and tense scenes. The music helps to ensure that the mood is established, and it arguably tries too hard at times, revealing itself to be manipulative. Caine is impeccable, as usual, and the acting in general is quite good. The dialog holds numerous well-delivered lines that are marvelous, memorable and worth quoting. There is moderate to strong language in this, a little disturbing content and some mild violence. I recommend this to the biggest fans of John and Michael. 6/10

All of the elements for a great thriller are there. An outstanding director, John Frankenheimer, An excellent source author, Robert Ludlum and a great leading man for thrillers, Michael Caine. What went wrong? The biggest problem I had with this film was the cinematography. The film was grainy and the sub-titles were very hard to read when the actors were speaking German. There were plenty of the usual Ludlum plot twists and misdirections, but somehow the feel of this film was not up to the usual standards of Frankenheimer or Caine. A lot of it is just too kinky for most people, but an accurate portrayal of Berlin during the cold war years. It would have faired better had it been released ten years earlier rather than later. It does deserve an E for effort.

Decent premise, but it's just a bit of a slow watch for me.

That's despite 'The Holcroft Covenant' having moments that either should be or are enjoyable, but in between lies iffy pacing and uninteresting characters. I also found the cinematography lacking, for instance they visit a fair few different countries and yet I never got a feeling for the film's world itself - just scene, cut, scene, cut etc.

Michael Caine is entertaining though, as he always seems to be. I enjoyed his performance, some of his humour early on is good. As for those around Caine, I liked Victoria Tennant, Bernard Hepton and Michael Lonsdale. It is a fairly solid cast, to be honest.

With that said, I finished watching and just felt like it was missing something. 2½*.