User reviews

Starts good, money spent on the action but honestly how can a director miss key important areas...half way through it's becomes more like a b movie... I had to send it to my daughter a future continuation director to use as an example! For example (1) the lock on the door opened by the necklace! It's a padlock... with a screw on hinge... one kick and the door would open.. or just break in through the glass windows! Seriously all that effort for the necklace... to open a padlock!! Should have been access to a bank vault container or secret sealed room.. (2) shooting in the warehouse... with 2 trained soldiers shooting straight down the corridor at him... in a million years a kid wouldn't miss that shot! (3) car exits warehouse past the soldiers and crashes... time it takes for the soldiers to get outside they must have been on a coffee break!! (4) bullet holes in the driver side door of his car! But he's still ok (5) not ducking down when driving towards 2 gunmen, fairly sure thats not typical human behaviour (6) the last scene in Paris looks like a Hollywood stage set... anyway so many more but mainly in the last half of the movie...almost like they sacked a continuation director half way through or ran out of money... would have cost nothing to fix this and make it a way better movie. I'll happily review movies for free lol.

I had recently sat through, and thoroughly enjoyed, the 2023 movie "The Bricklayer", and thus I opted to sit down and watch this 2024 action thriller titled "Chief of Station", as it also had Aaron Eckhart in the leading role.

Sure, I had never heard about this movie prior to sitting down and watching it, so I didn't really know what I was in for here, aside from it being an action thriller. So writer George Mahaffey and director Jesse V. Johnson essentially had every opportunity to entertain me.

The storyline was watchable, sure, but at the same time it was also somewhat bland and forgettable. Writer George Mahaffey didn't exactly conjure up something grand or thrilling here. "Chief of Station" didn't manage to stand out from so many other action thrillers like it, and thus it was a bit of a disappointment. Now, don't jump to conclusions here, because I am not saying that it was a bad movie, not at all, it definitely had some good parts. But overall it was essentially just a generic action thriller.

This wasn't exactly the highlight of Aaron Eckhart's career, nor was he particular distinguishable in the movie. It was as if he was running a bit on auto-pilot. There were a couple of familiar faces on the cast list, joining Aaron Eckhart on the screen, with the likes of Olga Kurylenko, Nick Moran, James Faulkner and Daniel Bernhardt.

There is a fair amount of action in the movie, and that definitely helps to keep the movie afloat, and thus director Jesse V. Johnson didn't fully deliver a dud.

Watchable for what it was, but don't get your hopes up for "Chief of Station", as it was a rather bland and generic action thriller.

My rating of "Chief of Station" lands on a five out of ten stars.

I like Eckhart. I like action espionage movies, but whilst this one holds the attention, it is a bit bland. I swithered between a 6 or 7 score but gave it a 6 due to the clunky, slowly fight scenes (Pettyfer's looked especially un-coordinated & slow - I swear I could almost hear/see him counting down the timed movements in each sequence. I just don't rate him as an actor at all & much preferred Otto Farrant as Alex Rider to Pettyfer's bland interpretation. A pretty boy lead for RomCom maybe, but no action lead).

Bleak landscape (which they could've made more use of), bleak storyline & very dark cinematics helped create a feeling of oppressed pressure - for which, TBH, there wasn't much release. I wanted to rip that gun out of his son's hands when they were under fire in the films big dramatic car chase (is it just me, or have these obligatory action car chases in EVERY film become boring? There's no replacement for great acting, character building or suspense building on a decent storyline. Big budget doesn't always = quality.

This could've been so much better & a whole lot brighter in colour. Continuity was also an issue (see earlier reviews). Eckhart & Kurylenko were watchable as always, but more could've developed for her character more for role & story development. Some real depth would've been good. Ok for an easy late night or rainy day watch, but not to be properly entertained. A quick burger type of movie, rather than a steak dinner one. In a few weeks, I doubt I'll remember this one. It passes the time quite pleasurably, but it won't rock or change your world. 6/10.

I am a big Aaron Eckhart fan and HE was THE reason I started watching this, but what a disappointment it turned out to be...

The bad: from the get go I notice this is a cheaply produced movie, with uneventful photography, a way too overbearing soundscore and above all WAY too many below average supporting actors.

More bad: what's really annoying (and disappointing) though is the fact that this is meant to be a serious and tough crime movie, but the action is so silly that it flexed my laughing muscles.

There simply is NO suspense, NO thrill, NO originality, it's a nothing burger. Aaron Eckhart has made some solid movies lately, but this is defnitely not one of them!

Director Jesse V Johnson is better known for his collaboration with martial arts actor Scott Adkins in movies such as The Debt Collector.

In Chief of Station he goes for espionage but comes up short both in action and story.

Ben Malloy (Aaron Eckhart) is the CIA station chief whose world falls apart after his wife's death.

However Ben is drawn back into the shadowy world, after his former adversaries are killed. He learns that his son is in danger and discovers that he cannot trust anyone, even his former allies.

From very much the early scenes, you can guess who will turn against Ben Malloy. There is nothing here in terms of a good story.

That leaves the action scenes to do the heavy lifting. Unfortunately Eckhart is no Adkins. He is perfunctory with the action scenes but the script is not good enough for him to stretch his acting chops.

This is a solid action flick.

Are you going to be intellectually challenged by a highly nuanced and convoluted story? Nope!

Is the acting skills the barometer to judge here? Not really.

This is a popcorn movie. Pure escapism & hollywood pulp - at its best!

Its not intellectually stimulating, complex or difficult to understand.

Its just a basic plotline - typical of the genre. With a moderate cast. (ALL the 'stars' are B list player - lets be clear!) And the action sequences & beautiful backdrops/scenery make the movie. I enjoyed them & if you expect that & enjoy them. This film rocks! In my opinion, at least. Ignore the folks giving it low ratings. They are just letting off steam.

If you like the type of movies with some simple plot that tries to sound complicated and some shooting and cars flipping that you have seen many times but somehow you always enjoy the next one than this is a movie for you.

Aaron Eckhart does good, Olga Kurylenko is only a minor role she has maybe 20 minutes screen time but it's always nice to see her she is still one of the most beautiful women ever.

Gun go bang, car go vroom then boom. I am satisfied.

There is no superfluous sex scene, the violence isn't particularly graphic it's mostly people getting shot with gun, I would say 10 year olds can watch no problem.

Started out pretty good. Good plot actually. But what killed it for me were the fight scenes and the shoot outs. The bad guys were as poor a shots as Stormtroopers in Star Wars! And of course the good guys can't miss. Oh, and how he all of a sudden has a change of clothes after finding the laptop with the evidence on it! Could have been good, but it wasn't. Car chase scenes too were poorly done and like most of the film totally unrealistic. Best thing about it was the scenery in Europe. I would have thought with the cast they had it would have been a little better. But unfortunately it was basically not good.

"Chief of Station," the latest attempt at espionage intrigue, is a forgettable cocktail of clichés and mediocrity, leaving audiences with a sour taste of disappointment. Aaron Eckhart, usually a reliable presence, struggles to breathe life into a tired script that feels like a rehash of every spy thriller you've ever seen.

The plot follows the predictable trajectory of a seasoned CIA operative (Eckhart) navigating the treacherous waters of international espionage, complete with double-crossings, femme fatales, and the obligatory ticking time bomb scenario. However, any semblance of tension or excitement is suffocated by the film's inability to break free from its formulaic shackles.

Despite its attempts to inject relevance with nods to contemporary geopolitical tensions, "Chief of Station" fails to offer any meaningful commentary or insight. Instead, it relies on tired tropes and shallow characterizations, reducing complex global issues to mere backdrop for its uninspired plot.

Even the action sequences, typically a saving grace for films of this genre, feel uninspired and lackluster. It's as if the filmmakers ticked off a checklist of obligatory set pieces without bothering to inject them with any genuine excitement or creativity.

In the end, "Chief of Station" is a forgettable addition to the spy thriller genre, offering little more than a rehash of tired clichés and missed opportunities. Save your time and money for something more deserving of your attention.

...

And I only said that out of respect. Sometimes the film is so bad that it becomes good in a sort of back to front logic .... this here does not

It is thoroughly bad through and through the only saving grace and this has been mentioned in other comments is the fact that it moves around beautiful cities... Everything is spelt out for you as if anything more complicated than a comix For a six-year-old would make your brain misfire.

The fight scenes are so bad we wonder why anybody included them here; they make absolutely no sense they must have been choreographed by some canines at the pound Who could not find a home and had to been given a task to keep them occupied. It is an absolute shocker

And yet and yet if you can fully disengage your mind for an hour and a half and you really have nothing else to do and I mean absolutely nothing else to do you might get through it

A solid three for Budapest and other locations which might or might not be what they claim to be.

A big fan of Aaron Earhart and Olga Kurylenko but unfortunately neither one of these actors can save this low budget B film that is so poorly written that it quickly falls apart into a silly out of date silly script that's so predictable table and dull that not even the action scenes can make it feel entertaining. And Olga comes into the picture to save the day almost at the end which is too late and too little.

The directing is decent considering the script is terrible and if you remove Aaron and Olga this would be a terrible low budget B film.

Go in with super low expectations and ready for laughable moments where terrible accents make you cringe and the action fight scenes look like something from the 1970s completely outdated where guys have slug fests rather than shooting each other and all that was missing is Charles Bronson.

Looking forward to next action film from Aaron E and anything Okga K stars is - maybe with higher budget and better script

3 stars for 2 main stars and some great shots of Budapest.

I love the actors in this movie but they did themselves a disservice in this movie. I find it hard to believe that the chief is station of Moscow could be so affected by his wife death six months later that he's resting his head on a fridge full of ham and unable to live normal life. Its a shame because the movie actually has potential if only they had given more depth to the characters and a little more sophistication to the story line, but unfortunately the plot lines are vague, the acting is erratic, more due to direction than skill. Thoroughly disappointing movie. Could have been so much better.

Hot men with auto weapons can't hit the mark.. lol... cliche and slowwwwwwww as f. Aron E. Is a poor actor and only wears a scowl and moves like an old stiff guy. Sorry but he is b movie material and worse then nick cage and reminds me of Bruce Willis.

If this guy is cia we are in a lot of trouble... lol.. his kid in this show is an idiot too like dad. I don't wanna kill you, Nick but I will. I mean who wrote this like a kid in high school? Oh god what a letdown this actor reminds me of Someone's dad that's always pissed off. Never smiles thinks he's tough. Can't stand that he's just an average Joe.

This movie was a no brainer since I'm a big Aaron Eckhart fan and a good spy thriller would suit him perfectly. However reality quickly breaks down in this movie and a complete lack of realism takes over. For example, his character is clearly ducking bullets in the warehouse scene and there are 15 guys with automatic weapons who have a clear shot at him at multiple opportunities and yet he is completely unscathed. REALLY bad action choreography. That was the first "oh my gosh - this movie is bad" moment. After that the loss of continuity just compounds the problems of this film and the goof section for this movie is full of editing, storyline and production errors. By the end I'm totally uninterested and wondering if they blew the budget on hiring Aaron and got a team of chimpanzees to edit the film.

I'm wanted to love this show. I am familiar with all the actors. This was definitely below par and so disappointing in so many ways. I don't recommend it and seriously think the story line and plot is shockingly bad.

The only time I enjoyed this show is when Aaron E started to punch someone.

I wouldn't watch this just poor storyline and adhoc predictable acting.

It's a massive boring from me.

The absolute crap they speak is so bad and the quotes and acting not great. The only saving grace is I didn't have to pay for it.

Don't waste your time unless like me you have time to spare. It's a no from me.

Not great.

CIA agent Benjamin Malloy (Aaron Eckhart) and his protégé John Branca (Alex Pettyfer) successfully execute an operation in Budapest. Ben goes on a date with his wife Farrah and a bomb kills her. Back in Washington, the CIA suspects Farrah working for Russian master spy Kharon Taramov. Meanwhile, their son Nick is globetrotting with his girlfriend. Krystyna Kowerski (Olga Kurylenko) is an operative working to uncover a vast conspiracy.

This seems to start as a twisty espionage film. It is not smart enough, but I could live with a second tier espionage mystery thriller. The second half turns more action oriented and the movie is not capable. At the end of the day, this is not realistic enough for the espionage and not action fun enough to be popcorn joy.

A solid thriller carried by the always resonate Aaron Eckhart.

He's really one of the best working actors out there today.

From Thank Your for Smoking to Chief of Station, you just can't help but believe the sincerity of the guy - and now we find out he's great at action!! Seriously, he did the stunts and looked flawless.

The action sequences are very good, very credible, not cheesy over done, impossible stuff here - but instead, gritty, in your face, real looking sequences that carry the tension in the film.

It's starts with a well paced opening, slows down in all the right places, and then boom - here we go again. The film looks big.

For sure, worth a watch.