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As with any film of this nature you have to suspend disbelief and watch what happens.

And what happens is a story taken from a well written novel made into a movie with some of the finest talent in the business. The screenplay and adaptation of the novel, did not read it, BUT the best movies always start out with a story already written for the film maker and the execution from that story IMO was nothing short of brilliant . Of course it was two hours long , seems to be the minimum these days and in that two hours there was not one moment of boredom and the characters and the dialogue spring to life.

Nerd geek intelligence analyst seeks to avenge the random killing of his wife seemingly without the skills or wherewith all to do that and yet he finds a way against all the odds . The plot and sequence of events is intricate and still easy to follow. A movie about some one in intelligence field that was made with great intelligence. Best , entertaining movie I have seen in a while it will keep you amused and engaged.

It is too bad that the film could not merit a higher rating than the six stars I give it. The current rating of six point eight stars is, I think , exactly what it deserves. The locations and cinematographic ( a strained word if ever I encountered one) composition were really good and carried the movie along nicely. The characters in every case are well developed and used sparingly, just the right level of their involvement in the screenplay. Naomi Watts never falters in her delivery, really superp. With all of that said so much of the movie lacks the impact it might have had had it been 1.) shorter than its two hour run time , it needed a better editing and 2.) the story is at its root less about the dog and more about emotions of grief and loss. The dog is played up too much but it's what some will come to see the movie for. The dog is a metaphor for something different. I will let you see the film and decide for yourself. However there is a scene in the last twenty minutes that me find the film more than worthwhile.

OK I read the book and this movie is only very loosely based on it. But that is never a knock on a film for me ; they are two different things. Is it true to the book ? , well maybe not. I can tell you this, despite its shortcomings this film gave me a much better understanding and appreciation of the point of the book , movies can do that sometimes and this one, for me at least, did that.

I refer you to the many other reviews here and for the most part the ratings are fair minded( certainly not Ten Stars ) and the reviews are for the most part capture what the film is like. To be very clear myself the movie is very entertaining and the dialogue is well written. The casting could not have been better ; the characters are well developed and all of them have significant roles and the acting is absolutely top notch. There is genuine suspense because you are not really sure at any point whose side anyone is on , if they are a traitor or not. But in the final scene of the movie which is a meeting of all the players in the principals' dining room the entire movie ,all the subplots are tied up into a neat little package with a bow on it and that is where I found it to be lacking, like after all you have seen is just explained which I found to be , well , lazy. It, the final scene did not even come close measuring up to the rest of the movie. I enjoyed it very much and it is much better produced than so many films on offer these days but I couldn't rate it Seven Stars which is regrettable for a move that is so well made and thought out until the final scene.