Three Days of the Condor - 3/5

This movie is a slow burn thriller, with a solid central premise and an endearing performance from Robert Redford who sells the everyman nature of his character caught up in all of the deep state goings-on. Unfortunately, the slow burn is too slow for the level of story and audience engagement, and the narrative is over reliant on technology for its solution, which is now very dated. Still, it’s fun to see a thriller that’s not reliant on action but sticks to its main principles throughout the runtime while still delivering an enjoyable, interesting story.

Closest comparison: It’s like a slower, more dated Mission Impossible (1996)

Setting: Spy
Plot: Thriller
Tone: Occasional Action

Chinatown - 3/5

Film Noir used to be a morally gray private eye investigating an unusual murder, wrestling with the morality of it all but ultimately doing the right thing in the end. By the ‘70s it turned into a genre where the endings were instead nihilistic and grim. This movie is the epitome of that turning point. The bleak plot and tone are balanced out by the superb acting and dialogue. It’s the kind of movie that students watch to understand historical context, but nobody watches just for fun.

Closest comparison: It’s in between The Maltese Falcon and L.A. Confidential, both tonally and temporally.

Setting: Film Noir
Plot: Mystery
Tone: Thriller