The only thing that distinguishes the thriller "Spy Game" from one of uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer's big-budgeted blockbusters is the fact that his name's not on this one.

After all, "Spy Game" has all the earmarks of a Bruckheimer production, including big stars, even bigger explosions and a somewhat convoluted and ludicrous plot with still bigger holes in it.

Yet, when it comes down to it, maybe this isn't all that Bruckenheimer-esque after all. Unlike most of his recent productions, this film almost succeeds, despite its numerous problems. Stress, the almost part.

Much of that can be attributed to a talented cast, which makes this somewhat — OK, extremely — sketchy material better than it is.

Heading up that cast is Robert Redford, who stars as Nathan Muir, a veteran CIA agent on his last day on the job. It's an extremely hectic day, though. It turns out that Nathan's one-time prot�g�, Tom Bishop (Redford-for-the-New-Millenium Brad Pitt), has gone "rogue," and has been kidnapped by the Chinese government.

What's worse, Nathan has only 24 hours to find a way to rescue Tom, whose execution date and time have already been set.

If that isn't bad enough, Nathan's higher-ups are looking for a reason to cut Bishop loose and simply leave him to his fate. Worse still, another ranking official (Stephen Dillane) is looking to find dirt on Nathan and bury him before he can retire.

Yes, it's a rather cliched premise, overdirected in classic Tony Scott style. That means viewers can expect his signature jittery camera work, desaturated color and gratuitous use of slo-mo, none of which enhances the material in any way.

Also, the basic story structure is problematic — more than half of the action is shown through flashbacks, which does make it possible for Redford and Pitt to be on-screen together (though not enough), but which also bogs down the action.

Still, the performers get considerable mileage out of all this. In particular, Redford seems more relaxed and charismatic than he was in the even more cliched thriller "The Castle." And when he and Pitt are together, there's a real lively energy (somebody put these two in something better, please!).

Two huge stars as the draw would normally leave only scraps for the supporting cast, but somehow Marianne Jean-Baptiste steals her share of scenes as Nathan's efficient secretary — a role that could have been thankless with a less-talented actress.

"Spy Game" is rated R for violence (assassinations and explosive mayhem), frequent use of strong R-rated profanity, gore, drug content (inoculations), a brief scene of torture and use of racial epithets, as well as some crude sexual slang terms. Running time: 126 minutes.

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