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2001 has been the year of the spy, with Spy Kids becoming a blockbuster and Tailor of Panama becoming a footnote in Pierce Brosnan's career. The last spy entry of the year will come from the skilled hands of Tony Scott (Top Gun, Enemy of the State), and re-teams the River Runs Through It duo of Robert Redford and Brad Pitt.

They will play a retiring CIA operative and his protégé, respectively. As the action unfolds, we see Pitt's character, Tom Bishop, arrested by the Chinese government and accused of espionage. This film will fracture time to tell a lot of the story using flashbacks, so that we have a better understanding of the history and relationship between the two characters. Catherine McCormack of Braveheart fame plays a human-rights activist who becomes Pitt's lover.

The good here is that Brad Pitt is back in movie-star mode, for this film as well as Ocean's Eleven. Fresh from a run of smaller indie films and controversial roles such as Narrator in Fight Club, his next two performances are mainstream films with big-time directors and casts. Due to his eccentric career choices, one of the most recognizable actors of this generation has managed to star in only two $100 million-making films, Interview with the Vampire and Se7en. Yes, that does mean he hasn't had a blockbuster since 1995. There exists the possibility that he will double this total in a four-week period at the end of the year. Redford continues to show the class and elegance of a true living legend, as he tapers off his work and selectively chooses parts that interest him. The only two films in which he has acted in the last five years are Up Close and Personal and Horse Whisperer. In short, we know this script must have something special going for it to bring him on board as an actor.

The bad is that, as we see in the table below, neither actor's recent box-office history is particularly impressive. In fact, Tony Scott has easily the best track record of the three. What does this mean? Some will say it means everything and others will argue it means nothing. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. We know from lots of experience that neither of the stars guarantees a hit, but we also know that if there is a quality product involved, there is virtually no ceiling to how much business the film can do. (David Mumpwer/BOP)

Vital statistics for Spy Game Main Cast Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Catherine McCormack Supporting Cast Stephen Dillane, Larry Bryggman, Marianne Jean-Baptiste Director Tony Scott Screenwriter Michael Frost Beckner, David Arata Distributor Universal Trailer Click Here for Trailer Official Site http://www.thespygame.net/ Rating R Running Time 126 minutes Screen Count 2,770 Also see Stephanie Star Smith reviews the Spy Game trailer Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

Comparison films for Spy Game
Title	Date	Opening	Adjusted Opening	Screens	PSA	Adj PSA	Total BO	Adjusted Total	Mult
Interview with a Vampire	11/11/94	36.39	53.78	2604	13975.00	19866.4	105.26	155.56	2.89
Spy Kids	3/30/01	26.55	28.33	3104	8552.00	8779.0	106.26	113.41	4.00
Mexican, The	3/2/01	20.11	21.46	2951	6814.00	6994.9	66.81	71.30	3.32
Enemy of The State	11/20/98	20.04	25.76	2393	8374.00	10355.9	111.54	143.40	5.57
Crimson Tide	5/12/95	18.61	25.79	2382	7813.00	10417.3	91.37	126.65	4.91
Indecent Proposal	4/9/93	18.39	26.78	1694	10856.00	15208.9	106.61	155.27	5.46
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams	8/9/02	16.71	17.37	3307	5053.00	5053.0	85.63	89.02	4.63
Days of Thunder	6/29/90	15.49	22.13	2307	6714.00	9227.8	82.66	118.11	4.95
Meet Joe Black	11/13/98	15.02	19.31	2503	6001.00	7421.3	44.62	57.36	2.97
Devil's Own, The	3/28/97	14.27	18.74	2504	5699.00	7201.4	42.89	56.34	2.74
Legends of the Fall *	1/13/95	14.04	19.46	2005	7002.00	9336.0	66.50	92.18	4.67
Twelve Monkeys	1/5/96	13.84	18.88	1533	9028.00	11846.7	57.14	77.95	4.10
Horse Whisperer, The	5/15/98	13.69	17.60	2039	6714.00	8303.0	75.37	96.90	5.51
Sleepers	10/18/96	12.31	16.79	1915	6428.00	8434.9	53.31	72.73	4.33
Up Close and Personal	3/1/96	11.10	15.14	1506	7371.00	9672.4	51.06	69.66	4.60
Fight Club	10/15/99	11.04	13.15	1963	5624.00	6421.1	37.02	44.11	3.35
Sneakers	9/11/92	10.13	14.71	1731	5852.00	8178.7	50.58	73.49	4.99
Snatch	1/19/01	8.01	8.54	1444	5544.00	5691.2	30.09	32.11	3.75
Last Boy Scout	12/13/91	7.92	11.34	1823	4344.00	5984.6	59.51	85.23	7.51
Fan, The	8/16/96	6.27	8.55	2016	3110.00	4081.0	18.58	25.34	2.96
River Runs through It, A	10/30/92	4.25	6.17	795	5346.00	7471.5	43.22	62.79	10.17