THE JIGSAW MAN is an unremarkable spy drama of the 1980s that manages to be boring rather than thrilling, routine rather than intriguing. It doesn't help that it has no suspense whatsoever, it just goes through the motions throughout and veers into silliness on more than one occasion. Terence Young directs for the penultimate time in his career and is a long way from his glory Bond days of the 1960s here. Michael Caine is the miscast protagonist, a Russian spy who undergoes facial surgery in order to go undercover back in Britain once his cover is blown. An extraordinary cast of famous faces propel the story along, but you can't help find them more than a little wasted. Laurence Olivier is the handler, Robert Powell a fellow agent, and Susan George doesn't seem to have aged a day since STRAW DOGS. Charles Gray delivers an impeccably pompous turn while Vladek Sheybal, Michael Medwin, David Kelly, and Anthony Dawson do little more than provide mildly interesting cameos.
Review of The Jigsaw Man
