Covert One: The Hades Factor (2006) User Reviews

Don't expect too much and you won't be disappointed

[Runrig · 7/10 · 15 August 2006]

If you enjoyed the Dustin Hoffman movie Outbreak, the TV series 24 and X-Files and the HBO/BBC series TheCell, and wondered what would happen if you mixed them altogether, then this is the result.

It trundles along at the usual pace of all the above, with Stephen Dorff doing his best Jack Bauer impersonation, in both looks and personality. Naturally the love of his live is offed fairly early on and that sets up the lone-agent working to recover the truth. Very 24'esque.

The X-Files element is all the government conspiracies that are woven into the plot and that makes for more distraction than anything else. The story is a good one on its own merit, no need to keep mixing in nonsense that really only serves to bog down the movie.

But on the whole it is a good watch.

In the End, the Good Old-Fashioned American Capitalism

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 17 November 2007]

While in a retrieve operation of a virus in Berlin, the Covert One agent Rachel Russell (Mira Sorvino) is double-crossed by two dirty agents; she kills them and escapes, trying to find a hiding place and someone to trust to protect the vials. Meanwhile, the former Covert One agent Dr. Jon Smith (Stephen Dorff) is also in Berlin with his beloved fiancée Sophie Amsden (Sophie Myles) participating in a congress. When three persons die with bleeding, the doctors disclose a Hades virus outbreak, an extreme rare Ebola variant. Jon and Sophie return to the USA to research a cure, and Jon discovers a huge combination of bio-terrorism and conspiracy.

"Covert One: The Hades Factor" is a long full of action thriller with conspiracy, terrorism, corruption and betrayal. The complex story is very well-developed along 165 minutes running time and very well acted. Mira Sorvino has specialized in the role of detective or agent, following brilliantly the steps of her father. Stephen Dorff is also excellent and the gorgeous Sophie Myles of "Tristan + Isolde" has a short but effective participation. The conclusion is not predictable but has nor surprised me. In the end, it is a story about the good old-fashioned American capitalism in times of terrorism and intolerance. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): 'O Fator Hades" ("The Hades Factor")

Should have been much better...

[buiger · 5/10 · 11 January 2007]

Average.

This is the third bad (not good) movie in a row based upon novels by Robert Ludlum. I think that Ludlum is just too complicated for modern-day Hollywood, whose directors, producers and writers have all formed themselves by watching MTV music clips and PC Video games. Accordingly, this film is too fast, too short and too simple to be able to even begin doing justice to the novel. There is absolutely no character building, we have no insight into the motives, no details about the plot, etc...

In my opinion, the only decent filming of a Ludlum Novel was the first 'Bourne Identity' made sometime in the 80-ies. But then, those where completely different times...

Graphic, sometimes interesting, second half better

[vchimpanzee · 11 April 2006]

In part one of this CBS miniseries, three people become violently ill in different locations--one is a family man (and, we learn later, a marine) outside Camp Pendleton in southern California, one is a waitress in a Seattle diner, and a prisoner held at Guantanamo in Cuba.

Col. Jonathan Smith, formerly of Covert One, and his beautiful fiancée Dr. Sophie Amsden are called into action. It seems these people have a terrible disease which can be spread from person to person, and thousands could die if a cure cannot be found. The United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) must find answers. At one point, we learn that 90 percent of those who get the virus die. And a lot of people are getting the virus.

Meanwhile, in Berlin, Rachel, a member of the Covert One team, is dealing with Chechens who have the deadly virus in tiny containers. Money changes hands in the basement of a dance club, in an office from which dancers can be seen through a glass ceiling. Rachel changes her appearance several times as she runs from those who might be out to get her, while at the same time searching for others who can help. In Paris, she finds a scientist who is familiar with the Afghanistan situation--that is where several marines who got sick were serving.

The second half focuses more on the search for information, and for a cure for the virus. No one sick is shown except for those who make direct contact with terrorists or government investigators. Though we hear the death toll rises from less than 1000, as the second installment begins, to 3000, with panic taking place at overburdened hospitals (we never see this either). And terrorists have the virus, and big plans to disperse it. Some people are trusted who shouldn't be (and vice versa), and unexpected plot twists keep showing up.

I had trouble following what was going on, but brief black-and-white flashbacks were shown in many cases to remind us who certain people were or why something was important. And seeing the people who were sick was really hard to watch. One particularly effective scene showed one marine being asked questions in the hospital. He came through admirably in spite of his obvious suffering.

As a spy thriller this does eventually succeed. There are lots of good acting performances, and I especially should single out Anjelica Huston as a U.S. President obviously not elected for her looks, and Colm Meaney as Peter, who plays a major role in the Afghanistan investigation. The tension level stays high, with lots of action toward the end.

good action film

[dromasca · 6/10 · 14 April 2007]

Lovers of action movies, fans of TV series like '24', readers of Robert Ludlum novels and similar have good chances to like this movie. It starts very well, with three mysterious virus-related deaths and a failed transaction of bio-weapons in Berlin that leaves as well its dose or corpses and evolutes quickly in a national crisis type of story, sort of a combination between 'Outbreak' and '24'.

The film is well done, well acted, the pace of the action does not trail almost at all and the story has the kind of logic you would expect from such stories. The principal problem may be the format - the two and half hours are too long for a feature film (although we have seen many similar length films lately on big screens) and two short for a TV series.

The professionalism of filming and acting lends more on the feature film side. Stephen Dorff in the principal role is credible and likable, and the principal critic one can bring to his act is that he looks so much as Jack Bauer. Mira Sorvino, Sophia Myles, Blair Underwood, Colm Meaney are all at their place and give credible acts. The only mis-casting seemed to me to be Anjelica Houston, which did not seem to be very comfortable as a Madam President.

It's not great cinema, just fair entertainment. Action movie fans should not miss this film, the other can skip it without problems.

Very Loosely based on the book!

[fbnc03 · 6/10 · 10 April 2006]

The first part of the series was good as a movie in general. But I, being a fan of the book, was disappointed that the story was loosely based on the Gayle/Ludlum work. I have wanted them to make a movie out of this series of books for some time now. And I guess in my anticipation and already thinking about how the movie would be, I was a little angry. I can understand the director fast forwarding to recent events, but changing some of the backgrounds of the characters and COLONAL John Smith being out of USAMRID. But again, as a movie, without reading the book, this was a good story. Sorry, I just had to find a faucet to vent my thoughts.

Typical script/plot

[wrlang · 5/10 · 30 July 2006]

Lt. Smith (Dorff) is a former member of Covert One a government spy agency. Smith is engaged to Dr. Amsden (Myles) both having worked on virus outbreaks in the past and present. When a hemorrhagic virus named Hades, first seen during the Soviet Afghan war, starts to pop up in the USA, the government tries to hide the potential threat while investigating where it came from and race to create a cure. Terrorists are involved in this action thriller, and infiltrate far easier than one would imagine. Rachel (Sorvino) a renegade Covert One operative and everyone she comes in contact with dies. As Covert One tries to untangle the web to nab all those involved, it becomes clear that the origin of this plot is a old enemy. A sad thing is that it reinforced negative racial and cultural stereotypes. But it was on par with B+ or A- movies.

Not bad for a $3 DVD

[bensonmum2 · 6/10 · 14 August 2009]

Had I not found Covert One: The Hades Factor in the $3 bin at Big Lots, I seriously doubt I would have ever even heard of the movie - much less purchased the DVD. Based on a book by acclaimed author Robert Ludlum, Covert One: The Hades Factor was apparently made as a mini-series for CBS. The plot deals with the timely topic of bio-terrorism. In the movie (and I'll keep this brief because it would take paragraphs to do justice to the plot), secret agent/doctor/all-around good guy, Jon Smith (Stephen Dorff) is trying to track down the source of a deadly virus released by terrorists. Meanwhile, half-way around the world, another secret agent, Rachel Russel (Mira Sorvino), is on the run having been accused of playing a part in the virus' release. Behind the scenes, a secret governmental agency known as Covert One is pulling strings to protect the government and to find the terrorists. There's a lot more to the plot, but these three sentences will have to do.

On the whole, I enjoyed Covert One: The Hades Factor. It has its faults, but overall it was an exciting adventure. First, for a movie that's over 160 minutes long, I thought director Mick Jackson did an admiral job with the pacing. There are only a couple of instances where things got really slow. Good action, interesting scientific mumbo-jumbo, international intrigue involving terrorists, nice locations, some surprisingly graphic gore effects (remember, this was made for CBS), and solid supporting performances from Sophia Myles, Anjelica Huston, and especially Colm Meany are all highlights for me. Another big plus was Mira Sorvino. But then again, I'm hardly unbiased when it comes to Sorvino. I seem to go nuts over just about anything she does. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for her co-star, Stephen Dorff. Don't misunderstand – his acting is okay, he just seemed terribly miscast to me as the secret agent/doctor/all-around good guy. While I'm on the subject of negatives, I didn't care at all for the film's final act. First, I suppose that the identity of the boss behind the terrorists was supposed to be something of a twist, but it doesn't work. It's far too easy to spot the bad guys as soon as they appear on screen. Second, I hated the final outcome. Sure, the virus is stopped, but nothing else is resolved. We don't even get the satisfaction of seeing the bad guy come to justice. What's up with that? In the end though, the good outweighs the bad and I'll give Covert One: The Hades Factor a 6/10.

Rather routine

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 16 December 2018]

THE HADES FACTOR is a routine conspiracy/scientific/virus thriller with an international appeal and plenty of familiar cast members. It plays out as two feature-length episodes while the plot is based on a mix of the likes of OUTBREAK with the TV show 24, with protagonist Stephen Dorff made up to look EXACTLY like Kiefer Sutherland. The story is about a new kind of virus that kills people instantly in gruesome ways; it soon transpires that it's actually a chemical weapon so there are human bad guys in the mix too. The cast includes performances from the likes of Jeffrey DeMunn, Anjelica Huston, Mira Sorvino and Sophia Myles, all of whom seem to be on autopilot here. It's not the worst thing you'll see, but it's little more than an average time-waster at best, let down by being just too predictable for its own good.

a 2-part CBS TV movie.

[jaybob · 7/10 · 15 June 2007]

This 165 minute film is based on a Robert Ludlum novel, Many things were changed for TV.(which is normal procedure).

The story is about biological terrorism & on particular nasty virus, that can cause many deaths. For the moment I thought I was in Robin Cook land, He writes many stories of this nature.

Stephen Dorff is our erstwhile hero. Its not that he cannot act, He sure can, but he does seem out of place in many scenes. Thr movie has a large cast & most do a good job.

The best performance is by Angela Huston as the President of the Uuited States. She is a take charge C-in-C.,We can use a President like here NOW. Her brother Danny Huston has a pivotal role as well & one great scene with Angela. They as you probably know are the children of the great John Huston & the grandchildren of magnificent Walter Huston.

Mira Sorvino is good in her role,almost unrecognizable.

We have many villains in the film, & I just new from the very beginning who the chief villain was, I was not surprised at all, He was such a good guy till the very end, & then like in many films he unmasked.

The movie was filmed in Berlin, the scenes in the US were filmed in Toronto Apparently its just to expensive to shoot movies here in the United States.

There are some exciting scenes,BUTthe last 45 minutes seemed overly long,. I did enjoy it enough to give it a bare thumbs up.

Rating *** (out of 4) 82 points (out of 100) IMDb 7 (out of 10)

Worst Worst Worst

[babakulu-1 · 1/10 · 20 April 2006]

If Bob Ludlum was to see this mini series, he would have cried. This was complete waste of time and money. I have read the book and even though movies are not exactly what the book may be, CBS wasted time and money on this and it is embarrassing to claim that this was Ludlum's work.

May be the creator should check out the Bourne Identity with Richard Chamberlain and see how good that TV series was.

Poor Mira, Blair, Anjelica and Colm, why did they sign to stoop this low?

Horrible!!

A Tense, Well-Scripted Thriller Pertinent to our Times

[gradyharp · 8/10 · 7 September 2006]

Great literature its not, but Robert Ludlum is hard to beat as a writer of suspense thrillers and COVERT ONE: THE HADES FACTOR is no exception. Writing the screenplay with Ludlum is Elwood Reid and together they have created a very fast moving tale of the threats of bio-terrorism, found in Mick Jackson a perfect match for a director, and gathered an exciting cast to make this 160 minute made-for-television movie fly by at tremendous speed.

The premise of the film involves the worst of all 'weapons of mass destruction' - biological warfare - and here the topic is dealt with in a fascinating manner that pulls the US Government into the fold as implicated in the feasibility of such warfare. Not possible? Well, watch the film and make up your own mind.

Stephen Dorff plays Jon Smith, a one time covert agent for the White House, who becomes ensnarled in a plot to release the Hades Virus (a hemorrhagic lethal variant of the Ebola virus) to destroy the US. Smith's girlfriend Dr. Amsden (Sofia Myles) works for the government in the department that watches for measures just such as this. When the plot to sell the virus (is it possibly a virus known to the US government as the Scimitar project?) falls into the hands of an agent Rachel Russell (Mira Sorvino), the confusion of who is working for whom unfolds and all manner of agents and FBI, CIA, etc agents tumble around the President (Anjelica Huston) trying to identify the true culprits and the race to stop the dissemination of the deadly virus. In the many roles of varying consequence are actors Blair Underwood, Danny Huston, Colm Meaney, Josh Hopkins, etc.

The film is not without its gruesome elements: what depiction of bio-terrorism could avoid that? But the pace and the action sequences and the many locations of the film make the story propel along at a fascinating pace and the actors hold their own despite some predictable moments. Though this obviously is a fiction novel and a good one at that, there is a degree of truth in all fiction and any time writers and artists can help us understand possibilities, we are the better informed for it. Recommended viewing.

Terrorists release deadly virus for which there is no treatment or cure

[robert-temple-1 · 7/10 · 19 March 2011]

I saw this recently on DVD entitled THE HADES FACTOR, presented as a continuous feature film running 2 hours 38 minutes. I did not realize until I looked at IMDb that it started life as a TV miniseries entitled COVERT ONE: THE HADES FACTOR. It is based upon a novel by best-selling author Robert Ludlum, who is best known for the Bourne novels. Despite it having once been a mini-series, I shall call it 'the film', which is the form in which it has been released now. The film is not as good as it should be or might have been, but one reason for that may be that it is several years old and based on a pre-existing novel, so that it must all have seemed much more exciting and novel back then than it does now. Since that time we have become used to regular pandemic scares, swine flu, bird flu, SARS, or whatever, all of which have fizzled out after huge quantities of drugs were peddled by the big drug companies. Most of us now realize that pandemic scares are often engineered by or at least artificially enhanced, and hence partially engineered by, 'Big Pharma', which is the collective expression which is now used to describe the world's major pharmaceutical companies acting as a loose cartel. After all, if you have warehouses full of aging preventative or treatment drugs and can't dump them all on the Africans, then you can always create an artificial scare which panics Western governments into buying up your stock, and earn a few billion dollars easily. It is easy to bribe scientists, and I myself know some venal scientists personally who have been bribed by corporations to produce 'scientific findings' tailored to commercial purposes. It happens all the time and is often not even concealed. The Western world is now such a 'fear society' that it is easy to create panics, since everyone is fearful in general, and a state of high anxiety is present just about everywhere in our societies. 'It's all out there and it's going to get us' is the motto by which we are all now encouraged to live. It is difficult to meet a Westerner today who does not live in a state of suppressed fear and anxiety about something, or sometimes about everything. It is easier for elites to manipulate such nervous, jittery and demoralized people as we have become, because the population becomes like those persons experimented upon decades ago by psychological warfare experts; indeed, such techniques are routinely used by torturers of political prisoners all over the world at the present time to break down resistance. So in a sense the entire Western public is now essentially being held political prisoner and subjected to mass conditioning. Kafka has been surpassed. And one of the regular fears created by worldwide media campaigns, fed by corrupt 'scientists', are the recurring pandemic scares. Beware: viruses are on the loose! And in this film, the virus is a particularly deadly one called the Hades Virus, which has been made in an American military lab in connection with germ warfare research. The usual American soldiers used as guinea pigs in exposure experiments are found in this story, but here the variation appears in that they have been exposed to the virus in Afghanistan (certainly an unstable laboratory environment if ever there were one!) and hence some terrorists got their hands on some. Terrorists have had to answer for everything since we lost the Soviets. (At last, however, some new villains have appeared on the scene: casino bankers! But that has happened since this film was made. How long will it be now before we have a movie in which viruses are released by Goldman Sachs? Or was that what Hank Paulson was?) Stephen Dorff makes a very congenial action hero, and does very well at it. The only thing wrong with him is his annoying 'designer stubble'. Why is it that actors no longer consider it necessary to shave, but prefer to look such a mess? What extremes of vanity! And why do the producers and directors let them get away with it? Is it written in their contracts as a condition? Mira Sorvino makes a welcome relief from having to look at Dorff's chin. Sorvino has always been one of those endearing actresses who is everybody's darling, as she comes across as such a warm personality and we would all like to have her living next door. Here she tries to extend her acting range by playing an action heroine. She does it very well, but she is not able to conceal the fact that she is really very nice and would not really be like that except in a movie. The idea of Sorvino holding a gun and threatening to shoot is, well, slumming it for her. She deserves better films than this. But being in the occasional blockbuster action movie is meant to give a higher profile to an actress lest she become a niche darling, beloved only by the discerning audiences of New York and the Bay Area, who know a thing or two about good movies and who value her special qualities. If Dorff would only shave, it would be really good to see more of him at the trigger end of a gun, as he is made for that sort of thing and we believe in him when he faces danger. Somebody should make a buddy film with him and Matt Damon saving the world together, as I think they would click as a pair of action heroes. Damon is left-handed and Dorff is right-handed, so they could fire in every direction. And Mira Sorvino could then be the good sister or the loving wife or the clever scientist, or something more suitable to her nature than just an armed girl in a black suit.

Shocking adaptation, Very average film.

[bigchopper13 · 3/10 · 13 September 2008]

I am a big fan of Ludlum's work, and of the Covert-one books, and I had often thought how incredible they would be made into a film. Imagine my excitement, then, on learning that such a movie actually existed! The 'Hades Factor' being the first in the series seemed an obvious place to start.

From the outset the film was disappointing. Simple elements from the film such as Griffin's first meeting with Smith are needlessly different from the book, and much less exhilarating. Several characters are poorly cast, too. For starters Dorff is woeful as Smith. Not a bad actor, just an incredibly bad choice as he is far too soft, and fails to exhibit many of the features that are definitive of John Smith.

Re-naming, re-assignment and even omission of certain characters further degrades this film. For example the removal of Victor Tremont and the entire back-story of the virus, including the involvement of VAXHAM makes the entire point to the film somewhat hazy. Marty Zellerbach is a very large part of the book, and in the seat he takes vary much a back seat (not to mention that the film character shares nothing in common with the character in the book) is another big mistake.

Rachel Russel is presumably supposed to be Randi Russel from the book. Not only is she supposed to be the sister of Sophie Amsden (should be called Sophia Russel) but she is also supposed to work from the CIA, NOT "Covert-one". Which brings me to my final point, and I think one of the most important. COVERT-ONE doesn't even exist at this point! Not until the second book of the series is Covert-One devised by the president as a preventative measure against further biological terrorism.

To be honest I could go on all day. In short - if you like the books and want to see a good adaptation, I'm afraid you'll be bitterly disappointed. Even as an action movie it is thoroughly average, mainly due to very lack-luster editing and poor effects. The bumbled story line and dull-as-ditch-water script are the final nails in the very cheap coffin of this film.

Ridiculous

[photo-30 · 9 September 2007]

Horrible movie. The production values and acting are decent which don't help much to hide the stupid clichéd dialog, the illogical plot, and the ridiculous focusing on faces and looks that are irrelevant and gratuitous. So many red herrings. Danny Huston is all wrong for this role. No credibility here. It's the writing that does him in. Why suspect John Smith. No reason at all. Why would he allow his girl friend to die. More stupidity, and all taken so damn seriously. This movie makes me so mad. It just makes no sense. And that customs guy gets a red flag and lets the lingerie salesman go. No questions, and wouldn't there be a full alert during this time where the slightest suspicion would at least require further investigation? So many unrealistic plot lines. It's like a caricature of a spy movie. A spy running around in spike heels? Come on. Oh look at the bruises on Sophie's body...Oh no that's nothing. Are these people supposed to be pros? And that Russian style spy/gangster with the punk haircut that no one notices? Oh yeah he looks so cool and just blends in. What idiocy. Yeah lets hire an agent that looks like that. That will be real successful. And then he's on the train platform, leans over without checking under the edge. I guess he's not very well trained or just has a death wish. And more and more crap.

Way too long...

[LivingDog · 7/10 · 9 October 2006]

This genre is not my fav. I was interested for the first two hours but fell asleep after that. I woke up in the middle of the end and felt I missed nothing. It is just way too long. Fed on a diet of 1.5 hr. movies my attention slipped away. Perhaps my interest would have been maintained if this was a 3 hour scifi starring Bruce Willis... who knows.

About the story itself: it is good; well done; well acted; well directed; with lots of details about covert ops and the like. It also makes a reasonable case for what would happen if the US was attacked by bio-terrorists. It's not pretty and gets down right scary at times.

If you are into covert spy thrillers with a decent story then this may be your "cup of tea." I don't know - it was just way too long for me. 7/10

-LD

______________________________________________

my faith: http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/jbc33/

Great story, not so great film

[Plazeebo · 6/10 · 18 October 2020]

This is a captivating story . even if it's not written by Robert Ludlum it has the vibes of his work.

Something is off though.

The acting is stiff, even though there's a lot of experienced actors on set. The costume department must have had the day off. The clothes is either too big or too small. No one is well dressed.

The props department is also fired. Even the office material looks fake, but also the medical and military facilities look like it was made of cardboard.

The musical score is non existent - it's just random sounds from a keyboard.

But if you can stand the awful acting, it's a relevant film in these COVID-19 days.

check out the mini-series The Grid,for a better treatment of the subject of terrorism

[disdressed12 · 5/10 · 3 May 2008]

i was disappointed din this terrorism suspense thriller,mainly because i didn't feel there was much in in the way of suspense or thrills.it just sort of plods along for about 160 minutes or so.i didn't care for the characters,except one,the character played by Blair Underwood.i found his character interesting.unfortunately,he doesn't have a lot of screen time.and for me,most of the actors didn't fit their roles.at least i didn't buy it.if you're looking for a movie dealing with terrorism that is exciting,riveting and tense,you should check out the mini series,The Gris,which i thought was outstanding.it had me on the edge of my seat the whole time.my vote for Covert One:The Hades Factor is a 5/10 at best.

Not Mission Impossible but worth watching.

[EvanoOruvan · 6/10 · 21 January 2021]

Movie runs for about 3 hours (as it was made for TV in two parts). Many portions were predictable in the second part. Though not as interesting as MI , it is worth watching once.

cheaply made TV knock off ....

[anxiousgayhorseonketamine · 5/10 · 20 April 2024]

.....which depicts a connection between deep state and a pharmaceutical company to engineer then release a pathogen this time an haemorrhaging killer virus in huge public places in US and then enforce a lockdown; vaccinate the population and do a "financial" killing thereof

well well well this is Ludlum-ish fiction (actually fake Ludlum as written by Gayle Lynds in the vein of ) from 2005 turned into this filmic joke kind of 12 points of IQ required to attend made in 2006 14 years before the Bats of Wuhan (a successful series from 2020/21).... yikes some will scream blueprint predictive programming 🙂🙃😉 some will scream look deep state and billionaire companies cook up a scam the likes of which....

But they wouldn't would they? For profit? AS if .... it has to be fiction

Of course since the piece is from 2005/6 it is replete with tear-a-wrists from a different faith oh bad bad folks who speak in a foreign language; for the dimmest amongst the dimmest whenever Arabic or Dari and Pashto it says "speaking in a foreign language" Dear heard about subtitles; but no; better to demonize they speak a FOREIGN language not like us dodgy people clothes food etc etc .... boohoo

THis is the worst common denominator FEAR-mongering big network series B-team actors D-team script and storyline full of holes and chasms frankly

AND YET AND YET it is entertaining and NEVER boring. Ludlum-related pieces had a knack for action for rolling action and some of it transpires here even with the cost-cutting decisions visibly made at every turn .... so it has a smidgeon of the energy of the Jason Bourne trilogy but watered down and turned into a semi-travesty

Would still watch it if you like Ludlum-inspired action deep state and big pharma scam stories .... none of the acting is stellar it is workaday the dialogues are borderline special needs the locations are mostly good and filmed decently Berlin Paris Afghanistan here is probably Morocco but it flies ok. Oh yes most of the end is clownish and even more lowbrow than the rest but again AND YET still fun ......

Which film did you guys watch????

[svingty-915-351102 · 3/10 · 29 October 2018]

Honestly, to even say that this film is based on the Robert Ludlam book is a vast stretch.

This could've been a very successful debut of a series of films but rather than take a plot from the book (being a thinly disguised dig at the american consumer/capital greed - more about that later) the director decides to bring current events into the mix effectively fanning the anti-semitic flames in today's media. but OK... here we go;

The film plot - A unique strain of ebola developed by far east fanatics winds up on US soil. USAmrid doctor John Smith races across continents to save the world. The book plot - A unique strain of ebola developed by greedy American pharmaceutical company's (who have already developed a cure) packages the virus into the most common analgesic medicine for maximum impact on consumer america hoping to hold the US government to ransom to supply the antidote.

The book has a far more menacing plot, which would've injected some much needed realism into the film industry than the current bland thrillers which Hollywood seems to be churning out recently.

I see this film as a failed opportunity. Covert One could've been the USA's equivalent of Britains James Bond using Ludlam's novels as a starting point to build characters and drive film narrative.

Come on Hollywood, sort it out.

A Solid, Intelligent Spy-Medical Horror Thriller

[tabuno · 8/10 · 22 January 2019]

2 August 2006. Warning: Spoilers. If only more money and more resources had been devoted to this television movie project, it could have been a great theatrical film release. With a compelling and tight script suggestive of the best spy films, particularly Three Days of Condor (1975) as well as The Bourne Identity both a movie (2002) and a novel (written by Robert Ludlum the same author as this movie) and similar in nature to The Constant Gardener (2005), The Hades Factor is particularly powerful with its opening sequences that rip through the screen like the television series 24. If 24 is ever made into a movie, The Hades Factor could easily be a roadmap for it.

The plot twists are good, the suspense intense. Even more than Three Days of Condor and as challenging as 24, this movie is hard to watch without getting upset as the plot is revealed. Somehow, though, the movie isn't able to reach the ultimate reaches of a classic. Most of the cinematography and the acting is nicely raw and real...except at times there is an ebb or flow to its consistency. The lead male role is also somewhat irritating and frustrating by what the audience might hope the character could do but doesn't, unlike The Bourne Identity. In this movie, we have an either an actual flawed character or just a dense one. The lead female role is strong and exciting. People do die in this movie and it seems unsympathetic who, yet especially in the first half there is a good sense of silent, emotional depth in the humanity of the characters.

Ludlum wold be rolling over in his grave

[rich920215 · 1/10 · 22 June 2021]

I read the Ludlum book this is allegedly based on. The novel was great, as are all Ludlum books. Hollywood did its usual of thinking they are better than the author. The movie diverged so greatly from the bookit is essentially unrecognizable. Aside from the title and using same named characters from the book, the movie is pointless and boring. The story is lame and the acting terrible. Most of all though was that they took a great story and totally ruined it.

A great underrated film

[PersianPlaya408 · 9/10 · 28 August 2006]

This made for TV-movie is one of the best of its kind. It is very thorough and interesting and felt like a good film to me. The cast are very good especially Dorff in the lead role and Meaney, Danny Huston and Anjelica Huston in supporting roles. Blair Underwood was also not bad while Mira Sorvino was decent although seemed a bit miscast. The screenplay is written well by Elwood Reid, and mick jackson's direction of this adapted film from ludlum's novel is effective. This film isn't as flashy as The Bourne Supremacy, but considering that it probably didn't even have a tenth of that film's budget, and how great The two Bourne films were in general, this film succeeds. Its a great film to rent, entertaining, well done with good cinematography, editing and music. ------IMDB rating: 5.3, my rating: 9/10

Underwhelming

[artrebus · 4 November 2006]

This is a fairly underwhelming drama which is made most disappointing by it's wastefulness of an outstanding cast list.

It's all very nicely shot, but too often resorts to cheap tricks, naff editing and effects, trite music and a dreadfully lame script.

The story follows the investigation into a biological weapon terrorist attack on the US. Most of this has been seen before, in one form or another, so what this story really needs is a little bit extra. Opportunities for political observation, wit or subtle analogy to foreign policies are not pursued and would've enriched this drama without weighing it down. Syriana, by know means a great example (similarly far too wordy and bogged down) is perhaps the opposite end of the scale to this story, so falling somewhere in between may have been a happy medium.

The worst thing about Covert One, as I began, is the shocking waste of talent on display. The cast seem to know exactly what they've let themselves in for, but Stephen Dorff, Danny Huston, Mira Sorvino, Anjelica Huston, Sophia Myles, Kenneth Welsh and Colm Meaney are all excellent artistes and not really put to work. Their efforts certainly make this more watchable, but at the same time more criminal that it wasn't better.

I should add I have no previous knowledge of any of Ludlum's work, so can't comment on the adaptation.