Spooks: The Greater Good

Whilst I was aware of Spooks when it was sweeping the telly-box, and subsequent box set popularity a few years ago I never did get into it. Actually, I don't think I ever watched one episode. So, whilst intrigued how Spooks would do as a big-screen adaptation, I didn't feel too encumbered by previous series baggage, as is sometimes the case when a TV show becomes a film.
However, I feel that even the most die-hard Spooks fan might struggle to defend The Greater Good as anything but a very superficial spy flick.

That said, I think they did make the mistake from the off of trying to compromise on potential audience knowledge or lack thereof. I feel they should have either gone into full-on fandom mode and stuck to things only Spooks fans would know and appreciate, or try to almost "reboot" the concept a-fresh. As it is they did neither, and tried to carry through core themes of the series and attempt to take them to another level, whilst liberally decorating them with new-look Hollywood thriller elements.
The result to me was, despite a few glimmering performances, a rather limp-wristed film that just passes as 104 minutes of escapism but little else.

The most Spooks-esque you could get actually came in the form of seasoned actor Peter Firth as Harry Pearce. Whilst his performance was pleasingly solid, you could just tell he was trying to rely on what he'd done for the previous ten series of the TV show, which is fine as he has a right to be proud of that but it does not, and did not work in hammering a film home. Opposite him we had Kit Harrington who was very much the new kid on the block, but the writers had also tried to deeply envelope him in Spooks lore. This sort of worked, but his use as an open and shut plot device to see the film through was obvious. Apart from that, there was not much performance-wise to note. The great Tim McInnery was a nice touch (and apparently another returning face from Spooks) and the peripheral additions of Lara Pulver and Tuppence Middleton were interesting, but again there was clear evidence of trying to transplant an ensemble TV cast onto the big screen with not nearly enough plot or character to lead things along.

Yes the action and spy-thriller moments were there, and the film did make good use of London in trying to add that Brit-flick tinge. But in terms of expectation and execution, particularly if you just simply take The Greater Good as a stand-alone film, the results aren't positive enough to even resonate before the closing credits.
I am sure it is possible Spooks fans will disagree with me, but as a piece of film-making, as a story and even as a piece of entertainment (nevermind a potential conclusion/finale to the Spooks franchise) the feel and end result was very mixed in my view. Whilst just passable, or just good enough shall we say, I do feel that Spooks: The Greater Good inevitably served up quite a bit of wasted potential.