(CNN)Showcasing a thrown-together planetary squad of pistillate spies, "The 355" mostly feels similar the aviator for a TV series, conscionable with an inordinately bully cast. Any movie successful this genre that name-checks James Bond can't beryllium each bad, but successful presumption of justifying a travel to the theater, nor is it bully enough.
Spanning the globe successful pursuit of a high-tech limb with perchance devastating applications, the movie surely approximates the look of franchises similar Bond and Jason Bourne, with the mandate to filter that done pistillate characters.
The planetary spirit is likewise calculated, and therein lies portion of the problem. Lacking the spark of innovation, the premise comes crossed arsenic little distinguished by sex than simply generic -- checking disconnected boxes for the selling section without breaking an iota of caller ground.
Directed by Simon Kinberg (a seasoned of the "X-Men" movies), who wrote the publication with Theresa Rebeck, the crippled opens by establishing what Hitchcock would person called his MacGuffin, bringing successful CIA cause Mason "Mace" Browne (Jessica Chastain) and her spouse (Sebastian Stan) to effort to get the deadly object.
They're not alone, starring to an brushwood with German operative Marie (Diane Kruger), and the engagement of Graciela (Penelope Cruz), an office-bound quality therapist who's the lone 1 unaccustomed to hoisting guns around.
Forced to cooperate with Marie grudgingly aft the 2 person traded punches, Mace enlists machine genius/hacker Khadijah (Lupita Nyong'o), and it's disconnected to the races -- oregon rather, a contention against the atrocious guys with stops successful Paris, Morocco and Shanghai. In that last locale a 5th highly resourceful operative, Lin Mi Sheng (Chinese prima Bingbing Fan), joins the festivities.
While the enactment is plentiful, there's thing particularly caller astir it, and the twists consciousness beauteous good telegraphed. The movie is frankincense champion distinguished by the interplay among the women successful lighter moments, with Cruz providing a adjuvant instauration arsenic a alien to specified adventures disquieted astir surviving to spot her kids again.
"James Bond ne'er has to woody with existent life," Mace mutters arsenic they sermon the toll of the spy game, though world intelligibly isn't overmuch of a precedence successful this benignant of exercise.
Like a TV pilot, "The 355" plays a small excessively transparently similar thing that wants to acceptable up an ongoing framework, leaving the doorway unfastened for sequels. Anything's possible, but putting speech the peculiar challenges of the existent theatrical moment, a stronger movie would person offered much anticipation of fulfilling that mission.
As is, the formed mightiness person an enviable abundance of prima quality, but "The 355" adds up to little than the sum of its parts.
"The 355" premieres Jan. 7 successful US theaters. It's rated PG-13.
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