The 355

Director: Simon Kinberg
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger, Penelope Cruz, Lupita Nyong’o, Bingbing Fan, Sebastian Stan, Jason Flemyng, Edgar Ramirez, John Douglas Thompson, Sylvester Groth, Jason Wong
Distributor: Roadshow Films
Runtime: 123 mins. Reviewed in Jan 2022
Reviewer: Fr Peter Malone msc

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Rating notes: Action violence and coarse language

A women-led international espionage adventure – variations on Mission Impossible themes.

The 355 sounds like an interesting code reference. In fact, at the end of the film, it is explained that this was the number given to an anonymous agent at the time of George Washington. And she was a woman – and that was a reason for her anonymity. The women in this film begin as individual agents but band together choosing 355 as the code for their work.

It is noted that this is a feminist action film or, as some commentators say, a post-feminist action film. Be that as it may, whatever the intentions about promoting women in action starring roles, this is a female variation on James Bond films (and some reference to him in the screenplay) or some Mission Impossible adventures.

It is an international venture, with the leading actors being American Chastain, German Kruger, Spanish Cruz (though her character is from Colombia), Kenyan Nyong’o, and Chinese Fan. There is an international cast of supporting male characters, with Flemyng as a British Mr Big. The locations are international as well – opening in Colombia, and moving to Washington DC, Paris, Morocco, and Shanghai.

Plenty of popular ingredients for this kind of action film. And it achieves what it set out to do, with the focus on the cast, the action, and international intrigue and espionage – though in no way is it an intellectual exercise.

The Colombia opening introduces extraordinary developments in technology, huge potential for communication, huge potential for international surveillance and, more drastically, potential for international destruction. In the crisis in Colombia, the device is stolen, the Colombians behind the developments killed, and Mr Big thwarted. A Colombian guard steals the device (Ramirez) and proposes to sell it to the CIA.

Enter the agents. Mace (Chastain) is tough-minded, ambitious, no slouch in martial arts. She works with her partner, Nick (Stan). In Paris, their action is interrupted by German agent Marie (Kruger). This leads to action-filled chases throughout Paris. Meantime, the guard who stole the device is shot in the company of his therapist, Graciela (Cruz), who has been flown in from Colombia. Graciela turns out to be the most human and engaging of the women. The man who killed the guard and absconded with the device is then pursued by both Marie and Mace. In the meantime, Mace had gone to London to look up a former MI6 agent, Khadijah (Ngyong’o), who has the surveillance skills needed for this kind of operation.

The action moves from Morocco to Shanghai, with plenty of surprises and intrigues on the way.

Needless to say there was action and more action, confrontations, betrayals, and all the audience expects and more before the film ends.