User Reviews

I had recently sat through, and thoroughly enjoyed, the 2023 movie "The Bricklayer", and thus I opted to sit down and watch this 2024 action thriller titled "Chief of Station", as it also had Aaron Eckhart in the leading role.

Sure, I had never heard about this movie prior to sitting down and watching it, so I didn't really know what I was in for here, aside from it being an action thriller. So writer George Mahaffey and director Jesse V. Johnson essentially had every opportunity to entertain me.

The storyline was watchable, sure, but at the same time it was also somewhat bland and forgettable. Writer George Mahaffey didn't exactly conjure up something grand or thrilling here. "Chief of Station" didn't manage to stand out from so many other action thrillers like it, and thus it was a bit of a disappointment. Now, don't jump to conclusions here, because I am not saying that it was a bad movie, not at all, it definitely had some good parts. But overall it was essentially just a generic action thriller.

This wasn't exactly the highlight of Aaron Eckhart's career, nor was he particular distinguishable in the movie. It was as if he was running a bit on auto-pilot. There were a couple of familiar faces on the cast list, joining Aaron Eckhart on the screen, with the likes of Olga Kurylenko, Nick Moran, James Faulkner and Daniel Bernhardt.

There is a fair amount of action in the movie, and that definitely helps to keep the movie afloat, and thus director Jesse V. Johnson didn't fully deliver a dud.

Watchable for what it was, but don't get your hopes up for "Chief of Station", as it was a rather bland and generic action thriller.

My rating of "Chief of Station" lands on a five out of ten stars.

Director Jesse V Johnson is better known for his collaboration with martial arts actor Scott Adkins in movies such as The Debt Collector.

In Chief of Station he goes for espionage but comes up short both in action and story.

Ben Malloy (Aaron Eckhart) is the CIA station chief whose world falls apart after his wife's death.

However Ben is drawn back into the shadowy world, after his former adversaries are killed. He learns that his son is in danger and discovers that he cannot trust anyone, even his former allies.

From very much the early scenes, you can guess who will turn against Ben Malloy. There is nothing here in terms of a good story.

That leaves the action scenes to do the heavy lifting. Unfortunately Eckhart is no Adkins. He is perfunctory with the action scenes but the script is not good enough for him to stretch his acting chops.

I am a big Aaron Eckhart fan and HE was THE reason I started watching this, but what a disappointment it turned out to be...

The bad: from the get go I notice this is a cheaply produced movie, with uneventful photography, a way too overbearing soundscore and above all WAY too many below average supporting actors.

More bad: what's really annoying (and disappointing) though is the fact that this is meant to be a serious and tough crime movie, but the action is so silly that it flexed my laughing muscles.

There simply is NO suspense, NO thrill, NO originality, it's a nothing burger. Aaron Eckhart has made some solid movies lately, but this is defnitely not one of them!

This is a solid action flick.

Are you going to be intellectually challenged by a highly nuanced and convoluted story? Nope!

Is the acting skills the barometer to judge here? Not really.

This is a popcorn movie. Pure escapism & hollywood pulp - at its best!

Its not intellectually stimulating, complex or difficult to understand.

Its just a basic plotline - typical of the genre. With a moderate cast. (ALL the 'stars' are B list player - lets be clear!) And the action sequences & beautiful backdrops/scenery make the movie. I enjoyed them & if you expect that & enjoy them. This film rocks! In my opinion, at least. Ignore the folks giving it low ratings. They are just letting off steam.

"Chief of Station," the latest attempt at espionage intrigue, is a forgettable cocktail of clichés and mediocrity, leaving audiences with a sour taste of disappointment. Aaron Eckhart, usually a reliable presence, struggles to breathe life into a tired script that feels like a rehash of every spy thriller you've ever seen.

The plot follows the predictable trajectory of a seasoned CIA operative (Eckhart) navigating the treacherous waters of international espionage, complete with double-crossings, femme fatales, and the obligatory ticking time bomb scenario. However, any semblance of tension or excitement is suffocated by the film's inability to break free from its formulaic shackles.

Despite its attempts to inject relevance with nods to contemporary geopolitical tensions, "Chief of Station" fails to offer any meaningful commentary or insight. Instead, it relies on tired tropes and shallow characterizations, reducing complex global issues to mere backdrop for its uninspired plot.

Even the action sequences, typically a saving grace for films of this genre, feel uninspired and lackluster. It's as if the filmmakers ticked off a checklist of obligatory set pieces without bothering to inject them with any genuine excitement or creativity.

In the end, "Chief of Station" is a forgettable addition to the spy thriller genre, offering little more than a rehash of tired clichés and missed opportunities. Save your time and money for something more deserving of your attention.

A big fan of Aaron Earhart and Olga Kurylenko but unfortunately neither one of these actors can save this low budget B film that is so poorly written that it quickly falls apart into a silly out of date silly script that's so predictable table and dull that not even the action scenes can make it feel entertaining. And Olga comes into the picture to save the day almost at the end which is too late and too little.

The directing is decent considering the script is terrible and if you remove Aaron and Olga this would be a terrible low budget B film.

Go in with super low expectations and ready for laughable moments where terrible accents make you cringe and the action fight scenes look like something from the 1970s completely outdated where guys have slug fests rather than shooting each other and all that was missing is Charles Bronson.

Looking forward to next action film from Aaron E and anything Okga K stars is - maybe with higher budget and better script

3 stars for 2 main stars and some great shots of Budapest.

...

And I only said that out of respect. Sometimes the film is so bad that it becomes good in a sort of back to front logic .... this here does not

It is thoroughly bad through and through the only saving grace and this has been mentioned in other comments is the fact that it moves around beautiful cities... Everything is spelt out for you as if anything more complicated than a comix For a six-year-old would make your brain misfire.

The fight scenes are so bad we wonder why anybody included them here; they make absolutely no sense they must have been choreographed by some canines at the pound Who could not find a home and had to been given a task to keep them occupied. It is an absolute shocker

And yet and yet if you can fully disengage your mind for an hour and a half and you really have nothing else to do and I mean absolutely nothing else to do you might get through it

A solid three for Budapest and other locations which might or might not be what they claim to be.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. No big political messages, just straight-up popcorn spy movie fun. The kind Hollywood doesn't seem to want to make anymore. From the start, you're plunged into a plunged into a world of clandestine operations and high-stakes espionage. From an admittedly ignorant outsider's perspective, I felt like the film had a certain level of authenticity about the world of espionage. Eckhart is the star, of course, but arguably his main co-stars are the gorgeous locations in Hungary. After watching this film, I want to visit Budapest. Chief of Station is a must-see for fans of the spy genre and anyone craving a thrilling cinematic experience that doesn't preach to you.

Epic action, well choreographed fight sequences and an absolute entertaining watch.

Eckhart is brilliant in this role and it was so cool to see Alex Pettyfer soar in this role from his Magic Mike days.

Olgo is always on point and she delivers every time. She is quickly becoming an action superstar, I wouldn't be shocked if a superhero franchise swept her up. (I quickly googled to check if they already have and THEY HAVE. She will star in Thunderbolts for Marvel Studios) there we go.

Jesse is also carving out a very nice career as an action director, his trajectory from his early work has had a nice increase in production value and the level of quality. From starting out on low budget movies like Avengment, we can clearly see a huge step up from the director. Great work all around.

A solid thriller carried by the always resonate Aaron Eckhart.

He's really one of the best working actors out there today.

From Thank Your for Smoking to Chief of Station, you just can't help but believe the sincerity of the guy - and now we find out he's great at action!! Seriously, he did the stunts and looked flawless.

The action sequences are very good, very credible, not cheesy over done, impossible stuff here - but instead, gritty, in your face, real looking sequences that carry the tension in the film.

It's starts with a well paced opening, slows down in all the right places, and then boom - here we go again. The film looks big.

For sure, worth a watch.