Bullet Points: Chief of Station
While nothing will ever beat the yesteryear experience of perusing a video store on a Friday or Saturday night for the newest releases, there is something to be said for being able to rent the newest releases while never having to leave your couch.
The latter is exactly what I did this past weekend, when I checked out the latest film from Director Jesse V. Johnson on VOD, 2024’s Chief of Station…
- Starting Off with a Bang: The movie begins with CIA Station Chief, Benjamin Malloy (Aaron Eckhart, London Has Fallen), and his team preventing the sale of some valuable intel to Malloy’s FSB counterpart, Evgeny Khalikov (Nick Moran, Renegades). When Evgeny realizes it is Ben who has thwarted him, the two rivals exchange pleasantries and Evgeny even congratulates Ben on his wedding anniversary. And speaking of his anniversary, Ben has to cut out to meet his wife Farrah for dinner. Ben’s right hand man, John Branca (Alex Pettyfer, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare) tells Ben he’ll wrap things up and he should go out and enjoy himself. But the Malloy’s anniversary celebration is cut short after Farrah steps back inside the restaurant for a moment and it explodes right before Ben’s eyes!
- Six Months Later: Ben is back in Washington D.C. and it is obvious he is still haunted by and processing his wife’s horrific death. If the personal grief isn’t enough, Ben is also getting his fair share of professional grief too. The CIA’s Inspector General is looking into Ben’s last mission and into the activities of Farrah (who at this point we also learn was in the CIA). When the IG accuses Farrah of being a double agent, it sets Ben off. Ben starts to believe that Farrah’s death was no accident and does some digging through the files and reports of the incident (with some help from Dez, a confidant of Farrah in the CIA)… It is not all bad news for Ben, Ben has a vacation to France planned so he can spend some time with his son Nick (Chris Petrovski) before he embarks on his own career with the CIA, following in his parents’ footsteps. However, Nick changes those plans. Nick won’t be able to meet his dad on Monday in France as they discussed previously because he is not in France. Nick has fallen in love and is currently in Croatia with his girlfriend, but he will be able to meet up with his dad on Thursday. With four days to kill, Ben decides to go back to his old stomping grounds in Budapest and return to the scene of the crime… to do some on location investigation.
- Who Can You Trust?: The first person Ben calls when he arrives in Budapest is his old buddy John Branca, who was promoted to Chief of Station after Ben’s departure, the two make plans to meet for coffee the next morning. John’s behavior at the meeting seems a little off, but he assures Ben that he will look into his concerns about Farrah’s death… Ben isn’t going to just sit back and do nothing, so he tracks down Evgeny Khalikov to see what he knows about Farrah’s death, but instead of answers he gets into a blackjack brawl with Evgeny’s men… Meanwhile in Croatia, some guys pick up Nick Malloy and tell him he is being taken into protective custody. Nick is instantly suspicious of the situation and asks questions, but gets no answers… Plenty of intrigue to go around for both father and son.
- Enter the Bernhardt: One of the things that Chief of Station does really well is building up the Kharon Taramov character played by action movie veteran, Daniel Bernhardt. Tamarov’s name comes when the IG is questioning Ben about Farrah’s activities, his name pops up when Ben is looking through the files and reports on the explosion and the night after the blackjack brawl incident, Evgeny shows Ben some surveillance footage that clearly shows Kharon Taramov outside the restaurant before it blew up… And that’s when Taramov and a team of Chechen soldiers show up in force, taking out some of Evgeny’s men and nearly doing the same to Ben. I have to say, this is probably Daniel Bernhardt at his evil best. The character of Kharon Taramov is a vile human being, who doesn’t think twice about taking someone’s life, in fact he pretty much takes pleasure in it… plus he just looks like a nasty individual in the movie. An all around great performance for Bernhardt.
- Business Picks Up: Once it becomes apparent, who Ben can and can’t trust he gets some help from Krystyna Kowerski, who worked closely with Farrah and considered her a friend (and who has been tailing Ben ever since he arrived in Budapest. Krystyna was played by another action movie veteran, Olga Kurylenko and her character is quite the difference maker, not only saving Ben’s life but also helping him unlock the movie’s biggest mystery. As the movie enters the third act, we get more action including an awesome chase scene that includes a father and son team up!
Chief of Station has all the elements you would want in an action spy thriller. There is some spy tech, a tangled web of intrigue, some torture and interrogation and last but not least, a variety of action … shootouts, fight scenes and vehicular mayhem… it’s all in there and assembled masterfully by action movie maestro, Jesse V. Johnson.
Then there are the performances… Aaron Eckhart brings gravitas and believability to his role as a CIA vet… Olga Kurylenko is a proven badass and she adds to that reputation here… The standout performance for me was Daniel Bernhardt’s portrayal of Kharon Tamarov, definitely one of Daniel Bernhardt’s most memorable roles. And props to to Alex Pettyfer and Chris Petrovski (who played Nick Malloy) for making a good first impression with me.
Now for this review to make a good last impression with these Bonus Bullet Points…
- If You Ever: …wanted to see Aaron Eckhart walk aimlessly through a grocery store, then Chief of Station is the movie for you.
- According to IMDb: Alec Baldwin was originally slated for the role of Benjamin Malloy.
- Reunited: Aaron Eckhart and Olga Kurylenko previously worked on another CIA themed action thriller, 2012’s Erased.
