One of Spy's unanticipated pleasures is its ability to wring drama out of the minutia involved in what might seem like an esoteric business deal.

[It's] a twisty, hyper-talkative historical epic that peers behind the curtain of political theater to offer a peek at how North and South Korea really stay in touch.

A taut, slowly engrossing, effectively old-fashioned Cold War thriller.

A timely though occasionally dense tale of covert agents and behind-closed-doors deals, the film employs detailed production values and a fascinating geopolitical context in a year that has seen the present-day Koreas draw closer than ever before.