Hopscotch

Hopscotchⁱ came out three decades ago just about. The Soviet Union still took itself seriously back in 1980. Most of the girls I've fucked to date weren't even born in 1980. Do you know what the FBI in charge of the scene tells the CIA director right before botching the capture, in 1980 ? "That's a phrase that has lost most of its meaning by now". It was in response to the CIA director telling him something about "national security". In 1980.

To come out and say it plainly : all the dorks pretending like the US coming to pieces next week would be "very sudden" suffer from a very willful case of "ignoring the historical reality of one's own nose". The jig was well up in 1980. It'd have been sudden (but not unexpected) if it blew up before the Soviets did. That China elected not to keep Soviet Russia on a respirator but instead keep Soviet America on a respirator has very much to do with China's decision process and relatively little to do with self important white bureaucrats in either Red or White house.

Other than that, a very grounded, intensely absolute disdain for the fundamental stupidity of government goons is apparent throughout. This makes Hopscotch a work of realism in fiction. There's also very plain display of the fundamental, irredeemable incompetence of government goons in open competition, no matter the field. This makes Hopscotch a work of realism in fiction as well.

Outside of these rather 2nd pass considerations, the film is not terribly good, even by hollywood standards. It's certainly not one of Matthau's better offerings. Then again... spy stories, what the hell can you do with a dumb premiseⁱⁱ like that ?

1. 1980, by Ronald Neame, with Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson and some dogs -- the more intelligent of which a) gets the girl and b) doesn't suffer the others. [↩]
2. Spy films work about as well as "BDSM" pornos. [↩]