“You can either do good, or do well.”

Such is the backdrop of this British attempt at a zero gadget spy film. Spooks: The Greater Good starts slow, introducing a nice bit of brooding menace via Kit Harrington, followed by Elyes Gabel’s coldly passionate antihero. The first real spycraft is actually quite well done, creating an intricate circle of misdirection and plans within plans. Sadly things drops off after that, settling down to a middling pace that’s maintained for the rest of the film.

Bear in mind that the cast as a whole do professional work, and the plot does have you working trying to puzzle it out. But I have to wonder if it’s the “stiff upper lip” effect coming across, or if director Bharat Nalluri was constrained by his attempts to emphasise MI5’s inefficiency working ‘within the rules’. Regardless, we are left with a rather bland melting pot of an offering, with some pangs of interest but nothing that really stirs a fire within.

Perhaps if the movie had focused less on the surrogate father/son relationship between Harry (Peter Firth) and Will (Kit Harrington), and more on the “spy” trappings, it might have been better than just average.

Spooks: The Greater Good is currently screening at the BBC First British Film Festival.