The 355

Jessica Chastain reunites with director Simon Kinberg (Dark Phoenix) for this entertaining espionage thriller, which is titled after a female spy who operated during the American War of Independence. When a covert operation to recover a top-secret weapon goes awry, CIA agent Mason "Mace" Brown (Chastain) begrudgingly teams up with rival German agent Marie Schmidt (Diane Kruger) to find it. Mace also enlists an old pal and ex-MI6 computer specialist (Lupita Nyong'o) and a Colombian psychologist (Penélope Cruz) to secure the weapon before it can be used, but a mysterious figure hampers their efforts. Kruger is a natural action star who is totally believable in the stunt sequences, despite some rather bumpy editing, and Cruz brings wide-eyed humour and heart to her role. The film just about avoids female empowerment clichés to deliver as an enjoyably gritty and glamorous actioner.