Euro Sexy Man Mads Mikkelsen Is Playing A Cold War Russian In 'Billion Dollar Spy'

Brad Reid (Hammer) is a fresh arrival at the Moscow station of the CIA when he’s approached by Soviet engineer Adolf Tolkachev (Mikkelsen). Ignoring the advice from his bosses that Tolkachev is an obvious KGB “dangle,” Reid develops a bond and unique friendship with the Russian. Reid’s faith in Tolkachev is rewarded when he hands over a treasure trove of military secrets, obtained using classic Cold War spy craft. It earns Tolkachev the nickname “The Billion Dollar Spy,” and alters the balance of power between East and West.

As a huge fan of Mads Mikkelsen and lukewarm tolerator of Armie Hammer, this is tremendous news. Espionage movies have been in a little bit of a rut, and I think this combo might be the exact thing it necessary to kickstart the genre back into gear. This is an adaptation of The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal, a very well received book about Adolf Tolkachev, an unfortunately named Russian engineer that gave Soviet military information to the CIA. Tolkachev was later compromised by a CIA agent that was leaking information to the Soviets, and he was put on trial then executed. 

The last few major cold war set spy movies in recent memory, 'Bridge of Spies' and 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' had solid bones but were just boring as all hell. On the other side, 'Atomic Blonde' was a fucking riot, but more of an action movie than a pure spy movie. Hopefully, this movie can find a decent balance and get this genre back on track.