The Numbers Station

John Cusack replays his role as a lethal operative with occupational angst for a routine thriller with a female cryptographer at secret CIA site. Dire workplace issues ensue.

A predictable hodgepodge of uninteresting psychological cat-and-mouse, dimly lighted action filmed by director Kasper Barfoed in standard-operating shaky-cam ...

With Cusack's help, Barfoed holds your interest without resorting to car chases, a rarity in a contemporary thriller.

This dreary spy drama is as flat and airless as the concrete bunker in which it unfolds.

Akerman does work hard to keep up the energy level. Cusack, though, seems bored by the superficial proceedings, which don't even offer the distraction of a real romantic connection or a suspenseful confrontation.

Cusack and Akerman scramble down a series of dimly lit, identical-looking passageways. The setting is as ill-defined as the characters.

Danish director Kasper Barfoed, who makes his English-language debut here, makes fine use of the movie's tight constraints, painting it in concrete hallways, electrical panels, and glowing computer screens.

The claustrophobic location gives the film a clammy suspense, though it's so dimly lit that it's sometimes hard to work out who is shooting at whom.

A potentially intriguing idea is thrown out the window in this predictable low-budget thriller.

There's an interesting, timely idea in this espionage thriller, as well as adept leading actors who are able to make the most of the script's dry wit.

The Numbers Station is a cheap and predictable thriller that works only because of its two leading cast members: John Cusack and Malin Akerman.

'The Numbers Station' is a competent film and it does manage to create some tension. But you're conscious of the fact that it all feels familiar and wondering why there isn't a little more to it.