Eagles of the Republic

Fares’s gaunt, handsome face so eloquently conveys vanity, but also a poignant emotional woundedness, anxiety and self-pity.

Once again navigating a labyrinth of corruption and bad behavior inside contemporary Egypt, writer-director Tarik Saleh delivers another solid, thought-provoking thriller with Eagles of the Republic.

Despite a fantastic performance by Fares (and a stellar score from Alexandre Desplat), “Eagles” doesn’t have the emotional gut punch you’d expect. But you believe that everything Saleh depicts can or will occur, and that’s an achievement in and of itself.

This is a compelling, cleverly constructed comedy-thriller with plenty on its mind. It satirizes the movie industry and authoritarianism while never pushing the comedy into outright farce. And it isn’t afraid to get real when necessary.

Saleh’s tangled plotting has more verve than his pacing or visual sense. But the movie’s portrait of collaboration can’t help but induce a shudder.

The film would've been better served had it stuck to either satire or tense drama, but whatever the case, the climax of Saleh's film is aces and as taut as can be.

Saleh’s script seems to be beating around the veritable bush for nearly two hours before it slams into violent gear, which effectively snaps the audience into a whiplash, but would have felt more effective had it arrived sooner. A tighter edit would greatly reduce the aimless, meandering quality, especially since multiple scenes regarding the film’s shoot also, by the nature of their falseness, feel flat.