I don’t know what the point of half-baked spy movies is anymore, and the heroics of one man somehow always work out against an entire army of baddies. Jesse V. Johnson’s Chief of Station is a feeble attempt to make the audience believe that this espionage thriller offers something fresh. Former CIA Chief of Station Benjamin Malloy must clear his dead wife’s name when she’s accused of treachery, and we follow the worn-out agent dealing with the double agents and maintaining a healthy relationship with his genius son.
Spoilers Ahead
What happens in the movie?
We’re introduced to Ben Malloy and John Branca intercepting an operation led by FSB chief Evgeny. Their mission is successful, and Evgeny threatens Ben for doing this to him. Ben is a veteran of this game, and he pays little attention to the threats and goes to celebrate his wedding anniversary. Ben’s wife, Farrah, is also a CIA operative, and the two plan to head for the anniversary dinner. The romance is cut short when an explosion at the bar kills Farah, and Ben is left with nothing. Matters turn worse for Ben when he’s summoned by the Inspector General of the CIA for an inquiry, and the committee claims that Farrah was the handler of a Russian spy who’s linked to the murder of several NATO agents. Ben loses his temper and claims that Farrah gave her life for the CIA, and they have no right to accuse her. When Ben’s son Nick calls him to meet in Paris, Ben takes a chance to reconnect with his son, along with solving the mystery of Farrah’s death.
Why does Ben travel to Budapest?
Seeing that he has four days until his son meets him, Ben goes to Budapest looking for some answers. Earlier, Ben met another CIA agent, Desmond Jackson, who worked for Farrah and wanted to help Ben in his pursuit to find out the truth. They learn about the presence of agents of multiple intelligence agencies near the place where Farrah died, but the most striking presence is that of Kharon Tamarov. In Budapest, Ben meets up with John at Gundel. John advises him to stay out of the mess and focus on spending some time with his son. Ben visits another old friend, Hitchens, who used to be Farrah’s close associate. She tells Ben that Farrah’s engagement ring was exchanged with a fake one, which had in-built nanotechnology. Someone tracked Farrah the day she was killed, and Ben suspects Evgeny right away.
Did Evgeny kill Farrah?
Ben crashes Evgeny’s poker night at a casino, and the two old adversaries play mind games with each other through poker. Evgeny asks Ben to leave, but Ben decides to get in a fight with Evgeny’s men instead. Evgeny takes Ben hostage and tells him how his heart always manages to defy his common sense. In Croatia, some men knock at Nick’s door and claim his life is in danger, and he must go with them. Little did Nick know that these men were the danger, so he agreed to go with them, leaving Veronique behind. Evgeny ties Ben up and shows him pictures of agents who have been killed in the last six months, and Ben thinks that it’s all Evgeny’s doing. Evgeny swears on his mother’s grave that he isn’t behind the killings, but before he could discuss anything more, a group of men start shooting at Evgeny and his squad, and Ben uses the opportunity to make an escape. The men shoot at Ben too, but John comes to the rescue quite abnormally. John claims that the attackers were part of an FSB kill team, and it’s the Chechen assassins. John asks Ben if Farrah has given anything of importance to him, and when Ben denies it, he discovers that John was on the enemy’s side all along.
Who saves Ben from captivity?
John Blanca is one of the best agents who have betrayed their agencies and joined the enemy. John tortures Ben into saying if Farrah left something to him before her death. Ben keeps denying knowing anything, and John electrocutes him, hoping for answers. Getting no answers, John leaves and hands the task to Kharon, who’s only too happy to get his hands dirty. Before he could inflict pain on Ben, a mysterious gunman shoots down people in the boat. Ben recognizes the woman to be Krystyna Kowerski, one of his wife’s students. Krystyna tells Ben that Farrah was about to expose a money laundering scandal that linked the Bank of Russia to a lot of NATO countries. Krystyna and Ben figure out the thing John was asking from Ben: a key that is camouflaged as a necklace Farrah gave to Ben long ago. They use the key to access a room, where they find out that the CIA’s Deputy Director Williams is behind the money laundering.
Can Ben save his son?
Ben contacts John to get him to give his son back in exchange for Farrah’s laptop, which holds the dirt. The two parties meet, and Krystyna hides in a nearby building with a sniper rifle. John gives Nick up as promised, but tries to ambush Ben as soon as he gets the laptop. Krystyna saves Ben, and the father and son get in the car to make an escape. Ben hands an assault rifle to Nick and tells him to shoot the punks. A long car chase sequence follows where the tension is supposed to be at its peak, but the old muddy Volkswagen Ben drives really chokes the adrenaline rush to death. Ben outmaneuvers John in a turn, and their car flips. John jumps out of the car to save his life, and Kharon is stuck in the crashed vehicle. Kharon regrets not killing Ben’s son when he had the chance, but he’s happy that he got to kill Farrah. Nick snaps after hearing the guy, and he uses a grenade launcher to blow the man to bits and pieces. John comes back and engages in a fist fight with Ben, but Ben eventually chokes him out. Ben and Krystyna part ways after getting the situation under control, and Ben takes John into cuffs.
How does Ben expose the Deputy Director of the CIA?
In Chief of Station‘s ending, Ben contacts Evgeny, and it’s not hard to see the rivals actually like each other. Director Williams is out in a seminar giving a speech and trying out his boomer jokes, and suddenly he notices the change of air in the room. The screen behind him shows a news article about him appointing assassins for money and power. Williams loses it and asks everyone to believe him instead of a Russian spy, and that’s when Evgeny makes his grand entrance to the room. He walks towards Williams while mockingly clapping, introduces himself as the FSB Chief of Station, and vouches for the news to be true. He then plays a call recording of Williams, where he’s ordering him to kill Malloy and his son to avoid leaving any loose ends. The Interpol officers take Williams into custody, and Benjamin finally gets to go out with Nick and his girlfriend, Veronique. Ben has been promoted to be the new French Chief of Station after his contribution to catching the traitor. The movie ends in a gorgeous evening in Paris, where the three take a walk to dinner, I suppose.
