Hopscotch 1980
For some reason I was kind of familiar with this movie, but I don't think I had ever seen it before. It is a fun espionage movie where Walter Matthau plays an aging CIA agent unwillingly assigned a desk job so he decides to go rogue (a similar setup to Red). Ned Beatty plays his jerk of a boss, Sam Waterson plays his apprentice, and Glenda Jackson is very good as Matthau's love interest (two of Matthau's children have supporting roles). Matthau is always fun to watch especially in a movie like this where he can be rumpled but smart, similar to a character like Columbo. Occasionally things are played a little too broadly (like Bugs Bunny broadly), but generally the movie stays smart and gives Matthau enough to do that he doesn't have to ham things up. It isn't heavy hitting, just a nice diversion from violent spy thrillers. I feel like this movie is mostly forgotten now, but I was glad to come across it on the Criterion channel.
Written: 26 Nov 2025