LIAISON is that rarity. An intelligent film about intelligence agencies, and the vanities that blight the abuse of that intelligence.

Eva Green and Vincent Cassel head an awesome cast in a cat and mouse internecine thriller that tracks from the Middle East to Western Europe and the United Kingdom.

LIAISON opens promisingly with a premise pulled out of the dark pages of technology trap we have created and all too close for comfort considering recent reported breaches.

A couple of hackers from Damascus, Walid and Samir, who, while sabotaging some of Assad’s digital library, uncover evidence of a terrorist attack against London.

With  Assad’s assassins on their heels, the French secret service arranges to extract them from  Syria via freelance action man, Gabriel Delage. The extraction is compromised, the hackers reckon the French government has sold them out. Nonetheless, the two end up getting to London with Delage in hot pursuit of the encrypted message stick they possess.

Meanwhile, British National Cyber Security Centre head Richard Banks and his expert protege Alison Rowdy deal with a cyberattack that inundates the city, followed by another one that triggers a terrible train wreck, and further, a crippling power outage.

In an uneasy alliance, British and French security services both want to safeguard the hacker’s contents, but internal power struggles come into play, jostling egos putting public safety at risk.

Also coming into play is the excavation of the archaeological relationship between Delage and Rowdy, an affair of the past that impacts mightily on the fate of their futures.

Intrigue and internecine machinations trump action and adventure in LIAISON, the sizzle provided by the two leads, filling the narrative with their trademark charisma and palpable chemistry.

Vincent Cassel as the enigmatic Delage exudes a primal, melancholic mood while Eva Green contrasts with icy intellect and sophistication.

Peter Mullan as Banks gives the bite much worse than his bark spy chief plenty of bite, and there’s a delicious performance by Irene Jacob as the cool headed head of French security.

A plot thickening thriller over six episodes, LIAISON is an entertaining look at how diverse agencies manage the political fallout of international hacking, and how a lack of unity can unleash a potential cyber holocaust. It is only by liaising that true protection  proceed. 

The first French and English-language Apple Original series. LIAISON will make its global debut with the first episode on Friday, 24 February, 2023, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday through 31 March, 2023, on Apple TV+.