How US-China co-production The 355, starring Penélope Cruz, Jessica Chastain and Fan Bingbing, failed on all fronts

With some of Hollywood’s hottest female names, as well as Chinese star Fan Bingbing, this spy film should have been a box-office smash

However, with lacklustre set pieces, lame dialogue and cliched characters, The 355 failed to tick any boxes

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(From left) Diane Kruger as Marie, Jessica Chastain as Mason “Mace” Brown and Lupita Nyong’o as Khadijah in a still from “The 355”, co-written and directed by Simon Kinberg. The US-China co-production, which also featured Fan Bingbing, was a box office flop.

Published: 4:15am, 7 Apr 2023Updated: 12:35pm, 7 Apr 2023

In 2018 Hollywood actress and producer Jessica Chastain had a great idea. Why not make an all-female spy film in the tradition of James Bond or Mission: Impossible?

With a star-studded cast that included Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong’o and Fan Bingbing, and director Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Dark Phoenix) on board, the project sparked a bidding war at the Cannes Film Festival.

The main victors were Universal Pictures and Huayi Brothers, who would look after American and Chinese distribution respectively.

Based on a script by Theresa Rebeck and Simon Kinberg, The 355 is named after Agent 355, the code name of a female spy from the American Revolution (1765-1791). Fortunately, some of its other ideas are slightly newer.

The plot concerns a decryption device stolen by evil businessman Elijah Clarke (Jason Flemyng) which can access any digital system on earth.

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