Chief of Station introduces us to Benjamin Malloy, a seasoned CIA Chief of Station in Eastern Europe whose life shatters when his wife Farrah, also a fellow operative, is killed in a bombing in Budapest that coincides with their wedding anniversary. Grieving and disoriented, he returns home to Washington—but internal affairs raises suspicions that Farrah may have been a double agent working for Russia.
Refusing to accept the official verdict, Malloy retraces his past steps when he learns his son Nick, an IT engineer, is now in Croatia. What begins as an emotional stopover becomes a perilous investigation into Farrah’s life and the murky truth behind her death.
Back in Budapest, Malloy confronts Evgeny, a former FSB adversary, seeking answers. Unfortunately, Evgeny is assassinated before he can reveal anything. Malloy’s trust is shattered again when John Branca, a former colleague, tortures him for information—only for Olga Kurylenko’s character, Krystyna, to save him, revealing hidden intelligence saved on Farrah’s laptop.
On that laptop, Malloy discovers evidence implicating his own CIA Deputy Director Williams in taking bribes. The situation escalates when Nick is kidnapped. Malloy negotiates to trade the laptop for his son’s freedom—resulting in a final confrontation in Hungary, where he rescues Nick, eliminates the threat, and exposes Williams’s corruption.
Despite its compelling premise, critics were mixed. Regarded as part of the “geri‑action” genre—older action heroes in high-stakes scenarios—Aaron Eckhart portrays Malloy with seasoned determination, but the story leans heavily on espionage clichés and predictable twists. Some reviewers found it familiar and serviceable, with Eckhart’s performance and a few strong action scenes offering enough entertainment.
Other critiques were harsher, calling the film dull, laden with stilted dialogue, and weighed down by underdeveloped characters such as Olga Kurylenko’s Krystyna, whose potential impact was wasted.
Overall, Chief of Station delivers a classic espionage revenge tale—with betrayals, double crosses, and father-son stakes—but stops short of fully elevating itself beyond genre trappings. Its strengths lie in Eckhart’s solid lead performance and some dynamic sequences, even if the story surrounding him feels too familiar and undercooked.
