Extra DVD: Spooks: The Greater Good (15)

Sir Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), Head of Counter-Terrorism at MI5, oversees the bungled handover of terrorist Qasim (Elyes Gabel) to the CIA. Soon after, Harry vanishes without trace, shouldering the blame for the debacle.

Dame Geraldine Maltby (Jennifer Ehle), Deputy Director General of MI5, and Oliver Mace (Tim McInnerny), Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, enlist Harry’s protege Will Crombie (Kit Harington) to track down his mentor.

Will reluctantly agrees and unwittingly stumbles into a deadly conspiracy. “I had to find someone I can trust: it’s a short list,” Harry informs Will when they eventually meet.

With the clock ticking before Qasim detonates a dirty bomb in the heart of London, Will attempts to navigate a web of intrigue, some of it spun by Harry, aided by fellow agent Erin Watts (Lara Pulver).

After four years in dramatic limbo, BBC One series Spooks returns as a glossy big-screen mission penned by Jonathan Brackley and Sam Vincent.

There’s a comforting air of familiarity about this Bourne Identity-style caper that serves as a reboot of the franchise and wedges the door ajar for further assignments now that lead actor Kit Harington has been unshackled from Game Of Thrones.

Director Bharat Nalluri, who was closely associated with the TV version, maintains a brisk pace and orchestrates a couple of nail-biting action sequences.

Firth affects the same furrowed brow to suggest he is custodian of too many secrets.

The plot twists and turns, and threatens to tie itself in knots, but thankfully unravels with a satisfying dose of treachery.

Rating: 3/5