Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest features a captivating first half, making terrific use of wit, tension & elements of suspense but the film as a whole is unfortunately marred by a lacklustre second half which bogs the story down with a drawn out narrative that makes its runtime felt in the end although it does have one spectacular sequence that will be etched in memory once it's seen.

One of the first films to lay down the foundations for modern action thrillers in Hollywood, North by Northwest is a thrilling tale of mistaken identity which concerns an innocent advertising executive who is mistaken for a government agent by an organisation of foreign spies and is pursued by them. The story covers his journey of survival as danger & betrayal await at every corner.

Neatly directed and boasting some thrilling moments, the journey still ends up feeling like a mixed bag as the story overstays its welcome and the ending is unnecessarily drawn out & runs longer than required. The script is deftly written, camerawork is excellent from beginning to end, editing could've paced the second half better, and Bernard Herrmann's score is expertly composed.

Coming to the performances, Cary Grant is brilliant in his role and dons his character's suit fittingly. And he is wonderfully supported by the rest who deliver solid performances in their respective roles. On an overall scale, North by Northwest is an intriguing & entertaining offering from Hitchcock that didn't work out for me as well as I would've liked but it is still an effective example of its genre that's definitely worth viewing.