Content Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The 355.
As the central team of international spies race to recover a doomsday device from a terrorist organization in The 355, the characters each must demonstrate their intelligence by navigating the espionage, betrayals, and advanced technology that they encounter. With the fate of the world on the line, the characters must stay one step ahead of their enemies or risk ending up dead.
Some of the characters demonstrate their intelligence through their academic and technical knowledge, like Khadijah. Others, such as Mace, use their intelligence to inform their leadership and strategy. And others are not smart enough to keep up with the complicated situation they find themselves in and are killed as a result, like Luis Rojas.
Luis Rojas
Colombian DNI agent Luis Rojas sets the events of the movie in motion by pocketing the device and attempting to sell it. He does not fully think his actions through and ends up in over his head in a dangerous situation that he is not prepared to handle.
The other characters in the film note Rojas’ intellectual mistake and mock his attempt to sell the invaluable doomsday device for only $3 million. He is an impulsive character who bites off more than he can chew and ends up losing his life as a result.
Nick Fowler
While Mace originally believes her friend and colleague Nick Fowler is killed in action during their first attempt to retrieve the doomsday device, Nick later reveals that he faked his own death and is actually working to secure the device for a terrorist organization.
Nick overestimates his own intelligence and underestimates Mace and her team. Though he is smart enough to pull off the ruse initially, and even secures a promotion at the CIA, he is ultimately outsmarted by Mace and held accountable for his crimes. Like many of the evilest spy villains, Nick’s overconfidence proves to be his undoing.
Larry Marks
Mace places a great deal of trust in Larry Marks, her boss in the CIA, by handing over the device to him. She has enough faith in his competence that she is willing to entrust something of this magnitude to him. However, he is actually a double agent working with Nick and is killed by Lin Mi Sheng.
Larry is able to effectively deceive Mace and get her to find the device and bring it back to him. But he is almost immediately ambushed and killed. He is smart enough to get ahold of the device but is not adequately prepared to defend it or get it to safety.
Marie Schmidt
German BND agent Marie Schmidt is a grizzled veteran who brought down her own father as a traitor when she was just a teenager. She is a skilled spy who manages to get the upper hand on even Mace in their first encounter in Paris.
In this great stylish spy movie, Marie is an unstoppable fighter who also possesses the intellect needed to complete her missions. Her years of experience and extensive training have given her the ability to stay one step ahead of her enemies.
Mason “Mace” Browne
Like the characters in many of Jessica Chastain’s best movies, CIA agent Mason “Mace” Browne is a driven and confident woman with an impressive intellect and natural leadership ability. Although she is too trusting of Nick Fowler and Larry Marks, she makes up for this by putting together a team and a plan to recover the device and bring Nick down.
While she does not completely depend on her intelligence like some of the other characters, she repeatedly demonstrates how smart she is through her strategy and leadership. Whether she is going undercover or turning the tables on Nick, she is constantly able to come up with the right plan for the situation.
Graciela
Psychologist Graciela unwittingly gets involved with the team after being sent in to work with Luis Rojas but quickly proves to be a great asset. She is able to use her ability to read people to manipulate Pyotr Khasanov into revealing which auction item the device is hidden in.
While most of the other characters in this gritty spy film have extensive combat training and fighting skills to fall back on, Graciela must rely on her wits to get her out of the difficult situations she finds herself in. Despite not being a field agent, she is smart enough to maneuver through them and contribute to the team.
Khadijah
When Mace is putting together her team to track down the device, the first person she recruits to be the brains of the operation is former MI6 agent Khadijah. Khadijah is one of the world’s top cybersecurity experts and possesses an impressive intellect.
She is able to use her technological expertise to provide the team with crucial surveillance and information essential to their mission, especially during their infiltration of the auction. Her technical knowledge is unprecedented and makes her an invaluable member of the team.
Lin Mi Sheng
While mysterious MSS agent Lin Mi Sheng initially appears to be involved in the black market sale of the device, she is actually running an elaborate plan to collect information about many of the world’s most dangerous terrorists. She is one step ahead and manages to fool everyone.
She is able to figure out that Larry Marks is corrupt long before anyone else does, killing him and taking back the device before Mace even suspects that he is working with the terrorists. Lin Mi is brilliant and her plan ultimately sets up the team to destroy the device.
