Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Involving political thriller, 25 May 2007
This certainly turned out to be a most satisfying alternative to the usual TV thrillers out there that rely on police procedure or crime solving. Here, the lynch pin of the story is Sir Mark Dryden, the British Ambassador to the US, played by Jason Isaacs. Frankly, this is probably the most effective role I have seen him in, and is certainly a world away from playing Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter movies.
This is a truly British type of story, with dominantly British characters and with a complex plot. However, it is set in America, featuring all the landmarks we would expect to see in an American thriller.. the West Wing, Lincoln Memorial, etc. To add to the American mix, we even have a recognizable star of American TV - Sharon Gless, who completely casts aside her past in Cagney and Lacey here to embrace the role of Secretary of Defence with a real sense of grit.
Perhaps the most British aspect of this series is the underlying criticism of certain aspects of government - not least The Patriot Act which comes under fire along the way. Certainly terrorism and its origins are at the very foreground of the action.
To reveal too much about the plot would be unfair, but in a nutshell, Sir Mark is caught up in a web of deceit when a plane leaving for London is blown up, apparently by terrorists. Meantime, a Brit is on Death Row protesting his innocence. Could the two be connected...? Suffice to say many more plot strands arise, and interweave in a manner designed to satisfy and keep you glued to the end.
A 6 part mini-series, one hour per episode, was the perfect format for this thriller - instead of a rushed movie, the characters have enough time to develop and breathe, while the plot never slacks pace.
The only criticism to be made, is that they have followed the American model of TV making just a little too far with the ultra rapid editing and `24' style jump cuts. There is enough thrill on the screen from the plot and the acting without this rather incongruous attempt at accentuating the kinetics - without this minor quibble, this would be a 5 star gem.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truth, lies and political expedience, 28 Sep 2007
A cracking political thriller with most of the action Washington based and involving governments, private companies and perhaps predictably, a small oil-rich Asian country (Trygyzstan, Tyrgyztan or Tyrygsztan depending how quick your eyes are) so the events are very contemporary and mostly credible, too.
The 350 minutes get off to a stunning start with an airliner being blown up and crashing onto an expressway near Washington and from this point on you'll be hooked like I was. Considering this is not big bucks Hollywood the crash looked incredibly convincing, as does everything else though it was mostly filmed in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario.
The six parts move along efficiently, especially with plenty of steadycam and accompanying sound effects, but you'll have to pay attention because this is not black and white plotting, the good guys are not obvious and there is no winning side. The casting is fine with Jason Isaacs turning in a great British Ambassador and perhaps Sharon Gless should be taken on by Department of Defence as their no-nonsense Secretary (but maybe her hands are tainted, too). Nothing is what it seems at first.
The DVD includes a twenty-seven minute 'making of' extra. Worth a look though it is the usual back slapping stuff. Several minutes are devoted to creating the airliner crash, which I thought were interesting and Grainne Marmion has some good comments on how she interpreted the production.
This is a conspiracy thriller that will certainly be worth watching several times.
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42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
superb intelligent conspiracy thriller, 6 Mar 2007
I watched this on TV and couldn't wait for the DVD. A really smart story, with great writing, superb acting (Jason Isaacs for Bond NOW!) and excellent cinematography. I was horrified to discover that some newspapers listed this series as one of the big (creative) flops of the year - they couldn't be more wrong.
If you like intelligent, exciting political thrillers which give you the idea they're revealing a lot about the way things REALLY are run, give this a chance. You won't be sorry.
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