Richard Armitage plays a doctor who's accused of commiting a murder in Beijing. He escapes back to the UK, but he's immediately extradited back to China at the airport. On the plane he is accompanied by a British police officer, played by Jing Lusi. During the flight, things start getting complicated.
The cast are universally good. The production values are decent.
For the script, there's a number of "suspend belief" moments. Lots of people have brought up the unlikely extradition of a British citizen from Heathrow to China with no lawyers or due process. But hey, it's a popcorn spy thriller. I didn't have a high expectation for realism. If you hate that, there's much worse to come in the series, believe me!
Regularly characters behave in dumb ways to let the plot progress (especially the bad guys). And there's plenty of unlikely coincidences to keep it moving.
Also, I know China is the new go-to propaganda boogieman, but jeez - this one is pretty relentless in it's xenophobia of mainland Chinese people. Clearly the writers haven't spent any time there.
However biggest problem for me was the pacing. The series spans 6 episodes, each 1 hour long. There's a lot of padding, and often it moves too slowly and takes itself much too seriously. Far better and more complicated stories have been told in a 1.5 to 2 hour movie. Had it been sharper, faster and less brooding, I think I would have enjoyed it more.
It's ok. Put it on in the background when you're doing something else and it's entertaining enough. Don't think about it too much though, and certainly don't think you're going to learn anything about the world!
The cast are universally good. The production values are decent.
For the script, there's a number of "suspend belief" moments. Lots of people have brought up the unlikely extradition of a British citizen from Heathrow to China with no lawyers or due process. But hey, it's a popcorn spy thriller. I didn't have a high expectation for realism. If you hate that, there's much worse to come in the series, believe me!
Regularly characters behave in dumb ways to let the plot progress (especially the bad guys). And there's plenty of unlikely coincidences to keep it moving.
Also, I know China is the new go-to propaganda boogieman, but jeez - this one is pretty relentless in it's xenophobia of mainland Chinese people. Clearly the writers haven't spent any time there.
However biggest problem for me was the pacing. The series spans 6 episodes, each 1 hour long. There's a lot of padding, and often it moves too slowly and takes itself much too seriously. Far better and more complicated stories have been told in a 1.5 to 2 hour movie. Had it been sharper, faster and less brooding, I think I would have enjoyed it more.
It's ok. Put it on in the background when you're doing something else and it's entertaining enough. Don't think about it too much though, and certainly don't think you're going to learn anything about the world!