User Reviews

This premise had promise. Great cast, scenery. The quick cut shots from terrorists shooting and stalking and sordid adultery is monotonous. Jo a police officer is a meter maid no doubt . It's bad when your pulling fir the bad guys to thin the herd. Lee Ingelby, a favorite actor, is tiring. I chalk it all up to post-Covid writers block. All the main actors/actresses were in great shows we've watched, but this isn't one of those . Half wayvtgriught second episode, and my wife is on the fast forward button. Not a good sign. We shall see. Was very excited to watch this when we saw it in BRITBOX. I gave it a 5 because the actors are great , but still can't save it.

I like Keeley Hawes and Lee Ingleby, both excellent actors but they struggled to keep this ship afloat. It was an uneasy mix of domestic potboiler/soap meets Die Hard and will probably disappoint the audiences for both.

It wasn't awful but it wasn't great and it didn't feel authentic, the action scenes at the beginning were quite flat. It wasn't helped by the fact that we knew nothing about the attackers and their motives. If all they wanted to do was kill people randomly why didn't they run out of ammunition very quickly? Everyone on the island had a mobile but no-one called the cops...

Seemed more C5 than BBC though to be fair looked like it had a good budget but the direction was a bit off. As it progressed it turned into a bit of a turkey I'm afraid. One to give a swerve.

A trio of families head for a holiday in Spain, but the relaxation is cut short when gunmen open fire on the unsuspecting holiday makers.

Well, you couldn't escape the adverts for this one, The BBC definitely plugged this one, it was everywhere.

Now I may be in the minority here, but I really enjoyed the first episode, and despite one or two quibbles, it grabbed my attention, and had me on the edge of my seat.....

Episodes two and three however, oh Dear, it fell apart quite quickly, the events were just impossible to believe, and the relationships that we were told about, they just didn't seem realistic or even possible.

The idea was a truly great one, a chilling concept, and as many people are aware, similar atrocities did actually happen.

Jason, truly the most ridiculous character on the box this year, he turns out exactly as I predicted, very lazily written.

The acting was very good, Keeley Hawes was excellent, I also enjoyed Josette Simon and Daniel Ryan, they were very good, just badly served for the most part.

5/10.

My Review - Crossfire

My Rating 6/10

I was looking forward to seeing Kelley Hawes in a lead role again but the subject matter of Crossfire I found very upsetting ,probably due to the constant stream of gun related violence on our television screens recently.

Kelley Hawes the extremely talented wife of Matthew Macfadyen is excellent in the role of Jo a wife and mother relating the circumstances of her life that saw her as well as her family and friends holiday in a remote Spanish resort in The Canary Islands turn to horror.

Two gunmen in a revenge act of terror go on a rampage of indiscriminate killing that turns Jo an ex Policewomen's and her family and friends lives upside down.

The story is told in flashback moments that reveal Jo's marriage is not what it seems at first terminating longterm friendships when details of Jo's relationship to her husband Jason's oldest friend China is revealed in flashback.

While I enjoyed Kelley Hawes powerful performance as Jo I found the plot line of this mini series very disturbing as most of the dramatic content of Crossfire concerns the two rampaging gunmen hunting for victims through the resort shooting indiscriminately, Crossfire is not based on a true story. The show's creator and executive producer Louise Doughty said that while the plot is entirely fictional, she did research "very carefully what has actually happened in these incidents".

Well Louise Doughty I'm glad Crossfire is not based on true events but they are unfortunately horrible events that seem to be occurring more today and I'd rather not have subjected myself to this horrible scenario .

There were unexplained bloopers also that were puzzling concerning the Island resort's isolation from the mainland ? This was the cause of the long delay in getting the Police and rescue team to attend the resort by helicopter.

I had to wonder then how and where from the rescue and ambulance vehicles arrived at the same time as the chopper team?

I'm about to go on a Cruise holiday soon and the events that occur in Crossfire made me think what if ?

Viewers will decide for themselves if they watch Crossfire I have no problem with movies or series such as Nitram which explored the events leading up to the 1996 gun massacre in Tasmania . Nitram explored the psychology of the gunman and his family without subjecting us to reliving the massacre itself.

For me Crossfire is less about the characters and more about the horror caused by the gunmen and the insanity that makes guns so easy to obtain...

Yes, there are things wrong with this drama, but it rattles along at a decent pace, gradually letting you into the stories of the main characters.

The first action of the film does carry the horror of the situation well, it doesn't have a glossy, American feel, but a visceral portrayal of the panic that would doubtlessly ensue if you were unfortunate enough to be caught up in the something like this.

Many of the characters are painted with shades of grey and with some real pathos at times. People act stupidly as well as bravely, which, when you have gunmen tracking you down would undoubtedly happen.

The story is allowed to unfold and show the aftermath, which makes a really good change from most dramas like this.

On the negative side, I never bought into the idea that Keeley Hawes' character would be a member of the police, but all the relationships she had with the friends on the holiday were believable and well done. For its undoubted flaws, there's a lot to admire about this programme and it's well worth a watch. Flawed but with plenty to keep you hooked.

Oh good grief. What starts as a brilliant scenario with a pack of great actors descends into shout out loud stupidity, idiotic behaviour and a pointless 'after story'. So, lets not shoot the terrorists when we get the opportunity, let's hammer on locks and slam doors to let them know where people are hiding. How about not listening when someone shouts 'get away' and getting stabbed as a result while dumbly walking towards a terrorist with a quizzical but dumb look on your face? Who on earth quality checked this output appalling? The final episode is so bad it's actually hard to put into words.

I've never seen anything like this in my life.

I'm guessing it was loosely based on real life events in Tunisia a few years ago, but they could have introduced some sort of story line, or how about even just making it an hour long so as not to put us through such misery.

Hours of complete nonsense, no real story, the odd flash back and and more gratuitous, pointless violence than you can shake a stick at!

We were introduced to the characters so briefly as for it to be impossible to remember who was who.

Usually like Keely Hawes stuff but this is pathetic. Don't waste your time, life's too short!

Crossfire is the story of a group of friends who go on holiday together but end up being victims of a terrorist attack.

My husband and I both thought the mini series was well acted. And I was definitely on the edge of my seat a few times!

The characters feel very real, all responding to the predicament they find themselves in quite differently from each other. I personally felt the responses were quite realistic. People don't necessarily think logically when they panic.

I felt I still had a couple of questions left at the end. Like why was Keeley's character together with husband number two in the first place?

With such a great cast how could this be soo bad and how did they accept the script? The location is beautiful but none of that is shown.

How can two young boys with the smallest of guns cause so much damage?

The police were supposed to get there in thirty minutes but Keely is still running around two hours later saving everyone and not worrying about where her own family is. She was more bothered about her lover. I'm all for something that is a bit far fetched for TV viewing but let's not insult peoples intelligence. I doubt there will be a second series.

This must be one of BBC's worst ever.

Quite poor.

The worst part was that our so called "flawed heroine" and unfortunately narrator, was totally unsympathetic.

The main characters, apart from Miriam, Ben, the security guard and even the young gunman, to a certain extent, were unlikeable, irritating and plastic.

Overall it was flat, the depth of emotion, they desperately tried to convey, just did not come off.

Could not give two hoots about the lead character and her voice over ramblings did not convey anything meaningful or believable.

Oh by the way, the police were called immediately by the security guard, who explained that they were remote and, I think, on an island and that it would take time for the police to arrive.

Despite a quality cast and the best of the best Keeley Hawes delivery her usual class performance this was a terrible waste of time .

With a ridiculous back story that just didn't add up or make sense the script writers ruined it with their snails pace storytelling .

I'm sure the BBC feels pretty pleased with themselves for ticking every box available , they seemed to have overlooked that quality drama is character based and viewers which to see believable characters and well written and directed drama In this instance this is not the case and this did not succeed in keeping peoples attention for 3 hours over 3 nights.

I absolutely loved all 3 episodes. The cast are fantastic and i enjoyed every single second of Crossfire. I don't understand why there are bad reviews when the tension is building up every single minute in this Tv series. Well done to the cast and crew. Such a brilliant show. I Loved it!!! The kids especially in this show are fantastic too. Absolutely brilliant. Everyone has done such a good job at this and i really hope to see all of these brilliant people in something again soon. But i really wish that i can get to see a season 2 as this show must go on further. We need another story of this. Well done!!!

From the beginning I found the demographic of the family/friends ensemble totally unconvincing.

It was so confusing and even at the end I had no idea who the children's parents were.

The rest of it was unconvincing as well. A load of people running around acting scared did not actually convey the horror of the situation. One assumes this was based on the attack on tourists in Tunisia in 2015 when 38 people were murdered.

A much more convincing film of this genre is the Norwegian film, Utøya 22. Juli (2018).

I don't know whether it is the writing, storyboarding or editing that is at fault, but there was a distinct lack of continuity.

You have terrorists shooting people indiscriminately and without any forethought except when they are faced with a featured cast character ... then they don't shoot them. They allow themselves to be engaged in pointless dialogue. Then there was the clichéd scene of a terrorist and tourist grappling on the floor trying to wrestle a gun free, with the usual inevitable result.

The scene when the tourist looks on dumbly at a terrorist confrontation and walks stupidly into a knife is just embarrassing.

Why did Keely Hawes character receive a police commendation when she was not a serving police officer and it happened in a foreign land?

At best it would surely have been a civil award.

And her going back into the force just seemed unbelievable.

I really lost interest as the three part drama progressed, particularly the last episode which was boring.

What surprised me the most was the low quality of the script, dialogues and most of the acting. And some of the are proven good actors, But this story seems barely credible and abowe all boring. Very, very boring,

I've only watched the first episode but I'm afraid this will not get any better.

At the end.as a viewer it did not move me or made me feel any attachement.to the main characters. In short, medicore and very loose. With an irregular narrative rhythm and rather pathetic dialogues.

Finally, the characters are pure cliche and all together makes the series very boring. It gives the feeling that even the actors do not believe the role they are playing. Not very impressive.

So in this large hotel only these guests ended up running round bumping into each other. Not sure who's kids were whose. Good job keeley managed to get hold of a shotgun from the back office or I don't know what they'd have done. And those poor kids must all be burnt to a crisp in that heat and no sun cream To say there only appeared to be 2 gunmen then everyone could have been saved quite easily.

This island is so remote it's either Alcatraz or the Island from Lost, cos local police didn't turn up till about a week later Complete drivel and what not to do if ever you are trapped in a massive hotel with no security and all doors and gates locked.

Repetitive and ridiculous in equal,measure. No discernible plot. Muddled direction and devoid of direction. Unconvincing characterisation. Even inTenerife, the armed police would have been there in minutes. I could write more but this nonsense doesn't warrant the effort. Oh dear, I have to write more to meet the minimum review criteria. I'm off to make a cup of tea now. Then I will switch over and watch a documentary about fish. This review may seem meaningless but believe me, it is far more compelling than this over hyped nonsense. Rubbish. Absolute trash. There aren't even pretty landscapes of the island.

I almost didn't watch this because of the reviews on imdb. Thankfully I did. The multi ethnic casting is terrific and Keeley Hawes as the lead does not disappoint. The setting is one of those self contained high end resorts on a remote coastline in some far flung place. It's about a group of adult friends and their children who decide to get away from it all by taking an expensive sunny holiday. It's apparent from thee start that things aren't quite as cosy as they appear on the surface. And then what takes place is one of those horrific events that we see on the news happening to people we don't know. The resort is attacked by a number of gunmen shooting randomly into crowds around the swimming pool. The success of the series is that we feel we know these people and so it's personal. The drama of this group of friends is played against an atmosphere of, at times, unbearable tension. Watch it and make your own mind up.

Covid must have hit. Keeley Hawes financially before she accepted that role Worst BBC dribble I have watched for a long time. Unreal characters throughout the series, stupid decisions that would not be made in real life. The storyline.... a nursery student could have written better, Louise Doughty i will not be watching anything written by you again, go try cooking pasta or something, pen and paper is surely not your forte.

And the last half of the final part, dear me, if you managed to get that far just switch off as soon as it hits the UK.

Poking my eye wit needles could not be more painful than watching this utter nonsense.

Keeley, Im away to make a home movie, 20 quid on offer if your up to starring in it.

This was so poor that I felt compelled to write my first ever review. The acting was wooden, the characters awful and the storyline full of cliche and nonsense. How we were meant to believe this group of friends actually knew each other, let alone like each other, is laughable. I'm still trying to understand if the actors struggled with the script, the script struggled with the actors or both!

On top of all of that, this drama was irresponsibly thought out and can't have helped the tourist industry in areas already hit by covid and fears of terror attacks. The Tunisia terror attack must have been stuff of nightmares. This drama lacked any kind of fear, empathy and believable drama.

If anyone enjoyed this, they must have very low expectations. Keeley Hawes must be embarrassed.

This was desperately poor. Such a suprise given the high quality of the cast involved. I am suprised an an actress of the calibre of Keeley Hawes involved herself in this production.

I watched the first episode which wasnt long in unleashing the bloodshed before we knew anything about the main characters. This was told in flashbacks in between them running around a hotel aimlessly.

The firstepisode was so poor I decided to watch the second thinking this could only get better....it didn't. By now the guests were being picked off one by one with no signs of any help from the police/military etc......In reality this would not happen.

Personal stories of the characters infidelities, marital cheating,were flashbacks throughout, none oft he stories particularly interesting as I wasnt emotionally invested enough in characters I didnt really care about.

To cut a long story short, this was rotten, another disaster f rom the BBC. It's 3 hours of my life wasted watching it.

I'm sure glad I didn't read any reviews before I watched this! I couldn't turn away. I would watch Keeley Hawes wash the dishes, but her performance here was terrific, supported by an amazing cast. As for the writing, I don't understand what's to criticize. Ultimately it was the story of a group of friends and how they respond to an ordeal. The ordeal itself-as stressful as it was-was incidental. I've been in similarly stressful situations and it's true you don't emerge the same person.

Anyway, Ii you're looking for a police procedural, well, this ain't it. Just a thrilling plot and an excellent examination of response to stress.

BTW, I'm American and enjoy watching BBC dramas. Beats the usual crap on American TV by miles. It seems that lot would have appealed much more to many of the reviewers and critics here.