Reviews

This is a mixed bag. Great production & fascinating dark story line & the local characters were fantastic. Some of the acting is less than stellar & more could have been made of the setting but it doesnt really matter. The main issue is the fake South African accents that render the dialogue almost unintelligible at times. It has other flaws but the story is good & production & unique location carry it through. Well worth watching and it's a shame it didnt keep going because I feel it was getting better each episode. Apparently my review is too short and I have to keep writing but I really dont have any more to say.,

WIth 3 star actors you would expect this to be a winner but it isnt. Denzel is his usual brilliant self but even he can't save it. It starts out promising but just gets lost and meanders along with no real point building up to a lame ending with a flaccid "twist" that just leaves everyone puzzled - if they're still watching by that time. Such a shame to waste the potential of these actors & an interesting story. Malek isnt impressing me all that much in his roles despite his reputation. Jared seems to be a bit of a type-cast actor playing himself all the time. Maybe I'm just feeling let down after persevering with this movie. I guess I'll have to watch them both in something else next time they're up. Personally, I cant recommend this movie. It's not awful but there's not a lot of entertainment here.

I'm not a fan of "breaking the fourth wall" & the way this started nearly turned me off the show but I came back to it a few weeks later & fell in love with it. They pared back the "narrative to camera" thank goodness & it became a delightful mystery/crime/sharp witted comedy blend that really works. Largely carried by the super-talented Nicola Walker who makes you love the central character despite her flaws and good supporting actors around her particularly the young daughter. Well worth watching.

The kids are fantastic, worth watching them. Kevin does a nice low key deranged cop character and the movie has a lot of great suspense moments. Sadly, the ending left everything hanging, I mean EVERYTHING making the whole movie feel unfinished and pointless. In the end it leaves the viewer feeling let down and cheated as if the film-maker - having relied on a limited premise - ran out of ideas & simply didnt know how to end the movie. A shame to trash such a promising project the actors appear to have worked hard for.

When you have a story centring on one character who has amnesia & a dillemma over whether he's a good guy or not, you need to make the character someone the viewer likes or identifies with. I disliked the main character intensely. Hes unattractive physically and psychologically. He's only interested in himself & doesnt stop to help others or empathize with other people. I couldnt care less what happened to anyone in the show so I had no investment in it. The acting, direction, production etc were low quality making it even harder to be drawn in. THe story itself I have no idea if it was good or not as I'm half way through ep 3 & not convinced to keep watching it. It was pimped as "Nordic Bourne" but it gets nowhere near that brilliant thriller. It's a bad imitation. Sadly.

I'm seeing a lot of "worst movie ever" comments and all I can say to that is - you dont watch enough movies. This is a fun romp with some decent acting compensating for a terrible script, a somewhat disjointed narrative but a good basic plot line and great action sequences - whether they were believable or not - who cares. Just roll with it. Honestly I think people are too obsessed with showing how clever they are - which they seem to think means being negative- and not able to just enjoy the moment. This is especially true on this site where tey often mistake negativity for "critique" and think one 5 word sentence about how awful it was is a brilliant review. It's fun. Don't let them dissuade you from an enjoyable experience. And yes the actors have trouble with the accent. One of them is Australian & it's tricky for us to do that particular accent. But hey - just pretend. I gave it one more point than it should probably deserves only because I think it's overall rating is ridiculously low. PS did no-one else notice how strange the ending was? Just me?

I'm not a huge action fan but I enjoy a good action flick from time to time. Loved Bruce Lee, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Jean Reno & Clive Owen so you can tell I'm more into the choreography of fight scenes & story lines than just brutal violence for the sake of it. I did not know Scott Adkins name till I watched this on Netflix & came across it randomly. In fact I knew so little (but recognized some of the other actors) that for a moment a got confused & thought I was watching an older movie. Because this one has the feeling of old school 80's action flicks. The lighting, the sound, the dialogue, clothing & décor in the pub - if not for the sudden appearance of smart phones & the style of the few cars you see it would be possible to assume this was at least 20 years old.

All of which is a long winded way of saying - this is a must watch movie for any fans of action movies for whatever reason they like them. It has the two minimum required settings (jail & pub) & the villains & "innocent" victims along with a great "ordinary bloke pushed to limit seeks revenge" story line.

The fight scenes are nasty - in a good way & extremely brutal (if you're squeamish you might find this too much) but also include some fine footwork & spins etc that made me happy.

The dialogue is not that imaginative to be honest but that fits in perfectly with the throw back feel to the production. This is purely about the fighting. THe narrative is the window dressing.

I loved it and I have a new action movie fave.

I really wanted to like this series. I thought it started well enough & got a bit excited. I had never seen the lead actor before (not that I knew of anyway) & found her refreshing & she has that genuine down-to-earth quality that's so hard to capture.

But by the end of ep 4 it had become too depressing to follow through. I need to be entertained. That's why I watch a show. I want to be taken out of myself & taken somewhere interesting, fun, intriguing etc.

This show is just miserable. Nobody wins except bad people.Nothing good happens to anyone & everyone is obsessed with catching each other out & bullying others. The death of the only character I liked in it was the last straw so I opted out of watching it after ep 5

It was awful. The acting is great tho & I'll be looking for more from Eve!!

Ok I had mixed feelings all through this series but it was doing enough right for me to persevere till the end - which is a shame because the ending was ridiculous.

Unlike some reviewers I saw the ending coming from miles away & I struggle to understand why others didn't. In a show like this the "telegraphing" is actually very obvious & predictable & there's something really annoying about using "plot twists" so blatantly lacking in originality.

I actually tried to watch this series 3 times each time not managing to get through the opening scene which was just about the most annoying boring crime scene footage I've ever experienced. The 3rd time I skipped the first half of episode one and jumped in after all the yawn fest was safely away & tho a little confused at first I started to enjoy ep 2 and 3. This was short lived because after a significant event happened at the home of the main "good" guy it all went downhill again & got worse as it progressed starting with a highly unlikely scenario involving a bad dude in hospital.

A great film critic once said that you can tell what a movie is going to be like in the first few minutes. He was correct and the same is true of a mini-series. I should have listened to my first instincts.

I know this sounds like I hated it and in some ways I did so I wont be recommending it generally but if you like gloomy, "beat you over the head with how immoral we all are", nice guys always lose "reality" then you will probably enjoy it. If you don't care that no-one in the entire show is a likeable character and that they have to constantly stretch the bounds of credulity to keep the plot moving (despite a pretentious charade of being "gritty realism") then maybe you'll enjoy it. If you like your "dark" relentless, devoid of all humour & the kind of show where people don't answer questions they're asked but rather gaze mysteriously into the camera with sullen looks on their faces you'll love this.. I know the cast are capable of better but the direction is clearly abysmal because they all either act like robots or suddenly lose the plot in a ham-fisted out of proportion way that is more embarrassing than dramatic.

On the plus side, the lead actor is gorgeous, the main bad dude is portrayed well and the production values are excellent. I think it just loved itself a bit too much, got carried away with it's own nonsense and lost touch with who it was intended for - ie viewers.

I have no idea why it won awards, probably because of the rubbish ending - people equate endings like that with "clever realism" - I just think they're cliche and a cop out. Also perhaps they love the "monotone acting" that's meant to convey how emotionless violence is, which is interesting the first couple of times it happens but then becomes tedious the next 5,657 times.

Anyway - I'm not sure that review will help but I can say there are worse shows around so it's not a complete waste of time but don't believe the hype and don't expect any decent pay off for your efforts.

I tried to stick with it but it was unrelentingly miserable & excruciatingly boring. If there was a mystery in there somewhere I could not have cared less about solving it. The characters were forgettable & not in the least bit likable or relatable. The story was depressing and just got more depressing as it went along. If you're into tales about addicts obsessing and stalking people in a very pathetic sad embarrassing way then this is your jam. For me, I quit at the 3/4 mark wishing I hadn't wasted my time. I can't recommend this to anyone to be honest. Even fans of straight "drama" as opposed to thriller/mystery. Emily tried her best - but she was wasted here. Oh and there's a few familiar but older faces popping up that I hadn't seen in a while but that's not enough to suggest its worth watching.

I have to agree with many reviews here - this had the potential to be brilliant, and parts of it are, but it gets lost in itself and never seems to find it's way out. I loved the first 8 episodes but then for some reason I suddenly found myself hitting the fast forward in episode 9 and feeling impatient. I think it gets confused about what it wants to be & it takes 3 times as long to get to the point as it needs to. Also some of the behaviour of the characters is of the "oh come on that was stupid" variety. One scene the character is watching something happen that's completely bizarre but obviously dangerous & as a scientist he knows it's "contagious" but still just stands there gawping while things get worse and worse. I was screaming at the screen with frustration at how stupid he was being. That is always a big turn off for me if a movie or series is taking itself seriously. Nobody would do what he did. Still, I think it's worth watching because it does have some fantastic moments and some good plot lines running through it. Just a shame the writers lost their way mid-series & it went off the rails and for too long. It's far better than most of the rubbish on TV these days but for me at this point I'm stopping at the end of season 1. I started watching season 2 & was pleasantly surprised to see Dennis Quaid there - but found I got instantly annoyed so I am taking a break from it. I'll try season 2 later.

I liked the first couple of episodes, looked like it was going to be a great taut suspense thriller but after about episode 5 I was starting to yell at the screen over some of the actions/behaviour/decisions being made by the characters . And the Police seem to do nothing but sit around having dramatic moments, arguing & eating pizza. I mean, surely Denmark has better cops than this? They are excruciatingly useless. I'll stick with it for now but honestly they better do something POLICE-like soon or I will give up on the show completely. Nothing much makes sense at this stage either. I'm hoping there's a point to all this somewhere coz the ransom is way too small to be their main aim. Anyway - watch it, you might enjoy it and it's not terrible but there are some niggling issues here.

I didn't think I'd like this because it's aimed at a slightly younger demographic than me but it's actually exceptionally good. The production, acting, etc are all top notch. The casting of the characters is brilliant, as a long time Archie fan I was impressed with how closely they followed the cartoon looks and the way they have voiced the characters is directly on point also. This could have been really cheesy and lame but they have managed to blend the "fun" of the Archie characters and names etc with a realistic grittiness and a finely drawn out suspense & mystery. Also, the characters start out feeling slightly cardboardish & 2 dimensional but in a nice twist they are quickly showing more depth and story arcs that involve people evolving and developing as individuals while still keeping to the original ideas from the comics. In addition they are now (as of Ep 3) delving more deeply into the darker issues of today including racism, sexual assault & the rise of extreme right wing attitudes. You're not bashed around the head with it but the themes are there and they are not afraid to boldly & directly explore them. This is shaping up to be a hell of a show and I thoroughly recommend it - whether you're a fan of the comic book or not. Intriguing, addictive, a nice balance of bright comic book fun & gritty darkness. Reminds me of a similar blending in the movie Blue Velvet, tho of course not quite in that league and not quite as dark as that.

This just popped up on Netflix and I was desperate for something new and different so I gave it a look and so glad I did. I have only watched a few episodes so far but they are great. It's a little formulaic but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment. Great mysteries, wonderful characters, unpredictable, love the quirky intern LOL his hair when he first showed up was hilarious. Really good solid whodunnit mystery series with a little dark humour and absurdity thrown in for good measure. Love the conflicting and complex relationship between the main character and his ex- peers from the police too. Great binge watching material as long as you're not a big baby about reading subtitles.

I was loving this show and I"m still a bit on the fence but now at episode 9 it's starting to get a bit stupid. I loved Spooks & initially this reminded me of it but the gratuitous "soft porn" American influenced language (I often forget they're supposed to be Brits), the "Hollywood" style shootouts where thousands of bullets fly and no-one gets hit (except dozens of unknown "foreign bad guys") and the ludicrous behaviour of supposed experts is starting to wear thin. I'll stick with it because there are some good points to it but it's a shame they ruined it with the usual US idea of "drama". Apparently it needs more lines so I"ll just write this sentence and see if that's enough

After a couple of episodes I'm really enjoying this series. There are some interesting lively characters, a great mystery & fascinating plot lines. Cinematography is good, nice production values, good acting and the subtitles flow without feeling stilted or intrusive. The lead female is stunningly pretty (almost distractingly & unrealistically so) but contrasts nicely with all the truly scruffy, realistically unattractive blokes around her LOL On the down side, it all seems a little disjointed but I suspect that will lessen later as the story unfolds and disparate story lines are drawn together. I will return to this review when I've finished the series & update it but I saw there was only 1 review for this intriguing show and thought it deserved more. Unlike the other reviewer, I am not a fan of True Detective and don't find it a "benchmark" for anything other than how NOT to make a mystery, crime series. But both of us seem to think this series is good so I guess that in itself speaks volumes for the show! Give it a whirl. If you're not afraid of subtitles it is well worth it.

This is a pretty good series. The first 5 episodes were great - I was quite hooked and binge- watched them. Interesting characters, beautiful dark scenery fantastically shot, nice editing, good acting and a wonderfully mysterious suspenseful atmosphere. I have watched foreign shows for a while now and subtitles never bother me unless they are really bad - in this case they were spot on and flowed well with the visuals so I was unaware I was reading them.

Unfortunately something went wrong later in the show. I can't really say what it was, too many stupid decisions by the lead female (who is supposed to be a top negotiator/cop but acts like a complete idiot), the "villain" was so obviously off their rocker it beggars belief that no-one noticed, the behaviour of the board of the corporation was unrealistic & there were just a few too many plot holes etc starting to appear. It didn't stop me wanting to find out what happened/happens and sticking with the series but it did lessen my enjoyment to an extent. One scene that stands out as not credible involved someone signing away rights to something - you'll know it when you see it and quite frankly it made no sense. There were so many other options - especially in context of the person's supposed expertise & career... anyway. Frustrations & nitpicking aside I recommend this series to anyone who likes atmospheric suspenseful mysteries that involves folklore & mythical creatures not just real life evil doers.

As for the review slamming it for being "nothing but environmentalist propaganda" - I predicted some lame reviewer would trot that out just because it does, in fact, deal with issues about the environment. But you know what, movies and TV shows have - since they first began - proudly dealt with issues that effect people at the time. The environment is a pressing issue for our world today so I see no reason for anyone to dismiss art of any kind just because it brings that issue into it's purview. The fact that the reviewer bases their entire opinion of the series on their objection to it's environmental focus, tells me a lot about the reviewer and very little about the series. I imagine that's why nobody has said their review was helpful. The series incorporates a message about environmental issues, yes that's true. But it also incorporates issues around disability, autism, the parent/child relationship/bond, mental health care, youth issues & so on..... it's got many layers and is telling an adult fairy tale to get across a variety of thoughts , concepts & ideas. That is part of what makes it so interesting.

OK I rated this a 4 only because I think it's getting way too high a rating so I wanted to balance it out. It's probably worth a 6 or 7 at most. But definitely not nearly a 10. There is a great deal of hysteria going on over this show and not a lot of actual critical thought. First of all, yes it's a cute story but it's extremely derivative (i.e. it's stealing all it's ideas from other places including but not limited to Asian sci fi horror flicks) and often trite & clunky. The dialogue is cheesy & stilted at times and some of the acting is appalling. In particular WINONA RYDER!! What has happened to her? She was unwatchable at times her over-acting was so irritating. Fortunately, tho I was tempted to quit watching half way through due to Ryder & some other actors terrible acting, I stuck with it and simply skipped over most of Winona's scenes. As it turned out this made no difference to the story line and made the whole viewing experience so much better. If you want to do the same thing you just have to be careful - there are a couple of important bits with her in them & they are watchable enough because her dialogue in them is limited. Anyway - I think it's a fun series to watch but try not to expect too much even tho the ridiculously high rating tempts you to do just that. Also watch out for Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven. Her performance alone is worth sticking with the show for. She is brilliant & manages to save the show from being pretty mediocre. Girl has a big future ahead of her.

So anyway - do watch it! It's fun, has a nice 80's vibe & a cool 80's soundtrack (for the most part) but just don't get misled by the current hysterical popularity of the show. It's not as good as the ratings suggest, it's just enjoying a lot of buzz & hype, much like Pokemon Go. It's a shame really because my overly high expectations ruined it for me I think.

I went into this movie with no knowledge of the actual crime or even that this was based on one. I never believe the old "based on a true story" line so just assumed this, like most, was loosely based on something that happened in England but was not actually a faithful reproduction. It's only today when I was doing some research on it that I discovered all the drama created by the victim's daughter but. I don't really understand the controversy. If the victims families don't want to be traumatised by a TV dramatisation of these tragic events then....why watch it? Seems simple to me. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to watch if someone made a movie about deaths of people close to me. Maybe I"m missing something but honestly, the daughter who is voicing all these complaints should have just not watched the show. What is the point of kicking up a huge song and dance about it? Anyway, moving on to the actual critique. Personally like many others, I absolutely loved the series and it is well worth watching. I don't often like dramatisations of true crimes because they are usually stilted, stiff & boring with bad production values, B grade actors and lousy script writing. The Secret is nothing like the "usual" type. It's exceptionally good quality, well written, beautifully produced and all of the actors do a wonderful job. Nesbitt's performance in particular is absolutely chilling in his portrayal of the "ordinary" outside of this very sinister & disturbed individual. In all the story is told with class & compassion. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I remember seeing the original version of this from the 80's and that was OK, nothing fantastic but an original idea and worth a watch for the action and acting. THis recent remake isn't even OK - it's woeful. The acting is dreadful, the story is thin, the action scenes hard to follow because they are mostly in dark or filmed so close you can't see what's going on (ie they are cheating). I give it 3 for a few good moments in an otherwise dire production, I mean I have seen worse, but not by much. The patriotism and "inspiring" speeches just don't ring true - it all comes across as lame & desperate and a lot of the "acting" is not much more than blank stares conveying nothing at all. Isabel Lucas should be banned from anything resembling a screen, she is an embarrassment to Australian Film & Television and the rest of the cast were only marginally better. Don't bother with this unless you're really really desperate for something to fill in an hour or so without taxing your mind.

Very rarely does a TV show - especially a pilot - surprise me as much as this one did, several times. This action-packed debut has some wonderful twists and turns and unexpected events and I strongly recommend you don't watch trailers or teasers or read spoilers before watching it. I also recommend you pay attention to things that are going on in the background like TV newscasts and sign boards. There are some gems there!!! Its so refreshing to encounter a pilot to a TV show that packs such a punch. No slow, drawn out introduction here.

I also rarely laugh out loud watching TV shows, most "sit coms" & comedies leave me cold. But this show drew several delighted full throttle laughs from me. It's nasty, it's dark,it's suspenseful, it's bizarre, at times it's shocking and it's hilarious. Yes it has some blood & guts in it, but always in context and with a purpose. It's not gratuitous or only there for shock value like, for example, American Horror Story. It's part of the plot. Also, this is the pilot, it's telling a story of how something began & gathering some threads together. Of course it won't be coherent yet. Don't go in expecting it to be like everything else on TV, it just isn't. It's not like the other DC/Marvel shows either. It's a thing unto itself and I absolutely adored it.

It has fascinating characters, wonderful setting, great snappy dialogue (particularly from a character called Tulip) and some truly strange moments like the cow noises in the background of a certain scene and the character, Eugene. I also really liked the cinematography & editing - there are some clear nods to some of the greats of horror and thriller directors that all you movie buffs out there will recognise. Not a frame of this pilot was wasted or dead air. The kind of tight, focused editing and directing I love. I was so impressed with this I watched it again immediately after the first viewing. I can honestly say I've never done that before with any TV show.

And all this in less than an hour.

There are some very odd negative reviews here but I think they're from people who just don't understand what they were watching and/or it all went right over their heads. It does jump around a little , but unlike a certain other show, this one guides you through it's jumps with deliberately obvious & slightly amusing titles like 'Back in Africa" or "not that long ago". I saw someone upset because it's not like Supernatural. LOL It's not supposed to be! Why be angry at the show for not being like some arbitrarily show you chose to think it would be like? It's not their fault! This show is more like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy than Supernatural - although don't be misled by that description either! As I said, it's a breed apart.

I can't remember who said this but it's always stuck in my head: you can tell what a book or movie etc will be like within the first 5 minutes - because that sets the tone. And if that's true then we are in for one hell of a good time with this series.

I can't recommend this enough.

Whether you've seen the original Danish/US versions or not this is worth seeing. Great direction, acting & scripting with it's own flavour due to the particular differences in culture between France & Britain and how that differs from the the cultural differences relevant to the Danish & US versions.

I dipped my toe into the original Danish version but found the cultural references too obscure & the whole feel of the show too unfamiliar/foreign to really relate. Plus it's always difficult with subtitled shows, you really have to grab my attention for me to stay & it just didn't. I quit after a few eps. The US one I barely lasted 2 episodes, just didn't like the way they interpreted the dynamic between the two leads & the cultural tension aspect. I started watching the Tunnel without realising it was also based on the Danish original and it grabbed me from the start. I liked the characters better, there was a lighter feeling to it than the US one so it gave relief from some of the grimmer aspects of the show & generally felt it was more accessible to an English speaking viewer with some knowledge of British & French cultures.

Whether or not you've seen The Bridge (Danish or American) this is worth viewing. I am well into the first season and loving it so far. So happy to have found a version of the story that I can watch & sink my teeth into.