mlawrence-2

It's entertaining enough and occasionally humorous but the set up is preposterous and the behaviour of Ludwig (David Mitchell) is just ridiculous. Some of David Mitchell's other work is much better than this, in particular Upstart Crow.

There was a better show to be had here but this went too far in one direction. Pulling back a little on Ludwig's character would have given a much better result. I was going to say more believable but perhaps that is asking too much. In saying that we will probably watch all the episodes but not with eager anticipation, more with, oh well there's much else on.

When I say some things left unsaid I am talking about big issues within the film that are not chased down and explained. A little frustrating perhaps but that is life. We never know everything about a situation, its causes, motivations, impacts on others. It feels right to be left wondering.

I have never watched a movie that featured the director so heavily as a character in the film but that came through strongly. It should be a criticism that I was constantly wondering about the director's choices and yet it did not hurt the film. Somehow those big directorial statements added to and did not detract from the experience which in itself was odd. I will say I did not like the handheld stuff. I understand why it was there and the effect it was looking for but it made you feel queasy as you waited for the metaphorical boat to stop rocking. This is a great film, I gave it an 8. It will leave you with questions unanswered but it won't leave you questioning its authenticity. It is entirely fictional and entirely real.

How many times have we seen the retired spies whose kids don't know how cool their parents really are? It's not new and adds nothing to the genre. It's one of those by the numbers movies with the stars doing what they need to do without being particularly engaging. There are many plot twists and you'll pick them from a long way off. Why on earth is Glen Close playing an englishwoman? Doesn't England have any actresses that could do that? The only thing that lifted the movie a little was having Andrew Scott do his slightly creepy act which he always delivers so well. Bottom line is - it's a kids movie. Your 12 year old might like it. The adults will be doom scrolling on their phone waiting for it to finish.