The Take - Zwei Jahrzehnte in der Mafia

This show is more than OK, but it's impossible to take your eyes off Tom Hardy. He becomes Freddie so much that he becomes unattractive. That seems an impossibility in itself, but it's not the first time Tom Hardy has made me disgusted in his character. I had to constantly remind myself I was watching Tom Hardy, the actor, during Bronson and Warrior. He completely transforms. I would hate to act alongside the guy. He truly is a one-in-a-million that comes along once in a lifetime. My parents had Brando.

Hollywood is being flooded by a tsunami of English talent, and Tom Hardy is surfing it naked.

Brilliant, what can I say most novel TV adaptations suck but this and along with another prize winning adaption, the Red Riding Trilogy they both have brought British Drama back with a vengeance that could rival the Americans for the title. In regards to the American counterparts with their crime Dramas, we as British always have darker tales because we do not skimp on detail or grit and thats what is definitely not skimped on in The Take.

Dark, gritty, heartbreaking even TEAR JERKING with a really sad experience for all women, and an even sadder consequence of it. The Take gives Britain a stepping stone just as Red Riding did that we can make good television. The only other programmes I can think that gives us this grittiness, would be Red Riding by a land mile and the likes of Murphy's Law, Cracker and Wire In The Blood. Brilliant TV with a great cast, not much more could be said for Brian Cox, a great actor but with perfect performance by Tom Hardy and Shaun Evans this adaption was only made even better.

A great supporting cast too with Charlotte Riley and Kierston Wareing, who prove they can really give outstanding performances. Great TV that we all want more of.

Director David Drury pairs with English actor Tom Hardy to create as brilliant a hard case criminal as you will ever see on film. You've seen Hardy in major pictures probably going back to Band of Brothers, but you would never have imagined his overwhelming power as a major star, an actor so exceptional and so explosive he's more menacing than Al Pacino has ever been let alone any movie villain of the sort we see all the time being defeated by superheros. Hardy, as an ex-con drug kingpin, brutal, terrifying, a rapist, walking around projecting so much menace people practically poop in their pants.

The supporting cast is a collection of English character actors as always superb, and the great Brian Cox guest stars as the incarcerated criminal mastermind.

Drury's camera-work is integral to the constant tension; you'll even be blown away by the opening credits. He's clearly an actor's director first, but this miniseries is a masterpiece overall. Don't miss it.

An early sign that actor Tom Hardy was going to be an acting force to be reckoned with. Hardy plays an ex-con named Freddy who just gets out of prison and initially takes his orders from the crime boss Ozzy (Brian Cox) who is still serving his prison sentence behind bars. Freddy meets up with his childhood best friend Jimmy (Shaun Evans) who is just starting to climb the proverbial crime ladder himself when the rogue Freddy chooses his own violent path to the top of the crime world. Adding controversy is Freddy's open affection for Jimmy's hot looking wife Maggie (Charlotte Riley) and his continued power tripping on anyone who even thinks of getting in Freddy's way.

It must be something about Freddy's resolute stare that makes everyone around him uncomfortable including his own wife Jackie (Kierston Wareing) and their young ten (10) year old son. I don't suggest this four (4) part TV mini-series is for everyone's taste, as it is rather violent and morbid, but it has more than its share of suspenseful moments about life in the midst of a criminal empire.

Tom Hardy excels in his role and he has a strong supporting cast in this four (4) part TV mini-series which left enough on the table to introduce a sequel if the producers could create another decent script.

I watched the four episodes of this mini-series in one go. That's how good it is. Once you're in the story you want to know what's coming. All actors did a great job I thought, but the best actor had to be Tom Hardy playing Freddie Jackson. Freddie Jackson, just released from prison, immediately picks up his criminal career, only thinking about his interests. He quickly becomes a very selfish and arrogant character that you almost hate immediately. And Tom Hardy plays this role perfectly. A brilliant performance if you ask me. The story itself is a gangster story with a lot of drama going on. You get sucked into the story and that's a good thing. For a short television series you can't get much better then The Take.