Estonia

Some of the first reviews here are rather negative but they are missing the point. Even if you're watching this as someone outside of the countries involved (Estonia, Finland, Sweden), it plays out as a mystery, which was how real life folded - no one had any idea what was going on and information was coming in from different mediums at random times. The show captured this perfectly and I hope the rest of the show is able to keep the pace up.

Based on the first episode alone, I think it's going to be just as good as Chernobyl (2019) was which was a solid 9/10.

Acting, visual effects and cinematography are on par with Hollywood productions, while keeping the Nordic aesthetic.

If you know what goes into a production of this scale, the sheer logistics, then you can appreciate the brilliant work this film making is on several levels. Acting was superb - not "pushed" or forced with some standout scenes. While in parts the story slows to an unbearable pace you could argue this lends itself to the notion of time it took in reality for the final report to be completed. It really did make this viewer 'feel' the frustrations of the investigation, the length of time & politics being played out etc. Editing & sound of the rescue scenes & actual disaster unfolding onboard, particularly in raft scenes was gobsmackingly good.

"Estonia" is one of the best "based on true story" tv series ever made. It's not done like action-thriller about ships sinking or like court-drama with monologues that try too hard to be epic. No, it's respectfully done story about devastating tragedy and that tragedy's influence on society. What's the most important for me, creators respected tragedy by not making speculations about it's causes or how it went down, respected victims and their families by not turning "Estonia" in action schlock and respected us - viewers - by giving multiple points of view on these events for us to better understand why events after the tragedy played out like they did in real life.

"Estonia" is a show about conscience, about world where nothing is simple, even though it should be. We can see how blame can be shifted in every direction, while almost everyone is set to avoid acceptance of it. At some point we can start wonder: "Does those theories (explosion, submarine, other ship, military etc) about ships sinking are concieved based on some real evidence or on the basis of some loud parties that wanted to shift blame elswhere, to redirect grieving people away from them by making up false stories and false enemies?" It is important to point out that series creators do not hit you over the head with moral, but it is in there, audience must be opened to see it, audience must listen to understand the messages series are trying to get across.

I admire how series creators handled themes of the series. I respect series creators for the job they done.

Actors and crew also did marvelous job!

If I had to say just a few words about these series, then I would say: "Estonia" is a superb tv series.

"Too much talking and arguing for nothing."

Positives: Actors were ok. Cinematography ok. Production quite ok.

Negatives:

Too few information/story about what happened on Estonia before sinking, even though 137 people really survived. Most of the story is just random short survivor stories with no real value to anyone.

Sounds were bad, sometimes effects and/or music was so loud that you could not hear the dialogue.

This could have been 3 hour tight package (3-4 episodes), but now it was boring 8 episode/hour speaky-talky-marathon. Too much repetition on scenes.

Conclusion:

Do not waste your time on this, just watch some documentary if you are interested on Estonia disaster.

I'm interested in the Estonia for as long as I can remember and when I first heard of a show about the Estonia being in development by the people who brought us 'Chernobyl' (2019), I was beyond excited. I was pretty bummed out by the mixed reactions after the show aired in some territories. Now that I've seen it myself, I get the criticism. Kind of.

Positives first: the show is beautifully shot. I'm usually not a fan of shaky cam but here it just works. We're always very close to the characters, which makes the scenes feel even more powerful and intimate. The soundtrack is amazing! Haunting even. The performances are also good. Also, the show has a high production value and especially the sinking scenes are intense and look impressive (honestly they gave me nightmares).

The problem is that the show is simply too long. The aftermath of the sinking and the inverstigation is stretched out way too much and when it comes to a close, it feels unsatisfying. The scattered way of storytelling and ths constant time jumps also stand in the way of real tension.

Ultimately, the show would have been better if it was maybe 2 episodes shorter. It's well made and at times very tense and emotional but it lacks a dramatic thread and a consistent pace. This is still a recommendation though. Now please release this show outside of Scandinavia for the world to see it! ;)