irdipa

I had high hopes for this but, right from the off, it was like watching something a college kid put together at media studies class. The cinematography was good - the sound good. But the writing is awful. I pity the actors.

It starts with our hero in a balaclava executing a hit on a target way back years ago. But all the runny/jumpy/shooty stuff was so limp. It wasn't done to show the reality of street fighting - it was just woefully choreographed. Then there's whiny Freddie's character. Frankly I just wanted to punch him in the head and bring in a son with a set of balls like his mum has.

Sadly it wasn't for me. I managed three episodes and left it at that.

Great action packed series which follows the books closely. And a character in Reacher that is completely believable - not like Tom Thumb's character.

The first two stories follow a perfect storyline with Reacher as the lynchpin and a wider circle of colleagues helping him out. The action scenes are believable and you really have to be in awe of the shape Alan Ritchson is in and his athleticism - don't mess with this guy!

Sadly this all falls apart in Season 3. The chemistry between the lead characters just doesn't work. The "simmering" sexual tension between Reacher and Susan Duffy is barely palpable. There's one scene toward the end when the chemistry explodes in an alleyway that had me laughing out loud.

The storyline was very easy to forget - what are we trying to achieve here? Save a girl or bust gun runners or get revenge? Always best if there's one clear goal in these shows but here, not so.

And then there's too much dialogue which shows Alan Ritchson's rather limited acting skills.

In conclusion, great and fun show until it gets to season 3.

It's important to be able to separate the documentary quality from the subject itself. Whilst most of us will be fascinated with the world these people live in, that should have no bearing on whether the documentary is good, bad or indifferent.

The film itself is high quality in terms of production, access to artists, retailers and buyers. It's interesting to see the varying viewpoints from each. But, for me, there needed to be some more critical questioning of each source. Without this there's a very fine line between deterimining whether you're watching a bonafide documentary or a subtle mocumentary. I would like to have seen interviewees being challenged more - from the over-zealous critics reading too much into the classic artists' works to the artists producing what many would consider to be the works of the untalented who have jumped on the bandwagon to con the gullible.

The film is a very easy watch and I think most of us will be left shaking our heads at the shallowness of the art world. The term "The emperor's new clothes" springs to mind and you're just wanting the producers to be that little boy at the side of the road who shouts out that the emperor is naked. I know I was shouting it lots!