London Spy

This is a difficult drama to review as a whole, for me I'd split it up into three parts, a pretty good start, a fantastic middle (core) and a somewhat disappointing conclusion. The story itself is pretty different and intriguing, it is wonderfully deep, with so many threads all needing tying up. The performances are top notch, and as a production it's what you'd except from the BBC, it's slick and beautifully made.

I've been a huge fan of Ben Whishaw since The Booze Cruise, he is such a talented guy, and he shines through here as you'd expect. No surprises that he was BAFTA nominated for this, he is incredible. They did a fantastic job with the supporting cast too, Jim Broadbent and Charlotte Rampling are superb too, both bring really different elements to the production, Broadbent takes you on an emotional journey, whereas Rampling adds a touch of villainy.

I'll need to re-watch, as some of the conclusion I didn't understand, maybe it'll make more sense upon a second viewing. The conclusion felt like it had been lifted from a different show.

All in all though it's a fantastic production, full of suspense, mystery and intrigue. The BBC follows up 'The Game,' in some style, long may this calibre of drama continue.

8/10.

I honestly have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this. I didn't have the highest expectations because the spy genre isn't my favorite, I think it can be corny, predictable, and forced. This show is exactly the opposite of that. I do think you have to be patient with it. There a subtleness that can be mistaken for something else if you don't look at the big picture. It's really beautifully acted and shot. It provided thrill, suspense, a little humor, without being contrived. It is truly a gem. The chemistry between Danny and Alex is wonderful and very engaging in the sense that you relate with both of them so much. You want to know about Alex, the way Danny does, because there's something intriguing about his stoic but awkward nature. You sympathize with Danny, the feeling of being lost is not foreign to many of us. I watched the first episode a couple days ago and I have not been able to get it off my mind.

There's absolutely no denying this is another example of a wonderfully made British drama production. It is beautifully filmed. The acting marvelous. The directing and editing probably won awards. The subject not one that could even have been tackled a generation ago.

But ...

But, although my wife and I were mesmerized by the first three episodes and absolutely enthralled by the production and couldn't wait for the next one, during the fourth episode I started to get one of those "oh-oh" feelings that the whole plot was just going off the rails. It just felt like the writer wasn't too sure where to do with the whole thing and how to resolve what he started and just making it up minute to minute.

During the final episode that fear was confirmed as the two of us just sat there in silence enduring what we were now committed to watching as we'd made it through the first part of the series. At the end of the episode, I just turned it off in disbelief and my wife summed it up with something like, "what a waste of time that was." So much potential with what started out so promisingly but it all spiraled its way downhill in a painful fizzle for the final 45 minutes. So disappointed. In some ways, the final episode reminded me of bad science fiction it was so silly.

Look, IF you've started watching it and wonder what is happening, by all means finish it. However, if you are reading these reviews prior to seeing episode 1 then both of us would suggest you don't waste your time as you will find yourself let down when it reaches the end.

As a gay person who consumed a lot of Japanese yaoi (pseudo-gay manga and anime with some soft to hard sex scenes) and mystery narratives, I was shocked when I watched this BBC short series for the first time. The whole plot is like that of a typical Japanese yaoi or mystery story: it is very much driven by the emotions and the perspective of the protagonist who tries to figure out what his (deceased?) boyfriend Alex was hiding or who tried to kill (?) him. Even the very disturbing encounter with Alex mother is so well staged and told that it took my breath away. The dimly mysterious atmosphere and the constant 'not- knowing' of Danny AND the viewer is very exiting and leaves one wanting to know all the secrets hid behind a curtain of lies.

If you like layered movies or TV shows, much like 'tinker, tailor, etc', this might, no SHOULD be for you. There's no explosions to grip you, you have far more to mull over........beautiful script, acting and dialogue. Pick your moment when to watch this, try a chilled time when you'll concentrate, it wont do you wrong. There are some types of series/movies that belong in certain countries and no other country could do this type of series, in my opinion. I'm not slighting America by saying this as i believe it's the truth......watch this before American producers buy the rights and mangle it up and instead of a 5 or 6 episode series, it'll become 20. I'm not having a go at America it's just we do things different and i love the series like The Sopranos, 6 ft under, west wing etc or films like the Godfather etc......I'm just saying this might be deemed a tad slow.....but look into it, watch it and it'll be like reading a book, a good visual book x