Detective Forst

Web series review: Detective Forst streaming on Netflix

This Polish Web Series based on a novel showcases the life of a brilliant but troubled detective Wiktor Forst, whose maverick ways get him kicked out of his job . Will he still be able to work outside the system without any rules and get to the bottom of grizzly murders that r taking place and catch the killer who is committing his crimes with impunity!!

Starts off decently as the first three episodes showcase the murders being carried out with a message. These episodes r the best of the six part series where they showcase Forst's inner demons and the murders.

I don't know what happened next .. guess the writers got lazy and finally in the last episode they literally bailed out leaving the passengers ( viewers) mid air twiddling their thumbs to figure out their own version of the ending 😄!!

Some positives - The cinematography is brilliant, the snow clad mountainous landscape in Zakopane,Poland adding to the captivating & visually stimulating ambience that is truly out of the world. Kudos to the cinematographer!!

However, was it necessary to show the altitude of all places showcased in the series ( the reason is unclear.. actually doesn't serve any purpose!!).

Acting is not bad with the cast giving an earnest performance!!

Downers - the non linear narrative, coupled with names that r cumbersome to remember ( keep in mind , it is a Polish series !!) make it difficult to co-relate things and piece together the finer nuances of the tale!! The ending too leaves more questions than answers.. with the conclusion left entirely up to the viewers!!

Hope there is a sequel soon to give answers and provide closure to the unfortunate viewers!!

Not bad .. a one time watch. Cudve been much much better with the writers doing their job especially in the last three episodes of this 6 part series!!

Going with 2.5/5 .. adios 🙂!!

#sanjuzzreviews #netflixindia #detectiveforst #polishwebseries.

The Poles know how to make quality, dark crime thrillers and dramas. That's why it was a pity that this was not one of them. The series starts promisingly, but by the third episode at the latest, the downward spiral begins. The series becomes more and more implausible and illogical. At the same time, the number of clichés increases. Not even the twist at the end saves the series. That in itself is very unfortunate. The beginning seemed promising, the series was well made, shot and staged. The landscapes were on the one hand starkly beautiful and on the other hopeless. This was a missed opportunity.

I liked the look on this one so I decided to watch it and give it a go.

What I got after the series had ended was a slow burner which is fine if the story goes well, but this one wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be so each episode went awfully slow.

Next was the story line, Forst who is the main character was bedding every woman that looked at him, really were all those women that desperate to sleep with an ordinary looking guy?

This side of the story had me rolling my eyes and asking myself really, which made me laugh out loud.

Then there were the awful, tiresome sex scenes just to show how much of a stud the hero was.

When it came to conclusion, I knew who the main bad guy was halfway through the series.

If Netflix have another one of these Forst series, I will not be watching it.

Do yourself a favour and give this a miss.

The latest offering from Netflix Polski (or whatever they call themselves) offers something of a dilemma. Forst is the filming of a novel about a 'renegade / maverick' - aren't they all? - detective, the eponymous Forst, and I, for one, suspect that there are crucial elements in the novel which either didn't make it to the series or perhaps could not make it.

In short, in a sense the sum of its parts just don't make it into a whole. We are left to choose: is this 'a thriller', 'a psycho-drama' investigating childhood trauma or perhaps, least likely of all, an 'art film' masquerading as a thriller. Whichever it is - and I'm not at all sure - it leaves just a little to be desired.

Because I prefer to avoid giving spoilers in my reviews rather than tick the 'spoilers' box, I must tread carefully, but I shall do my best. But, frankly, Forst jumps the shark rather too often. Sometimes that doesn't matter - as we say 'it's not the joke, it's the telling of the joke'. But with Forst unfortunately it does matter.

Forst kicks off with two highly unusual murders, which are both so elaborate the staging of the bodies could not have been achieved by just one person. Then Forst is introduced and I have to say he doesn't really come across as the 'maverick' we are invited to accept that he is.

There follow, in the each of the six episodes of the series, a number of initially obscure elements (and perhaps I am a tad thick), but one or three remained more than a little obscure when the final scene faded to black. Another unfortunate development is that the 'plot' or whatever one wants to call it makes 90 degree turn in the last two episodes and although both 'plots' are seemingly related, none of it is too convincing and the connection between them is not at all clear. Perhaps it will all come a little clearer in 'the second series'.

Then there's the cinematography and the soundtrack: both are more than intriguing and interesting, but neither is 'relevant'. In fact, both are in many ways what is 'best' about the series but both add to a suspicion that Forst is rather too much style and not enough content. And again I am left with the impression that cinematography, especially all that weird camera angled stuff and music borrowing heavily from electronica do the heavy lifting in a great many films.

Take away either, especially 'wacky' soundtrack and that 'thrilling', horror or mystifying scene pretty much doesn't stack up. Both before the function - as here in Forst - of informing the viewer 'right this is the frightening bit'. Taking out the garbage or going down the shop can seem 'mysterious', 'horrifying' or 'thrilling' if you slap a soundtrack on the footage of the deed.

I'm stymied in my comments by my stated commitment not to include spoilers, but I can say that when the final scene does fade to black, there are more than enough loose ends - and not just that final scene - to irritate.

As I say, in many ways Forst is the triumph of style over content. That is fair enough if that is your bag and it often is for me. But I do get the feeling Forst is playing both ends agains the middle and wanting its cake and eating it. Sadly, something doesn't quite come off. That's a shame, but that's as it is.

At the time of writing this has a 5.6 rating on IMdB. That might be misleading: Forst is a great ride, but somehow, though, ita doesn't quite deliver.

I love Polish Crime Series such as Oldwilz (The Thaw) and Rojst (The Mire). I had really high hopes for Forst and the series started really good. The atmosphere is really good and acting is good. Nevertheless, it was a bit hard for me to finish this serie since I started to notice plot holes with each episode. The ending was shocking but still there were many gaps in the story which makes it really hard to understand because the motive of the killer is unclear. Furthermore, it was hard to understand the last scene of the serie. I guess that there will be a second season which will explain everything but if there will be no a second season then I can clearly say that do not waste your time on this serie. As a result 6 points over 10.