Zen - The TV Serial

I have finally got to watch this after finishing the first three books.  I had enjoyed the books at first but lost that as they went along.  The first thing I was wondering was how Rufus Sewell was going to fit as Zen.  To put it bluntly he's too much of a looker to play the man in the books.

As soon as I started to watch the first episode the opening credits grabbed me.  They're just wonderful.  See for yourself 

They had altered the timeline of the books so I knew things weren't going to stick entirely in concrete.  I'm glad they gave each episode 90 minutes.  Any more condensing of the stories would not have worked.  I really enjoyed the first two episodes but found the third to be weaker.  It stretched the characters into nudging panto territory.  Strange, as this was my favourite of the books.  I'd say the books had been condensed, certain characters given more to do and some less.  But all in a way as to make the stories fit into their 90 minutes.  Pretty well adapted if you ask me.  

The strangest part of watching was the accents.  Nearly all British and from all over Britain.  It just didn't seem to fit somehow.  I didn't desire them all to be speaking in cod Italian accents but this was weird.

The cast did a great job, especially Sewell.  He gave his character a lightness that made him fun to watch.  No brooding, alcoholic, miserable detective here.  He may be too good looking to be the Zen of the books but he made Zen on screen his own.

I sincerely hope another company does pick up the rights.  As the BBC can't seem to gain the viewers needed to shoot on location, in HD, across Rome :-(

4 out of 5 pawprints

Anything the BBC can do....

..... Hollywood can do shinier.  Edge of Darkness, a review

First of all I must say I saw the BBC serial quite a while ago so it isn't completely fresh in my memory.  As it's a direct remake I can't avoid comparing it to the original work.  I did think the BBC version was very good.  My only complaint was that it was a little too long.  Maybe this is partly because I watched it on dvd rather than as it was shown in weekly episodes.

After last year's State of Play I wasn't expecting too much from this.  I found State of Play to be much inferior to the original BBC production.  Mel Gibson is far from my favourite actor.  Ray Winstone I was very unsure about, how was his stereotypical, London hard-man type role going to stand up?  I always enjoy watching Danny Huston but I've pretty much made up my mind about what his role will be before I even see a trailer.

The main bonus for this film was the speeded up plot.  I think it was a little too speedy but perfect for a film rather than a tv serial.  I'm getting sick of sitting through films that should be 30 minutes shorter.  It was also updated well.  Keeping the nuclear shadow but in something much more applicable to current times.

Gibson surprised me.  I bought his character.  I forgot it was Mel Gibson (and all his baggage) on the screen and enjoyed his performance.  His chemistry with Winstone cut the mustard too.  The whole story needs you to suspend a little disbelief and go along for the ride.  Both of these characters made it a popcorn-tastic ride.  It's probably one of my favourite Winstone performances.  Huston did what he does best as he always does it.  I do crave to see him in a role that doesn't mean he's a highly suspicious/downright evil character.  I didn't think Gibson's character showed enough of a descent into madness as is required by the title.  He was plenty angry and seeking for the truth but I never really thought he may crack completely.  The fact that they kept one aspect of this was a nice surprise for me.  The fact that his daughter speaks to him once she's dead.  Which is never fully explained either.  I really thought this aspect would be left out.

The ending was typically Hollywood.  All endings tied up nice and neatly.  A bit of a disappointment really.  I know the whole plot is rather far-fetched but a nice ambiguous ending would have made me feel it was that little bit more real.

A good popcorn flick, but it's unlikely I'll be re-watching anytime soon.

3.5 pawprints out of 5.