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alisdairgordon
Reviews
Het gouden uur (2022)
Terrorists with magical guns
You do have to suspend a hell of a lot of disbelief if you're to enjoy this show but it is very exciting and at times also a very hard watch.
Although I've given a high rating here, one thing really bugged the hell out of me and that was in relation to the attack on the shopping mall. The two terrorists have AK47s which have a magazine capacity of 30 rounds, if I remember rightly. The gun fires so fast that you can empty a magazine in seconds.
The gunmen fire a huge number of rounds in the mall but at no time do we ever see either of them reload. It's pretty clear that neither of the gunmen was carrying any spare magazines before starting their rampage but all we see is the terrorists racking the receiver when they run out of ammunition and have to reload. However, to reload, you do need a new magazine.....I've no idea why they weren't carrying a bag with spare magazines and it's therefore such a strange and utterly stupid mistake for the producers to make.
Innan vi dör (2017)
Very good but so many plot issues!
It's very well acted and the mis-en-scene is great. It's also fairly gripping although the plot is a long way from original (if that matters).
The thing that made me cringe though was all the terrible problems with the plot: -
1. We're meant to accept that firstly a young-ish guy who got banged up in prison (after his own mum had him arrested for drug-dealing) would be so intent on infiltrating a crime family just because he befriended a member of the family in prison.
2. Is it believable that the cop running the infiltrator would not share info about the case with any of his colleagues? Also, surely there would be a qualified handler? All we know is that the cop is the mum's lover and a friend of the family but he doesn't tell her what's going on. It surely wouldn't be as amateurish as this.
3. There is a chapter where the gang think the guy the boy befriended is an informer and they decide to kill him. The boy is asked to do it but refuses. However when another kid is asked to shoot the guy but can't, the infiltrator then just takes the gun and shoots him for no apparent reason. I just couldn't accept that he would kill his friend to preserve his cover. It didn't even seem to be necessary as surely someone else in the gang would shot the supposed informer.
4. The section about the supposed informer is a huge plot-hole because the guy have a dirty cop on their payroll and it turns out much later that the gang has known all along that the boy is the real infiltrator. Surely they'd have checked with their cop as to whether there was another informer in their midst?
5. The operation the gang keep talking about seems to be a trap set to kill as many cops as possible. There doesn't seem to be any reason at all for this and in any event in real life the full force of the security forces would have descended on the gang and shut them down. So the op would have been entirely counter-productive.
I could go on about the sub-plot involving biker gangs but really there are so many issues with the plot, you really have to suspend a lot of disbelief and just go with the flow - if you can.
Red Election (2021)
Enjoyable (total) tosh
Although my partner and I did enjoy this series, it is so far-fetched as to often strain credulity. The basic story is actually based on a really intriguing premise. A new UK Prime Minister decides to allow a second referendum on the issue of Scottish independence, against a background of a suspected plot by the Russians of an unknown nature. MI5 are therefore tasked with investigating, with the cooperation of a Danish agent who seems to be untrustworthy.
There are unfortunately so many problems with the script.
Firstly, the main character is actually the daughter of a senior head of MI5, and she receives her instructions from him. This is of course ridiculous.
Secondly, the MI5 office we are shown seems to employ only four, maybe five people. I mean, yes, there might have been government cutbacks but this is risible! I do appreciate there'd be budgetary restrictions, however, but 24 this ain't.
Thirdly, people seem to be able to mysteriously drive everywhere in the UK from London and arrive at their destinations super-quickly. In fact, it'd take hours to get from London to the Scottish borders, for example, where something major happens at one point.
Fourthly, the main agent at one point has two people at gunpoint but takes no real steps to secure them e.g. Making them get down on the ground etc. She then waves her gun about, allowing one of them to take her by surprise.
She then has to allow a Russian agent to escape, as he threatens to drop a bottle of a nerve agent, which is fair enough - but you'd think she'd at least run after him to see where he's going.
Fifthly, and this a major SPOILER, after the Scots win the referendum, the Scottish leader then seems to become the Prime Minister immediately without any transition of power arrangements, new legislation etc, and she then allows Russian soldiers to come to Scotland to help with a threatened nuclear plant meltdown.
I could go and on but all I'll say is there were so many times when I was almost yelling at the screen, saying "that's preposterous".
Watch it anyway as the story, as I've said, is a good one. I just wish the execution was a lot better.
Bullets (2018)
Different, but ultimately just not very good
I do love Scandi dramas which offer a completely different take on the standard crime story partly due to the completely different cultural and political scene.
(I know Finland is not 'Scandinavia' buy it's a convenient term to refer to all four countries.
Anyway, it starts well but the constant time-shifting drives me mad.
Plus why do the Russian characters all speak English?!
Can you accept that a character might be shot in the head at close range and survive with apparently not much more than a headache?
Can you also accept the apparent deaths of two of the central group of characters without any confirmation by any of the others or reaction to their deaths by their colleagues?
There's more....
There's also other minor plot issues e.g. The money that doesn't go anywhere or seem to come from anywhere; the trial; the apparent power of the UN to forcibly remove babies from their mothers before they'll be treated.....
The story itself needs some historical context so that the viewer gets some idea of the wars in the Balkans including Chechnya and what the issues were.
Having said all this, the acting is absolutely great, and the dialogue is mostly good.
I understand plans for a second series didn't get off the ground, sadly.
Brand New Cherry Flavor (2021)
Lynchian but it's own thing
Yes, this has definitely obviously been influenced by David Lynch but it's definitely it's own very weird thing!
It's a curious mix of the utterly grotesque, hilarious, sad and surreal.
However, while I thought all the actors were great, and like everyone else thought Rosa Salazar was awesome, her character was another story.....I won't say any more to avoid spoilers but she certainly creates a trail of unhappiness and grief in her wake and I didn't detect much if any remorse at the end.
I do hope though there might be a second series. Anyone know anything about that?
Devs (2020)
Television with a brain
I thought this was absolutely amazing - the music is fantastic, the acting perfect, the setting divine (pun intended). It had a heart but also was also very cerebral which I suppose might have put a lot of people off. I can't really say any more about that to avoid giving too much away.
I went into it knowing pretty much nothing about it which I think is the best way to start it. There are a number of WTF moments.....
There are also some minor plot problems which I won't go into here but I'd forgive the show for those because the overall quality was so good.
I'd love to see a second series.