Robin_Maybor Reviews

McDonald & Dodds (2020– )

To write McDonald incompetent does not help the show

[4/10 · 28 May 2024]

Well, this show is basically a typical ITV crime show. Since i have fond memories of Morse and Lewis, i could be easily taken in by this show, and it has similar vibes. The cases are a little more convoluted and take some more suspension of disbelief, but i can take that. What i can not fathom is, that they make McDonald, the female lead, into an arrogant myogenic incompetent person. She realizes Dobbs talent, and still behaves toward him like he crawled out from under a rock. Very unprofessional. Overall this makes her very unlikeable, and in contrast to many reviewers i do not blame the actress, she only had so much to work with. To add insult to injury, cases are generally solved by Dobbs. So why call the show McDonald & Dobbs? Is it just a cheap shot to have a female lead? The boss of the investigating team is even worse than McDonald, was this an attempt to introduce someone corrupt and even more unlikeable than McDonald to make her look better?

Admittedly it gets better in Season 3, but by then the damage is done. It also does not help that the show does not give a view of the private life of the characters, or insights into their personality. The unlikeable boss is gone in season three, replaced by a decent female one. Apparently the makes realized in season three, that they have to change their approach to the likeability of their characters. The team works better together, but it still has problems with its chemistry, but admittedly a lot of that is attributed to the problems of the first 2 seasons.

Overall decent, do yourself a favor and skip season 1 and 2, start with season 3 and by that skip the more painful parts.

Witchblade (2000 TV Movie)

Not the comic! - and even without the comic, just don't watch it

[1/10 · 3 September 2004]

Hmmm... For a start, the movie and the series are in no way connected to the comic except for the names. Other storyline, different behaviour and a completely different background for the Witchblade itself. If you are looking for a good comic adaption, then for crying out loud do not watch this movie or the series - it has nothing to do with the comic. Hardest knock-out hit is Ian Nottingham, as European guy in nerd outfits - please, no!

Second, lets talk about the movie / TV-Series. The characters are played in a wooden manner, Sarah Pezzini is at no time believable. The blade itself is displayed as a plastic armor with a build in sword extension, end except for the defensive capabilities, you will not even guess, what all the fuss is about.

For people who know and love the comic, i would say it is a 1 / 10, for those who do not know it, you might give a 2 / 10 if you are having a good day and are in a forgiving mood. Best recommendation for you that i can give - DO NOT WATCH IT AND WASTE YOUR TIME!!!

Es geschah am hellichten Tag (1997 TV Movie)

No comparison to the Original

[3/10 · 20 August 2004]

Well, this is another of these remakes of classic movies, which just fall short of the original and the expectation. By just making a new movie, using new techniques, but using actors way outclassed by the actors of the original, nothing good can be the result. If you want to see a very good criminal story with great actors, choose the original, not this second class remake...

The story itself is almost unchanged to the original, just a couple more action scenes. The critical scenes are more lightweight, i do not think that the actors could have reached the necessary level for the original scenes.

3 / 10