Brian Kirk (2) (1968–)

Great cast and acting, but the scripts are beyond sick. The bad guy may get his or her desserts in the end, but not until they have shot, stabbed, cut out tongues, blown up people, etc. etc. etc. Only the fascinating, but also rather sick, relationship between Idris Elba's and Ruth Walker's characters keeps me watching.

There is so much wrong with this show. The plots are zero percent believable and filled with the worst sort of human evil. The flawed hero has a Sherlock Holmes-like knack of walking into a crime scene or suspect's home and immediately arriving at the needed clue (or book being used for a code in one case). In one episode, the London police engage helicopters and all available resources, but when the killer goes to an industrial estate it is left to the detectives to get there in a car, even show more though they have already radioed in where he is going. Like London Kills, which is a pale imitation of this show and which I have also reviewed, this series gets by on its cast, but the cast of Luther is far superior. And the writing, while still ridiculously unbelievable and reveling in evil, is bad in a much better way than London Kills. It makes it hard to stop watching, even if it means seeing people get their heads bashed in by hammers at Liverpool Street Station or while sitting in their car during a traffic jam. My goodness, things aren't that bad in Britain, and the worst crimes have been committed by terrorists, not by evil twins, fake taxi drivers, or failed art students. Surely Britain can come up with a more intelligent crime show for this stellar cast to appear in. show less

Various factions plot to gain political control over a fantasy world.

I'm reluctantly giving it an A instead of an A plus. I loved watching it, but there are a few major problems. Some key plot points are unexplained. Martin's obsession with incest is off-putting. Some of the villains are senselessly evil just for the sake of being villains (huge pet peeve of mine). Oddly, the biggest problem is that there is a ridiculous amount of gratuitous sex and nudity, to the point where it becomes show more funny. The general rule seems to be that if there's no good reason for characters to not be having sex during their scene, then what are their clothes still on for goddamnit? HBO viewers demand titties! Fantasy is always treading a fine line between immersing and silly, so a show like this that takes itself Very Seriously couldn't do much worse than give you a reason to laugh at it.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: A
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: D

Enjoyment: A

GPA: 2.8/4 show less

2026 movie #57. Barb (Thompson) is taking her husband's ashes to their favorite ice fishing spot in the snowy woods of northern Minnesota when she runs into the kidnapping of a young woman. She has to attempt a rescue. Kind of a mix of Fargo and Taken. Pretty good.