The Night Manager

I think an hour and a half movie would have said the same thing, maybe even a little more, and would have been more entertaining. Here, in six hours, the plot just boiled over unnecessarily (but that's the problem I have with most of the series I mysteriously get into) and I had to wonder almost constantly how stupid some of the characters were. (05/07/2017)

I only started watching this series because Hugh Laurie was in it. Otherwise, I had no idea what I was getting into. I was entertained from the start by this spy game full of intrigue and understandable paranoia, although I found some moments quite naive and was massively disappointed by the ending. I expected it to be more realistic and less fairy-tale-like. Overall, I was satisfied anyway, I liked how the creators managed to gradually escalate the tension. (06/27/2017)

It has not happened to me in a long time that I would devour a miniseries like a bucket of ice cream in one sitting. But it is obvious that the producers knew very well what they were getting into. Actually, they put a Nordic legend with experience in the field into the director’s seat – Susanne Bier, and they offered her top European actors – Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, and the up-and-coming Elizabeth Debicki. They wrapped it all into an incredibly attractive story that was lastly introduced probably by Lord of War ten years ago. Well, and if you add the fact that this 6-hour long miniseries is set in turbulent Egypt, in an unnamed residence in Mallorca, or on the southeast border of Turkey, then know that you could not get more attractive locations for filming. To reach perfection I was only missing a more epic finale that was going there, but ultimately the creators cut it too soon with the speed of light. A pity. Anyhow, if nothing else, it has to be clear to everyone after watching who the next James Bond should be. (06/01/2016)

A great conversational, spy snack that is a little slow at the beginning, but towards the ending it makes up for that, with each atmosphere enhancing minute. Laurie’s role as the arms dealer fits him like a glove. The photos with African kids almost make him a humanist. And Hiddleston was a little shaky at first, but towards the end he proves his qualities. I think I could imagine him as a Bond. The last two parts are perfection itself. A fairly unexpected finale for le Carré. (05/23/2016)

It is still true that le Carré originals have been extremely lucky to have successful adaptations for several decades. And the Night Manager is no exception, although thanks to changes in it, there are not many elements left that make le Carré le Carré. Which, of course, is no big deal, because the local attractive changes within the chosen stylization of this adaptation work and are not intended to please the majority viewer. In contrast to the original, there is a cold depersonalization. The main protagonist is a inconspicuous and average person which has hidden strength. It is focused on the procedural side of things and the edges of the ambivalence of the parties involved are made softer. In this respect it is made more like in a showy Bond movie style, however it is intimate conversational. However, as already mentioned, it is not a bad thing, because it works here. That is for sure. What worked out perfectly was that the plot fits perfectly into the plot to the current situation. The cast could hardly have been better and the tension and pace were definitely not lacking. Simply an excellent genre movie, against which it is hardly possible to have more fundamental objections. Perhaps only the fact we can be unhappy about is that the original is "only" an excellent genre work and nothing more. (04/23/2016)