Boring! Each episode is an hour, which could be reduced to 15-20 minutes and the meaning would not be lost. Private detective is an interesting profession. You don't have any authority, but you try to do what detectives do, but at a high level of complexity. The first series was barely watched, only with twists!
This season is even darker in something, more retro half a century ago. Not just investigating some dark secrets. Heroes' lives are cloudy too. Someone is experiencing a rupture, or rather trying to tear away what was not really held. Someone has grief in the family of relatives.
The style of the story has changed. Either the screenwriter additionally tried, or the director was good, or everything together, and the author of the literary source herself changed something. Even in the detective agency, something has changed, rather charismatic characters have been added.
In this series, film or season of the series, as in the previous one, there are many flashbacks, very many, but this time they are almost exclusively related to the investigation. Heroes are not so much immersed in personal life, which made the detective part more whole, and this is good.
We have something occult in the film, there is maniac, there is something peculiar that is born in the compartment of all the details of the movie. There's something glimpsed from Mindhunters, from a bunch of Scandinavian detectives from the previous decade. The vinaigrette is so gloomy, even something from the Silence of the Lambs.
Not a bad detective series, but typical - a pretypical, oblique dozen others. Again, a couple, a goose and a loon, again (sort of like) sympathy and chemistry between, but ... n-n-n-n😉 This technique has been used for a long time, in my memory - from the series The X-Files. Stories are interesting, but inexpressive, and in general the series is a pass. For those of you who haven’t seen it, I recommend watching the string. He is also pretypical, and the profiler (as usual) and the psycho, and there is also (like) a couple. But there at least the nerves tickle - maniac "exquisites" & #129322;, a tough series.
Quite accidentally fell into the hands of the book "Cuckoo's Call" and made a generally good impression. The annotation stated that the novel was filmed, as well as the sequels “Silkworm” and “Career of Evil”, which for some reason was translated “In the Service of Evil” (but this is not the essence).
Watching the series was worth a lot of effort. If “Cuckoo’s Call” as a whole conveys the atmosphere of the novel (although the plot is redrawn very decently, and not for the better), then the finale makes a painful impression. All possible serial errors, accumulating, translated quantitative changes into qualitative and slammed the whole idea.
What can a detective TV series stand out in our saturated time? Hero and heroine. Cormoran Strike is a veteran of an Afghan company, disabled without a leg, restless soul without a stake without a yard, a lone wolf. Can you make a character like that cute? In principle, you can, and Tom Burke tries, and some things he even succeeds, but how he solves crimes remains a secret behind seven seals. Intellect is below average, knowledge of human nature is even less. He drinks a lot, does not take good care of himself, which does not prevent him from putting women in bed with one glance. The stamp is worn out for nowhere, although in the series “machismo” is slightly muted compared to the book. Saves the entourage - in gray, cluttered London slams, in cheap pubs he is like a fish in the water, so to speak, a man in his place. But how is it possible to solve criminal riddles that are out of Scotland Yard’s teeth? In my opinion, J. Rowling herself did not come up with - how, well, did not bother about this.
But if Tom Burke's Strike does not at least cause active rejection, then the metamorphosis with his assistant Robin (Hollyday Granger, the charming Lucrezia in Borgia) is downright destructive. A pretty young woman, not devoid of kindness and warmth, but bored in a relationship with a very positive, fresh fiancé Matthew, instinctively reaches like a moth to the flames, to the dangerous criminal romance of Strike. The game is becoming more exciting and risky, both in terms of investigations and in terms of personal life, but the viewer first sees a normal woman! It's such a rarity in series... And gradually, this woman begins to turn into a monster, no better than the ones she and Strike are chasing. Is that an "image disclosure"? Why?! Are there not enough crazy bitches on the blue screen? This is reflected in the appearance, neat hairstyles turn into depressing hanging rags, instead of strict English office suits, more and more jeans in which the legs look crooked and short. But Robin is well versed in outfits, in the book a whole chapter is devoted to her fittings (undercover) in the elite boutique "Vashti" (and it was then that Strike first saw in her Woman). But not even the main thing... Why, how, why does yesterday’s champion of justice and humanism suddenly become a liar, a manipulator, a lawbreaker? She knows much better than others who to punish, and who to spare, who to imprison (!), and who not, does not disdain to attract to his showdowns full of scumbags like Shtyr, and the boss, to whom she, in general, owes everything, treats contemptuously, arrogantly ignoring his care and anxiety about her. I feel sorry for the actress that she had to do. . .
And the entourage itself, at first “in style”, at the end of its grayness and primitivism, is already beginning to irritate. Antagonists? To put it mildly, there's no one to remember. Coupled with uninteresting, thumb-sucking plots (creepy in the style of Voldemort, of course, tried to catch up, but it’s not scary, because you do not believe), all this reduces the series “Strike” to the most ordinary TV soap. Pity.
My review will not be objective, since I have read books, and no matter how hard I try, comparisons cannot be avoided. But still...
Honestly, it is not clear for whom the series was shot, because for those who have not read, the plot will seem crumpled, illogical, the actions and phrases of the characters are not supported by anything, since they were simply taken by scraps from the plot. It is not interesting to watch, no disclosure of characters, screen characters are simply no, because half of the plot was not included in the film adaptation. Even the motives of the criminals are not clearly disclosed!
And for those of you who have read it, it's a pain to see how much the really multifaceted story has been cut down to what we see on screen. And everything is clear about the limitations of screen time and budget, but so tarnish even the main detective line, just hug and cry.
Of the pluses - nicely shown London, nicely selected actors.
If you want to see an interesting detective, you should choose something else. Because it's a pity to know the end of a really interesting story that you might want to read one day.
In 2013, JK Rowling stirred the world community - it turned out that the author of the debut detective "Call of the Cuckoo" is she.
Since then, under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, 5 detective novels have already been published. All works are combined into one series and tell about the investigations of private investigator Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott.
In 2017, the BBC launched a series called Strike, which is an adaptation of a series of novels by Robert Galbraith.
The main roles are played by Tom Burke (who you may have seen in the TV series The Musketeers and War and Peace) and Holliday Granger (Borgia, My Cousin Rachel, The Capture).
Actors playing the main roles is one of the main successes of the series. Tom Burke and Holliday Granger made an incredibly organic pair, which the viewer believes from the first frame. It is impossible not to believe in the sincerity and altruism of the main characters. Moreover, they are so similar to each other and understand each other so well that the audience has no choice but to sincerely want to turn a professional duo into a romantic couple.
Tom Burke successfully turned into a charismatic one-legged detective with a stellar past and a detached attitude to the present and future.
The investigations conducted by Cormoran Strike correspond to the classical precepts of the traditional English detective. All the circumstances of the crime are slowly clarified and the true killer and his motives are successfully determined from among those involved.
The series Strike is a very pleasant project that successfully combines romantic and detective lines.
This is a kind of combination of the Sherlock series with Benedict Cumberbatch and such beloved detectives as Poirot and Miss Marple.
When Sherlock came out in 2010, it was a big deal. However, the series "Strike" passes without attracting mass interest of the audience. And in vain.
This project is worthy of your interest and will undoubtedly make you look forward to the release of the sequel.
Like Sherlock, Strike only comes out with three to four episodes a year.
Good, good show. Especially well selected actors for Cormoran and Robin. But for some reason, only 3 of the 7 episodes of The Cuckoo's Call entered the first season. The rest of the film is complete. It was shot in the best traditions of the English detective. The fourth season is based on the novel “Bad Blood”. This is a very boring book. But it played a positive role in the story of the season. For those who can’t wait to see the first and last episodes. This is for those who have read the book for a long time and remember little. And those who have not read the book will get bogged down in a large number of character names that are difficult to remember or not remembered at all. Too many versions, and it takes a lot of screen time and it seems that time wasted. If that doesn’t make you happy, the season might be good. Strike and Robin were great. Looking at this pair of actors is nice, and they have gracefully pulled out the fourth season.
I'm looking forward to season four. Exciting, interesting, good and modern series. This is the first time I've seen Tom Burke on screen (what can I do?). It inspires sympathy, respect and sympathy. And Holliday Granger is just a beauty, passionate and absorbed in work. It's my ideal in life. Harry Potter didn't read it, she stopped at Tolkien. Written detectives are great, but the plot of "Silkworm" I know from somewhere. But from where? I am grateful for the quality of the British series and glad that it is alive in good old classic form, but on modern material.
As a former fan of the Harry Potter books, I could not miss the new creation of its creator JK Rowling, and even in my favorite genre of detective. From the very first pages, the story of the veteran of the war in Afghanistan and his smart and passionate assistant began to drag on, and by the middle of the first book, I became a loyal fan, looking forward to every new story.
Of course, after such a success, the film adaptation should have appeared one day. However, this time it was decided to entrust this to the format of the television series, which gives more space for fitting the plot of the books into the screen form. And although the spirit of the books as a whole was preserved, many interesting plot places from a psychological point of view were lost, the relationship between the characters is often greatly simplified or completely left behind.
The actors were well matched to their characters, but some of them disagreed with the book prototypes in terms of appearance:
Cormoran Strike performed by retired Musketeer Tom Burke got into the book image more character. Externally, it almost does not look like the book version (the creators even changed the lost leg), but the manner of communication, habits, experiences on the face give a good book original.
Robin Ellacott performed by Holly Granger fell into the image in every detail: beautiful, intelligent, kind, responsive and passionately devoted to work.
Matthew Cunliffe, Robin’s fiancé, performed by the almost unknown Kerr Logan, looks generally softer than in books, where he is often seen as almost a quiet tyrant (even if this is not manifested in his speech).
It should be noted that Strike’s friend appears in the series ahead of time, Pin (performed by the little-known Ben Crompton). Externally, the version from the book is not at all similar (he had a rather repulsive appearance there), but the manner of speech and behavior are transferred to the screen quite fitting.
The main disadvantage of the series is a rather strong reduction in plots, especially clearly this is observed in the series on the book ' Silkworm'. However, for the series on the book ' In the Service of Evil' I have fewer claims, since there managed to save the most emotionally acute moments.
8 out of 10
The fashion for British detectives is as constant as the interest in the British royal family. Miss Marple, Poirot, Foyle. It’s nice that the British are trying to build “purely English murders” in a modern format (which confirms the popularity of the eponymous detective). A great example are the detectives of Robert Galbright (alter-ego J.K. Rowling, compliments her diverse talent will leave for another site).
Novels (already 4) and the series tells about private detective Cormoran Strike (his biography deserves a separate study) and about his assistant Robin Ellacott, who unravel various criminal cases in the genre (which the police drew attention to, but traditionally ... from the wrong angle).
To be honest, it is better to read first, and then see, because the author of the script conveyed everything accurately, but very abstract and concise.
For those who truly love British detectives in any form.
9 out of 10
This worn phrase perfectly fits the description of the mini-series, which was shot based on the detective series of Robert Galbraith.
Like many Harry Potter fans, when I found out that JK Rowling was behind the name, I immediately decided that I would read the entire trilogy.
After reading The Call of the Cuckoo, I thought it would be nice to watch the first season of the series. I'm not saying the book is a masterpiece. Personally, I only managed it the second time. It’s a bit long, but despite this, the plot and characters look pretty good.
In the series, everything is shown as crumpled as possible. Robin is not as smart as Robin from the book. The name of the unfortunate black girl that Lula warmed up Strike knew seems even before John Bristow came into his office.
This is the same series... why it was impossible to shoot a couple of episodes more, but at the same time to tell the story so that the audience did not have the impression that the creation of the series worked writer-lazy and producers who wanted to quickly “hypane” (ironically, Rowling herself is both a writer and executive producer).
It was nice to see in the role of Lula the same girl who flirted with Potter in the cafe in “The Half-Blood Prince”, pleased directly with the picture itself and the play of some individual actors (primarily Tom Burke). But when the script is frankly bad no picture, no matter how good it is, the situation does not save.
I'm going to read The Silkworm.
If you don't know, Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym of J.K. Rowling. Yeah, yeah, that Rowling, Harry Potter mom. When I found out that Rowling had written a tetralogy (the fourth book of the series had just appeared in stores) about private detective Cormoran Strike, I didn’t immediately set down to read. Books, as they say, will not come off.
A little later I learned that the first three books were filmed as a 7-series series. This is Rowling, I thought, and I decided to spend seven hours (each episode is about 60 minutes) watching. Bad. No more writing. But since I've started, ...
If you have read the books, you will not find them successful. It may be because of budget constraints or something, but if the first book fits into three series, the next two fit into four (two for each). As a result, important storylines were thrown out. For example, from the third part of the book (6 and 7 episodes of the film) Strike's memories of a boxing match with Donnie Leng are deleted (which is very important for the plot).
Yes, and the line of Leng is minimized, although in the book - he is a full-fledged independent hero, who is assigned individual chapters. The image of Kalsey Pratt, whose leg Robin gets at the beginning of the film is also 'brushali' completely eliminating the details of her mental illness - cravings for amputation of limbs.
Many fans of the detective genre were waiting for the adaptation of the novels of the new mysterious writer Robert Galbraith, and after watching the first two seasons, perhaps even were satisfied. I won’t hide it, I had a solid 6 at first.
Then the 2018th year went on and the sequel appeared on the screens in the form of two episodes of the third season. This was a complete disappointment for me.
If you don’t know the story, haven’t read a book, or at least Wikipedia, you don’t even have to press the play button. Dialogues are so cut off, and facts are crumpled that you simply do not have time to digest what is happening and get to the bottom of it.
Of course, for the excessive drama and protracted plot is worth thanking the author of the book, but this “kinosaga” is a great example of how to lower a slightly boring plot below the plinth and make it simply unbearable for viewing.
The actors are bad, as is the film itself. The characters are flat and uninteresting.
If I am still waiting for the fourth book, I will not spend a single minute on the next series.
1 out of 10
Who does not look into the urban womb, he does not understand that London is a special world. It may be despised as a concentration of power and money inaccessible to other British cities, but one must realize that it is impoverished.
Why did you watch the BBC series Strike? Because I read books by Robert Galbraith (Joanne Rowling) - the primary source for the series. It's been a long time. I wanted to see the visualization.
What I liked was the main characters chosen for the roles of Cormoron Strike (Tom Burke) and Robin Ellacott (Holliday Granger). Robin is an almost literal embodiment of the heroine. But Tom Burke is much prettier than the book character - Detective Strike, but his character is almost preserved.
The series shows us the events of three books by the writer – “Call of the Cuckoo”, “Silkworm” and “In the Service of Evil”. The main storylines are preserved - and for that, thank you to the creators of the series. Strike has more emphasis on the relationships of the main characters, in books – on the investigation of crimes.
The Cuckoo Call begins with the murder of black model Lulu Landry.
"Silkworm" - from the disappearance of a second-rate writer.
In the Service of Evil, Assistant Detective Robin is sent a package with a human leg.
This is not a positive review. Rowling turned out good books of the genre - I read the binge and could not immediately guess who the killer was. But the creators of the series failed to convey the complex web lines that Strike unraveled at the end of each book.
We were shown London - the one, the other, not as colorful as in Sherlock - this is the London of ordinary people - cafes and pubs, dirty alleys, small offices. That's definitely a plus. The minus is a bit boring to watch, especially for those who have read and are aware of twists and turns. And those who have not read this series are unlikely to suspect. But you can also present the old story so fascinating that the viewer was interested in watching. Plus, the books themselves were written so intricately that only curiosity made me read on and on. It was not possible to successfully transfer to the screen, but the source apparently also plays an important role in this.
I think that the two series on the third book could have expanded, but they didn’t show much. I don't know why Casey liked Cormoran so much. The number of suspects was reduced from four to three. There is no connection to the real world that was Joanne Rowling.
This mini-series is just seven episodes. The biggest problem is that not fans of books it will seem boring, protracted, not dynamic, some points will not be clear. For example, the relationship between Cormoran and his ex-fiancée. In the series, this is only indicated in passing.
And yet, despite the overall complex perception, Strike came out very alive and real, the story realistic and true.
When in 2007, JK Rowling put an end to the series of books about Harry Potter, fans (and with them and film producers) were looking forward to when the favorite author will come up with new characters and launch them on another long-playing voyage. Six years later, the “Cuckoo’s Call” appeared on the shelves of bookstores and quite quickly, the “Mother of Harry Potter” was calculated under the name of an unknown Robert Galbraith. She is the most influential woman in modern English literature. The next two years were followed by the continuation of the novel – “Silkworm” and “In the Service of Evil”, and now Rowling is finishing the fourth book – “Lethal Whiteness”.
Starting to invent her detective series, the writer could not help noticing that the popularity of the movie is falling, and the public’s interest in the series is growing proportionally. And from the very first book, Rowling/Galbraith began to build a narrative not in the form of complete stories, but as a long-playing canvas with the development of characters and the complicated relationship between them, immersion in their mysterious past and the expansion of the world around them. In short, to create the basis for this series according to all the laws of the television genre.
The main characters of both books and films are private investigator Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott. Started as the secretary of the main character, by the third investigation, Robin will grow into a real bloodhound, brave and smart. This is not Dr. Watson, just a shade of the sharp mind of Sherlock Holmes.
The seven episodes are three separate cases of Strike and Robin. First, investigate the suicide or murder of a black supermodel. Then the action is transferred to the literary circles of London, and the brutal murder of the writer becomes an occasion for Rowling to break away from colleagues, lifting the dirt from the bottom of this mysterious world. And finally, the story of the modern Jack the Ripper, who decided to play with the heroes in cat and mouse.
The series was made primarily for fans of Rowling's books, and therefore exactly repeats the events of the Strike novels. All the main characters and plot twists were saved and carefully transferred to the screen. Perhaps, a more delicate approach to the literary source from the creators of the film adaptation and do not remember.
A separate success of the series, which can not be ignored, became the performers of the main roles - Tom Burke and Holliday Granger. The actors clearly got their roles not for beautiful eyes, and the performer of the role of Robin - not for the similarity of the surname with the heroine of Potterian. The actors perfectly fit into their roles and just a couple of minutes after the start of watching it is impossible to imagine anyone else in these roles.
At the same time, if Robin on the screen is as fearless and smart as Rowling describes her, then Strike writers and actor Tom Burke embodied in the series a much more positive character than he was invented by the writer. From the rudeness of the book Cormoran on the screen almost nothing remains, although his addiction to alcohol remained unchanged in the adaptation of the books.
Speaking of pros, it is impossible not to mention the drawback of the series, which does not allow to put it on a par with the masterpieces of television detectives, such as “True Detective”. Moreover, this minus is directly related to the literary primary source of Strike. Rowling was so keen on building a tender relationship between Cormoran and Robin (the chemistry between the characters is obvious, and on the screen is even more noticeable) that the detective component of the plots fell by the wayside. As a result, the investigations that lead the characters are not as intricate, and the villains are not as clever as the fans of Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle are used to. By and large, the search for criminals here becomes only an occasion to watch the development of relations between the main characters. For the series, this is an absolute plus, and for the detective, alas, a minus.
7 out of 10
Air Force and quality have long been synonymous. If they took up the film adaptation, then there will be no disappointment, but I evaluate this series as a viewer, not as a reader, because I am not familiar with the books, and I met with the series thanks to Tom Burke and waited for it for a long time. Therefore, to say how good the film adaptation I can not, but about how good the series is and will go on. “Strike” is a good English detective, with an interesting plot, with intrigue and English humor. It fits into the framework of the classical canon of the detective, but has its own characteristics. Firstly, there is no habitual London gloom and British stinginess. The mood of the picture can often be defined as "fresh morning" rather than as foggy evening corners lit by a dim lantern, which is significantly less than usual in British detectives. Despite the fact that there are night shooting, and footage from the crime scene and even a realistically made-up victim of the second season.
The main characters are 100% realistic. Cormoran Strike is a physically and mentally wounded man, he is the illegitimate son of a rock star, his father does not want to know him, then war, loss of a leg, after lack of money and a collapse in his personal life. All this naturally left its mark on him, but the image did not become grotesque. Yes, he is prone to mild misanthropy, hello from Athos, in some places he is sarcastic and knows how to answer witty, but this is not overloaded against the background of the now fashionable misanthropes and sociopaths like Sherlock, Dr. House and others, Cormoran Strike is realistic and all these qualities he has in the right proportion. He doesn't have superpowers like Sherlock, he doesn't have a lot of insight, he doesn't have a lot of knowledge, no, Cormoran is just a detective who does his job well, and he does his old-fashioned investigations -- witness interviews, surveillance, evidence, data matching. Tom Burke himself, describing his hero and the whole detective, used the words "soft" and "light". That's right. Actingly, he chose a very good serve, he has experience in film adaptations, first Athos Dumas, then Fedya Dolokhov Tolstoy, and now here is Cormoran Strike from JK Rowling. Therefore, Tom is very organic in this role, especially since JK Rowling herself fully approved of his candidacy and play. I like Holliday Granger as Robin Ellacott the most, among all her other characters. It would seem, against the background of Lucrezia Borgia and others, assistant detective Robin may seem quite simple, but it is in this image that she is beautiful.
The overall atmosphere of the series is complemented by a beautiful picture, attention to detail, very sensual close-ups. Good scenery and interiors, very spacious, there is no feeling of isolation of the studio, really a lot of locations for filming, a lot of street. Light and pleasant soundtrack, unobtrusive, but stylish. The series “Strike” is not pop, it is unlikely to attract a million army of fans, although the ratings show high, it will be watched more by readers of novels, some fans of JK Rowling, or like me, fans of actors Tom Burke and Holliday Granger. But this series is recognized by connoisseurs.
Quietly, gloomyly, in an aglican way, Strike jams a bottle of whiskey... Well, actually, he always takes a pint of beer. The main character Cormoran Strike is a former military man who, by coincidence of painful circumstances, is forced to sit “in reserve”. To make his life worthwhile, he opens a small office. "Private Detective K. Strike."
He doesn't have the "super abilities" people criticized Sherlock for. Strike studies cases, talks with people, does not do without the help of Robin Ellacott (Holliday Granger). They create a tandem that behaves like a regular team of detectives. And you believe them.
Oh, yeah. There is certainly an intrigue.
How perfect for lovers of paintings soaked in England, but not the banal with Buckingham Palace, the Tower and the Thames. The series shows the viewer elite apartments and incredibly expensive boutiques on the streets of Great Britain, but always returns the audience to the damp alleyways and gloomy streets.
The series is cozy, with its own atmosphere, but I do not think that it is destined for the fate of a hit.
8 out of 10
Having completed the last lines of “Harry Potter”, which provided her for life, JK Rowling did not abandon writing and managed to publish several books. Including not related to the world of Hogwarts, but emphatically "adults". One of her new heroes was Cormoran Strike, the illegitimate son of a rock star, a war hero in Afghanistan, where he left a leg, and at first a not-so-successful private investigator. The filming was a matter of time and whether any of the major studios would want to take on the project. That didn't happen, and stories about Cormoran Strike went to the BBC. To be honest, it is difficult to wish them a better fate.
You can treat the work of JK Rowling differently, she may not be a great master of the detective genre, but I liked the Strike cycle. And the film adaptation turned out to be solid and thorough: it is leisurely, chambered, places great emphasis on the feelings of the characters, who in the series are much more cute than in the book. Especially Strike.
First of all, let me mention the selection of actors. Tom Burke from "The Musketeers" and "War and Peace" turned out to be a kind of miserable and good-natured jerk, more like a teddy bear than a cold-blooded and tough detective. Holliday Granger, best known for her role as Lucrezia Borgia, is as good as usual. Of the secondary characters, I note a police officer similar to Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Tara Fitzgerald, who from time to time flickers in famous TV series, albeit in secondary roles.
Then the atmosphere. Slow walks of characters in London, which is shown in all its glory: from fashionable quarters of the rich to worn pubs and billiards, where not the most law-abiding subjects of the British crown are found. The real Denmark Street is also shown, by the way.
I’m not ready to call Strike a hit, but this is another cute BBC mini-series that will allow you to pass a couple of evenings and feel the atmosphere of old, although perhaps not very good, England.
Can the series be equal to a book? In this case, it is absolutely safe to put “=” between the book and the series. Both the series and the book are weak examples of the detective genre in the film and literary community. But by my nature in all films I try to find something good, something that you can cling to and pull a film or series, at least for a neutral review.
I'll start with a little background. The main group of people who will watch this series are fans of Robert Galbraith, but many do not know that this is the pseudonym of JK Rowling, so it is not for nothing that she is on the lists of writers. Under a pseudonym, she has written three parts of Cormoran Strike's books: The Call of the Cuckoo, The Silkworm, and In the Service of Evil. As I understand it, the Air Force filmed all 3 books. The first book is 3 series, the next two are 2 series. My review will be based on the first three series, and after the next four I will add in the comments to the review.
Overall, the first season is weak, especially when you consider that it was shot by the BBC. My main complaint is that the series adopted a weak plot from the book, which is supported by weak camera work. The first one can be discarded because the plot of the book itself is weak. As they say Rowling's first pancake lump. Second, you can't put it down. The weakness of camera work lies mainly in street photography. They tried to shoot in a detective manner, so that the angles gave intrigue, but it turned out very funny and not interesting. Especially the constant filming on top of Robin going to work. Episodes where events take place in the room are not bad. And they're lookable.
With those two drawbacks when watching the first series, I always wanted to turn it off. But after the second and third series, the absolute negativity was shifted to the side, because there was at least some play of the main actors and chemistry between them. Of course, the level of “good” actors is still far away, but the potential is there. I hope that he will appear by the 7th series. Besides, I really liked the cast on Robin. Holliday Granger is the perfect actress for this role. But on Strike, I would say it was nothing more than satisfactory. Tom Burke plays average and overplays those episodes where he shows that his leg hurts. All the other actors I can not single out anything bad or good.
So, at this point in time, I'm doing a neutral review of the show, hoping that by the end of Episode 7, I can change the color of the review to green. To do that, I just need two conditions: first, Holliday Granger and Tom Burke have to grow up in acting, and they can, I think, especially this applies to Burke; second, the operators have to understand that they are clearly doing something wrong because they lack enthusiasm. But what to relate to the script, then there should with a high degree of probability everything will change for the better. If the writers adhered to the canon, as with the Cuckoo's Call, then the adaptation of the Silkworm and In the Service of Evil should turn out many times more interesting, because the books themselves were much stronger than the "first pancake", which was naturally a lump.
A former member of military operations in Afghanistan, a military policeman, a disabled, a “bastard” of a famous rock musician, with a difficult childhood and a difficult fate, and now a private investigator Cormoran Strike unravels the intricacies of the most high-profile and dirty crimes of London for a couple with his charming secretary Miss Robin Ellacott, who suddenly appeared in his office in search of work literally breathed new life and enthusiasm into the body and spirit of the already “cooling” detective. Sounds cool, doesn’t it?
It is worth noting that I have never before been interested in detectives and related genres, preferring various kinds of fiction, fantasy, dystopias and dramas. However, Rowling’s light and expressive narration made me pay attention to her other work, besides the well-known Harry Potter. So I read all three Cormoran Strike books in a couple of sittings. For this reason, I will not be able to evaluate the series without looking at the source, but I will try, however, about everything in order.
On caste. The lonely detective and hardened ex-warrior Strike in the books seemed to me a little older, more saturated life than the character of the series; exuding a certain atmosphere of despair and despondency. Nevertheless, Tom Burke perfectly conveyed all the charisma and peculiar charm of the main character, despite his lower screen age and relative freshness. Book Strike experienced real, very serious suffering from his injury, in the series of this seriousness I did not feel to the fullest extent. In general, it fit well.
The second heroine, Robin Ellacot, performed by Holliday Granger, was also played very well. The actress well showed some brooding and a slight touch of isolation of her character (probably an introvert), because the book "Dr. Watson" most of the book time, despite her company in the form of a family or Strike himself, spent somewhere inside herself, thinking and building logical chains. And when watching the series, it is felt, as well as her tenacity, the courage she acquires at times brushing aside her own fears, some attractiveness and attractiveness. But in my opinion Granger on the screen looks a little more frivolous (again nagging).
The rest of the actors also showed themselves well in the series, Wardle is also young, but John Bristow performed by Leo Bill came out perfectly. You feel the inexperience of some actors of the second, third plans (the same gourmet), but this is not a budget opus Magnum Nolan.
The visual part. When I first heard about the upcoming series, who was going to shoot it? Suddenly someone is familiar, and there... unknown to me (perhaps to my shame) names. However, I discarded all prejudices about this and as it turned out not in vain, because it was shot perfectly, like other popular TV series from the BBC. The picture is a little dark and gloomy, in the style of thrillers, but the range is not so poor as it seems, but rather expressive and unobtrusive, camera work at the level, the plans are good, classic. The atmosphere of Albion, particularly London itself, is felt in everything. Many places from the book are shown in the series exactly as they appeared when reading, and in general, the locations and objects in them, exteriors and interiors look organic and natural, there is no sense of cardboard and limited small pavilions inherent in cheap series, and this can not please.
It is also worth noting the work of the composer - the sound is pleasant, sounds always at the time and not annoying, as it should do.
To tell the story, though not the largest, but the whole book in three hour series is still a task, but here to help the creators of the series comes Rowling herself, because she is one of his scriptwriters and so far everything is fine.
What can be said about the outcome? The series has just begun (at the moment two episodes have been released) and it is too early to put a final assessment on it, but it is already possible to draw a certain line. Within the boundaries of a typical TV series, this is very good material, but I am afraid that it will be more interesting to the audience of Rowling, and not to serial lovers, for whom “Strike” will be just another series in a sea of others and will disappear into it, remaining unnoticed by the masses. Yes, and to claim the title of the best this series does not allow quite ordinary, though not without surprises, the plot. However, as I said at the beginning, I can not be objective about this picture, and I, as a fan of books, she was interested and fascinated. So for now, I have my verdict: a solid four. Let’s see what awaits us next, because only the walking one will overcome the road.
8 out of 10