The first two seasons don’t make sense, they’re good. A light-genre spy comedy. No claim to 100% authenticity, but no final transformation into fantasy. There's a lot of stuff, like Lam's bums. Let’s write this down to the peculiarities of English national culture. Perhaps, for the completeness of the image, it was not enough for Jackson to pick out boobs from his nose. Maybe these scenes were just cut out? The third season is alas, but it is a fiasco. First, the story clearly lost in dynamics. The scenes began to repeat, in connection with which the characters clearly became stupid. And stupid heroes cause the viewer irritation. Second, the characters changed their character. And this is puzzling. Why, for example, did calm, executive Duffy turn into a hysterical sadistic maniac? Everything happens, but you need some explanation, and there is none. This is typical of the third season as a whole - the eccentricity of the images turned into caricature, unfortunately. Third, a shootout of two out of six episodes is clearly not what the audience of the satirical series about spies expect. Somewhere in the middle of the fifth episode, I wanted to turn off the TV so as not to watch this pointless thrash, because it was already clear that the good ones outshoo the bad ones and win, otherwise why would we need a sixth episode? I wish I hadn’t seen the third season at all.
The first season was not to break away, the second is also good, but already predictable. And yes, if they had held on to their London soil, Season 2 would have been probably better. In the second season, there were funny Russian names, pretty bad actors, playing bad Russians and an easy-to-guess plot - plus the last episode frankly disappointed me, no flip-flops and "I wouldn't have thought." But! Harry Oldman won't be beaten. As always, he is gorgeous in every detail, even the smell of his hero can be vividly imagined. The series is for one week, but you can easily swallow it in a couple of nights.
Apple TV+ is getting more and more excited. First saw a really cool comedy almost the level of the Ted Lasso Clinic, then saw the conceptually stunning Separation, then there was a superb thriller Black Bird and an unexpectedly useful and criminally underrated adaptation of Shantaram. Even their Dinosaur Documentary Project Prehistoric Planet deserves much discussion. Yes, from time to time they have all sorts of misunderstandings like the Foundation, but the percentage of usefulness they definitely have much more than the conventional Netflix. So yes, I started watching the show with excitement. With the thought that I will get something, if not beautiful, then at least entertaining. That’s exactly what happened.
Slow horses tell us about employees sent to the back of MI5 because of their failures. Someone accidentally forgot a folder with secret documents on the train, someone drank and became a pain in the ass of the authorities, someone simply did not please his crappy character, and someone like River Cartwright (played by Jack Louden) completely failed albeit a test, but still the task. The department is run by an uncouth and, at first glance, completely incompetent, Jackson Lam (played by the amazing Gary Oldman), constantly mocking his colleagues for their failures. Actually, this is the point of no return. Or work for a rude boss and go through the tax returns of a decade ago, or resign with honor, retaining at least some remnants of dignity. River decides to go against fate and gets involved in a dangerous adventure, which will either save him from a hopeless situation, or finally ruin him.
In fact, this is what the whole season is built on. You might think it was a black comedy. And in a way, it is. The series is based on books by Mick Guerron. And although I have not read them, I have heard that, unlike some John Le Carré with his monotonous 'Spy, get out!', they have a great satirical bias. Looking at how the series came out, you realize that it is. There are indeed many peculiar humorous moments, mainly consisting of total humiliation of employees for their past punctures. However, the best black comedies hide deep drama and interesting backstory through their cruel jokes. The same thing happens here. And behind all these frank jokes, there are really dramatic backstory that you want to watch.
Of course, the actors play a decisive role here, and they are all on top here. The main character perfectly balances between a complete slob and a professional agent, Christine Scott Thomas perfectly conveys the duplicity of Diana Taverner’s nature, the rest feel great within their images. But the main star here, of course, is Gary Oldman. Jackson Lamb is the most controversial character from whom you do not know what to expect. He may seem utterly careless, but hide an intelligent forward-thinking agent with his plans. And Gary Oldman is fond of his role in every frame, showing all his talents as an actor-'chameleon'.
But the spy thriller is no spy thriller without intrigue and tension and it is here in abundance. In the first two episodes, the series may seem boring and slightly even protracted, but then it accelerates properly and does not let go until the very end. Intrigues, conspiracies, lack of trust in anyone. All this turns Slow Horses ironically into a fast action with a great narrative tempo. And the main intrigue is preserved all viewing, so the series will not let you get bored.
I haven’t seen the second season yet, but judging by even higher estimates, it’s only going to get better. And that’s good, Slow Horses want to come back for their heroes, relationships and spy games too. I want to watch the second season and then wait for the third. And in between, watch another good project from Apple TV+. Because I can smell it, they can give me something else.
Don’t be surprised by the title, it’s just a strange story.
Let’s start with tar – in general, this is an unbalanced story with as simple and unwritten secondary characters as possible. It is surprising that several successful roles and a key confrontation not only save the series, but make it interesting.
What is it and#39; highlights'? First of all, it is disgustingly beautiful (that’s right) Gary Oldman (Leon; Dracula; The Dark Knight), who plays roughly the same person as in 'Spy, get out'. In general, the series is desperately inspired by this old-school spy thriller, which in Russia watched little and, at the same time, lost a lot.
The second is the confrontation between the hero Oldman and the head of the British intelligence service. There are losers against proven specialists, and old-school spies against new high-tech operas - many conflict stories that generate the necessary knots of a successful series.
Young actors and parallel lines, it seems to me, are not twisted by writers, which can be explained by the traditionally short for Britain character of the series (6 episodes per season).
The plot revolves around a central agency and one small sludge for failed employees, led by Oldman's hero. In the future, despite all the opposition, they will try to save the hostage from the crooked hands of local nationalists, who, by the way, turned out to be very inventive and nonlinear.
If you are set up to watch a fairly active, not too complicated, but funny spy series with extremely good central roles - here you go.
I love the ironic spy movies. I love Bond in Connery’s time, or even Brosnan’s, until he’s turned into an action movie where Bond is a dumb guy. I love French agent 117 with his awkward jokes. I also love movies about bad bosses and captains who are actually over their mountain. I also love Harry Oldman, who is the most talented actor and one of the best movie villains of all time. That’s why I expected a lot from this film, but like Theoden Rohansky, he only got half of what I expected.
The film tells the story of the British counterintelligence department MI5, which exiles losers who for unknown reasons did not raise the hand to fire at all. One forgot secret documents on the train, another ruined the mission to capture a terrorist, a third someone there seduced the wrong, in short, those are spies. Suddenly, it is these lame knuckles who are able to save a situation that all UK counterintelligence agents cannot cope with. Unexpected story, huh? And you know why decent MI5 agents can't? Because they are armless, stupid, blind, slow, do not have time, do not analyze, do not try to predict, prevent or think half a step ahead, despite the fact that they have a headquarters the size of a stadium, helicopters, special forces, cameras on the roads and so on.
However, they are partly excused by the fact that the UK’s Coolest Hacker (and, apparently, the only one), ironically, works in that sedimentary. It is quite logical to send to the rotting department of a cool specialist who can in three clicks from his computer (as in the movies of the 80s, where the password to anything is selected the third time) hack into the navigator of any car, the MI5 database, phone, mail and get the history of any person’s computer on any site.
And then there's Gary Oldman, a dashing operative in the past and a misanthrope and a drunk in the present. Oh, that's where the writer went. A rare series passes without his hero, sorry, not twisted (and did not focus on this viewer’s attention), did not show extremely leaky socks or somehow did not focus on his own untidyness, rudeness, vulgarity and so on. But again, suddenly it turns out that he still knows how to think and analyze, that he has trump cards up his sleeve and that he is able to outplay all counterintelligence, sitting in a smokeless office or an old car and flinching, about which he will certainly tell us again.
What does it take to give this movie a red review and throw it away? His periodic flashes of British humor help, the acting of individual characters, including secondary ones, helps out a couple (but not more) of unexpected plot twists and sometimes a well-translated atmosphere of the very department where people just kill time without much hope for a bright tomorrow.
In general, the film is quite possible to watch, but if you are waiting for a really twisted plot, large-scale operations, dynamics, intrigue and skeletons in a closet in the spirit of Jason Bourne, then remember King Theoden once again and think about whether this film is worth the time that you spend on it. And to understand the coolness of Harry Oldman, it would be better to watch his two-minute video about athletes-actors. I think he's got a lot more out there.
In the century ' Homeland', ' Bureau', ' Bodyguard' and others ' Americans' hardened fans of the classic spy detective probably thought that the true genre died along with the late John Le Carré. If someone is inspired by his work, it is only stylistically, so much so that you will not notice hints or nods in the direction of the master at once. The last, in all senses worthy, adaptation of his novel was released in 2011, the Czech series 'In ignorance', in fact, approaching the plots of the level of classics, saw only a few (a gift that HBO production).
And all the more pleasant to return to the sudden hit of 2022, ' Slow Horses' (Slow Horses, 2022), which increasingly resemble the best examples of spy detective (both cinematic and literary). It is even surprising that such a show turned out to be the author of a typical children's film ' The Adventures of Paddington', and the authors so believed in their own success that they shot two seasons at once, and in between their broadcast they also managed to prepare material for the third!
But everything in order. In the second season, both the development of the characters (thanks, a good script) and the project itself are noticeable. Instead of the actually pure spy comedy a la 'Strain gyrus' or the recent 'Spy' the project suddenly takes on increasingly serious features. In place of the sketchy unpretentious story about a Pakistani student held hostage by the dull-headed British nationalists comes a gloomy large-scale fairy tale about Russian spies, and so grim as if it came straight from the Cold War, and told all the same Le Carre. Yes, there is still room for good humor, chief ' Slough House' still ' loves' his subordinates, but now the project does not look like a kind of office sitcom: joke now there is no time, our knackers have to uncover a real spy conspiracy.
And another greasy curtsey to John Le Carré is any appearance of Gary Oldman in the frame (and in the second season he almost all the attention turned to himself), because it was Oldman who was still nominated for an Oscar in the same 2011 for a magnificent performance of the role of his favorite character Le Carré. Now his bloated, dirty, smelly, cynical and grumpy Jackson Lamb is even more reminiscent of Smiley - after all, he plays the main role here in the opening of the undercover intrigues of Russian villains, it is he who here demonstrates such phenomenal professionalism that you wonder why such a talented officer was sent into service exile? Plus the same look, the same voice, 'squeezy' - as if watching the promised sequel 'Spy, get out!', which is especially striking in the episodes of interrogations involving Oldman-Lamb. It is very nice that at least this character keeps Gary from retirement, because he really deserves such an embodiment, and how the last role looks very good.
Jack Louden returned to the role of Cartwright’s young counterintelligence officer. However, he also changed - matured, gained experience, turned from ' green youngster' if not in ' burnt opera' then at least in someone like this. Yes, in some places he is also stupid and gets into stupid situations, but with honor he comes out of them and continues to save Britain. Christine Scott Thomas is still the same iron lady, Freddie Fox is still the same narcissistic idiot, and Jonathan Price still looks ominous in the frame. Special thanks to the casting for Zakhari Bakharov in the secondary role of a Russian thug (it is always nice to see in the frame of this artist after his performance of the FSB operative in ' Bureau') and for Rada Sherbegia (Boris Razor from the cult ' Big Kush'!) in the role of the local analogue of the spy Carla from the novels of Le Carre (who is familiar with the writer’s work, he understood). But despite all this, personally I really missed Olivia Cook, there is a big shortage of beautiful women, and she fit into the project perfectly.
As for the perennial fears about the Western view of Russians, at least here, fortunately, they do not come true, although they are not groundless. Of course, stamps like vodka, chess, radioactive poisoning (an obvious reference to the Polonian history) of a famous oppositionist (even the surname also begins in ') and the evil FSB-SVR are available, but this is not pretentious and not intrusive. Russian special agents are portrayed carefully and carefully, almost dotted, because basically all the evil is done by Russian criminals and mercenaries, so successfully involved by Russian intelligence. Local Russians are mainly bald booze in leather leathers and gold chains, but we know that the ball is ruled by dashing handsome men in stylish costumes, although they rarely appear in the frame.
Stylistically new ' Slow horses' reminiscent of the mix from 'Killing Eve' (most likely licked to shine picture, minus the madness and LGBT obsession of the latter), 'Spy get out' and even 'Sherlock' Much in terms of camera delights, visual and even musical solutions brought with him the new director Jeremy Lovering, who shot almost all the episodes of the second season, and previously worked on ' Sherlock'. And sometimes it seems that the events of this project and the history of the Lamb unit occur in the same Universe, and this is an obvious compliment ' Horses'.
Hello! I'm from Russia! How can I be rich to . . . the world famous Salsberg Cathedral?
'It's literally a breath of fresh air' - oh yeah, as fresh as Jackson Lamb's morning breath. Back in the first season, the viewer was clearly shown that Lamb is the most charming of spies, killing Her Majesty’s enemies with a single smell from his mouth. Grey nose, greasy hair, the smell of pretty socks, the unique aroma of sweaty armpits, life credo - ' drank, drink, and I will drink', and voila! We've got a zero agent in retirement. But, after all, the hero has to evolve, it is one of the laws of dramaturgy, right? No, not like that. In the new season, everyone who is in the same frame with Oldman, considers it his duty to remind him that he smells (from his mouth, from his armpits, from socks - choose the option yourself). The viewer is persistently poked with his nose into the rancid armpit troughs of an Oscar-winning drunk - sniff, sniff... Apparently, they are trying to convey some deep thought to us. You're smarter than me, you'll know which one.
The series makes fun of spy clichés. Right! Therefore, the Russian oligarch bears the surname Nevsky, Russian agents flaunt in tracksuits, Boris-Khren-Padya is occupied as one of the main villains, and the murders committed by the Russians are so stupid and ostentatious (injections with a radioactive substance or poison - as in the good old ones), that it was easier to leave a business card - made in krovavaya lubianka, otherwise no one will guess that this is the work of fans to admire the world-famous Salsberetsky Cathedral.
I would not recommend this series to anyone under the age of 18. This is a direct propaganda of drinking. A drunken Lamb thinks faster than a quantum computer - that's what life-giving vodka does! Neural networks, lubricated with alcohol, work many times faster! Standish (inspired like Ramses’ mummy) will easily play chess for any grandmaster. Cartwright is a future drunk, for this is the fate of all failed spies. Thus, this movie is about how a real drunk (Lamb) beats the FSB with the help of an alcoholic ex (Standish), and a potential alcoholic (Cartwright). It's a product placement! Direct and open advertising of alcohol! All MI5 sober agents are Ming-type bonkers, or idiots like Spider Webb. There it is! Fashion reigns on drunks, who does not drink is the enemy of the people!
In the third season, the actor’s ensemble will be replenished with a weeping face to Sole Diris from ' Gang of London' and the name can be changed to ' Very Slow Horse Gangs of London'. It would be logical to invite Tommy Shelby to the fourth season (taking into account his gypsy-horse specialization and alcoholic experience), he will organically join the series. Tommy can unravel the machinations of enemies without regaining consciousness. Alko is a comatose guru. Whiskey is a medium. And in the fifth season, Moriarty will come to life, and then... This is the kind of perspective that makes you feel dizzy!
Alkashes, like very slow horses, will be carried with a bite of a rod. . .
The British, whose ability to shoot a high-quality spy thriller, and even a multi-part series, in recent years could be questioned, suddenly kicked and shot a good, exciting series, and even with a good admixture of classic English humor.
“Slow horses” (original translation of “Lame horses”) is a type of “downed pilots” sent to the bench. And how many will have a penalty on her bench to stay - decide the superiors. The series describes the ugly at first life of the special services department for “exiled” employees. One did not keep his hormones in check and slept with the wife of a foreign diplomat, another failed a training assignment, the third - ... Yes, there can be few reasons why the employee will be taken out of the "racecourse". The department is located in an unsightly building - where it should be, out of the eyes of the authorities. And something even looks like a correctional institution - the British like to press visual images into the mind immediately before the presentation of the essence. Violent doors, metal stairs, from which the presence in the offices of computers at first is slightly surprising.
The job, as you can guess, this collective of losers is dusty. In the sense that hooves in the races for the enemies of the Kingdom, they do not shoot down or marvel. But manure in the form of a garbage can of a suspicious subject is sometimes necessary to disassemble. This is how the saddle creaks, except that the wind does not cool the old wound. Due to the lack of availability.
However, there is no guarantee that once this dull and filled with stale air stable will not blaze. And all horses are put under attack and on the verge of physical survival. They have to stumble, with unintelligent roaring, to show a jump and the beauty of the gallop to win in this jump. Otherwise, you will have to say goodbye not only to hopes of returning to the main stall (MI5 office), but also to life in general.
British scrupulousness in the choice of actors here appears in all its glory. The central characters are the handsome River Cartwright who tried to become James Bond (he is well played by Jack Loudon) and the wise, distrustful of everything and revelling in the humiliation of his subordinates, the cynic Jackson Lamb (he is even more well played by one of the best actors of the world cinema Gary Oldman). The conflict of an experienced but disappointed superpro and mired in a quagmire of career failure and a junior hungry for exploits. The superpro understands (or rather knows) that after years in Her Majesty’s service, the young fighter will turn into him and sometimes let him know. But NedoBond is angry, it seems to him that he is humiliated, wasted spitting. And he teaches him not only to conquer the peaks, but also to receive slaps of fate, to endure losses. “At your age, I buried a dozen close acquaintances. “If you are not ready to go through death, open the door and get out!” Simple and cynical.
Yes, the humor of the Brits, it seemed, strongly withered in the field of multiculturalism, the efforts of producers, made an attempt to rise from oblivion. Good luck, I'll tell you. “People are standing at a stop. What's worth? Spies, maybe? What if they were just waiting for the bus? - You bet! If I wanted to, he would be breathing now!, They came here together, and came out together - how did you guess? Trail? - Are you a moron? There's a corpse! and so on. Moreover, the genre variety is served with skillful strokes, without crunching and minting.
The central intrigue, which is conceived either to kill the horses or to produce a collective catharsis, is partly crumpled and doubtful. The abduction by some far-right kabatsk khokhmach (such as Kamedi club) of snotty age, who turned out to be related to the cone of an important security official of one of the eastern countries, of course, carries a multicultural overtones. They say that the security services are a roof for all British citizens, regardless of political origin or faith. And in appearance, the dull and straightforward “white Brit” in fact turns out to be an astute and extremely cunning type. The enemy does not sleep, compatriots. But even this aspect is not overturned during the viewing, the creators have a sense of proportion is quite present, so that the viewer does not even need to hack the brain at full capacity in order to understand the plot intricacies. Everyone will be thinking about it from the screen.
The series is based on the novel of the same name by Mick Herron, who is called “Le Carré of Our Days”. Overestimated, of course. However, it is similar to the equally inflated conceit of the cinema staff of MI5, who do not put penny on the inhabitants of Slough House, but sometimes are unable to oppose their skill and the status of unrestrained courage of official losers. The creators of Slow Horses seem to have missed nothing - action, black humor, the unpredictable outcome of fathers and children's struggles, flaring service romances with an open ending, and even a hint of an appeal to moral values. Career or loyalty to friendship? Falling - help or push? Law or loyalty to corporate interests? It is clear that the answers given by the real state and traditions of the British intelligence services often do not coincide with those seen on the screen.
Britain's MI5 has a Slow Horses department that employs underdog agents, including the boss. In the first season of the series, the newly exiled excellent agent Cartwright gradually begins to realize that his service deliberately framed and exiled to the Horses for an offense he does not even know about. But a Pakistani Briton (student and stand-up) is kidnapped and threatened with execution with an online demonstration. Cartray, exhausted by idleness in the department, grabs the opportunity to rehabilitate if he manages to free the student and return to MI5. But gradually he realizes that it is not necessary to take up the release of the student, since MI5 has its own games. The series is very dynamic, with pitfalls, irony and even looks like a parody of British intelligence. The quality is high. Season two is even more interesting. Even more interesting is Dead Lions. Season three is expected. The third season of this series was the most interesting, dynamic and most implausible. Incredible and interesting. Outlaws from MI5 were sentenced to physical destruction on a secret order from the head of the intelligence service. She decided to save her reputation. As always, without knowing it, the situation is saved by River Cartwright. Anyone who has seen the first season will be happy.
Judging by the first episodes 'Slow Horses' 2022 is a British project that may well breathe new life into the seemingly hopelessly outdated and degraded to a mixture of action and comedy subgenre of spy thrillers.
Stories of spies have always had and will continue to have success with the public. But most of them are comedies in the style of 'Agents A.N.K.L' and 'Kingsman: Secret Service'. Or too pretentious and unrealistic action in the style of 'No time to die' and 'Explosive blonde'. Or too intellectual confusing stories in the style ' Spy Get Out' and ' The Most Dangerous Man' that cannot attract a mass audience.
In 2022, the series 'Slow Horses' was launched on the Apple+ platform, and it seems to perfectly combine intelligence, adventure and humor. The series is based on the Mick Guerron series of novels, the first part 'Lame Horses' was published in 2010. His detective novels have rapidly gained popularity around the world, and the author himself is compared with such lumps of the genre as Raymond Chandler and Graham Green.
' Slow Horses' tells the story of British intelligence officers working in a dilapidated small unit. All 8 people in this department made some major violations or serious mistakes. They were not fired, but sent to 'Slow House' where they are forced to perform completely uninteresting and almost meaningless tasks.
This description probably seems extremely template and trivial. Well, of course, now the main characters will take up some difficult and dangerous business and unexpectedly cope with the mission. It looks like this is how the story will evolve. But 'Slow Horses' is the unique case when seemingly tired clichés, template characters and stencil plots developed into something that can become an ideal example of the genre, which collected all the best.
Remember what a huge success the detective series 'Sherlock' had in 2010, due to a few touches of novelty in the classic stories of Arthur Conan Doyle? The key to success was the transfer of the action to new locations, a successful cast, excellent directing and a verified tragicomedic temporism of the story. In 'Slow horses' all this too.
Oscar-winning Gary Oldman brilliantly debuted thanks to this project on the small screen. And his company was Jack Lawden ('Dunkirk', 'War and Peace'), Christine Scott Thomas ('English Patient', 'Gosford Park'), Jonathan Price ('Dads', ' Wife'), Freddie Fox ('The Great', 'Murdery at Whitehouse'), Olivia Price (''Dragon''' ''&Dragon'''&&&&''&&&&&&'&&&&&&&&&&&'&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&'&&&&&&&Dr.
The main screenwriter of the project is Will Smith - not an actor, but a British author. He has received recognition as a writer of satirical series about political intrigue ' The thick of events' and ' Vice President'. He also wrote scripts for sitcoms about losers ' Appeared', 'Damned' and family comedy 'The Adventures of Paddington'.
British intelligence agent River Cartwright for the failure of the mission - to neutralize a terrorist at the airport - suspended. Imprisoned and forced to work at Slow House is a backwater department where similar losers are gathered without restoring their former reputation.
After several months of work, River never gives up trying to get back. However, he did not fully realize his mistake. At the same time, a Pakistani student was kidnapped. The purpose and motives of the group ' Albion' not announced. At the same time, the head of Slow House and his other wards will be involved in this story. Getting out of this shit will be hard.
Actors: Gary Oldman really liked me in the role of witty, always swearing and despot Jackson Lamb. I confess that it was a pleasure to watch him play, which prompted memories of his participation in another project 'Spy, get out!'. His cynical Lamb gives orders with the important look of British secret service chief Ian Fleming. The hero of Gary turned out to be a very spectacular character with a lot of experience behind his shoulders. But unable to take the most important step in his life - to tell the truth about communion with the murder of the husband of one of the subordinates. That’s why she got to the back of London and almost landed in worse places. The actor perfectly coped with the role of a cynical and bloated boss who will send Winston Churchill himself (nervously smoking a pipe in the sidelines) away. If only we lived at the same time.
Taverner plays in London. Well, I'm like a Moscow operative. Thank you
Jack Lawden copes with the role of a former operative (from the image he presented for 3-4 episodes). The actor tries to show a man, although he descended into the backwater branch of British intelligence, but did not lose faith that everything can be changed thanks to the rescue of a student.
However, there are those who see further than others. And he could benefit from being involved in the kidnapping of a guy from a radical group. The heroine Christine Scott Thomas sees this as a regularity and an opportunity to restore the reputation of identifying terrorism in the UK. Although in a darkly ironic conversation (between Oldman and her character in the third series), she did not consider the worst-case scenario. What makes her pathetic attempt to work with Pakistani authorities to identify future potential terrorists seem shaky as a bridge in a forest park. And this is pure partisanship.
Also during the series you can see Freddy Cox, remembered by me in ' Victor Frankenstein' as Finnigan. His hero failed to properly guide River Cartwright along the right trail. That is why another accuses him of further misadventures.
Olivia Cooke is in a small role. But, it is she who gives the GG a clue to find a way to locate the student.
Everything else: The set begins, like Edgar Wright's film "Hot Fuzz" and moves into the territory of the thriller in the spirit of "Spy, get out!" Alfredson. The plot written by Will Smith (not to be confused with an American actor) is full of gloomy style. At the same time, he does not lose black humor, comic and emotional mood. Recently, from the pen of Apple comes a lot of different series. But, this series (based on the novel by Mike Herron) with old-school conspiracies, secret conversations and swearing, led the bosses to ask the writer to extend the story until the second season. It's already filmed. In general, the sight is unforgettable, given that the action is prolonged. And towards the end of the series finds a way to catch the viewer. This makes the series fresher. By the way, the musical theme (in the opening credits) about losers was written by Mick Jager himself. He is a fan of the novels of this story.
Impressions: if you like a movie about espionage in the usual style of British aesthetics, then ' Lame horses' with the participation of Oldman will suit you.
About boobs and the washes of espionage in Britain
I'm a spy. I graduated from the Military Diplomatic Academy and worked for six months in the 9th Directorate of the GRU Information Service. Then I was transferred from information processing to mining. . .
- Work hard. Find and recruit agents. Then they'll provide for you. Then you will only work your head, and someone will risk their skin for you. . .
Did the elephant cemetery teach you nothing good? If you want to be successful, first of all, forget everything the elephants taught you in the academy. Elephants are those who cannot work in practice. . .
The extractive officers of the GRU are divided into two classes - greyhounds and Varangians. Greyhounds are the oppressed disenfranchised majority in the highest caste of mining officers...houndhounds only provide. Varangians are treacherous, ferocious, bullying, cheerful and daring ... They work under the personal control of the resident, in most cases independently. Providers burn quickly. They are arrested, kicked out, and then languish in the information services all their lives. . .
Suvorov. V. Aquarium. 2001
'Slow horses', and in another interpretation of the translation - 'Limb horses' (which is closer to the specifics of the movie) is about ' shot down pilots'. It's about the losers in the intelligence business. Spies, operatives, agents who made a puncture, failure, just screwed up once - ' in the chambers', almost ' in retirement' They're junk. It's scrapped. Pile. And it doesn't matter if you're 25 or 40, whether you're a red girl or a good girl. Frozen to sleep, failed the case, failed the task once, and all - career 'Sean Connery' - that is Brave Guy under the pseudonym 'Two zeros, seven' - 007, alas, not for you. The train left, the train rushed past. Wave him a pen!
What do you want me to do with you now? Where should I send you? What can I trust that I can entrust to you? You're a total misunderstanding. Have you compromised yourself? Is the trust of high countries not justified? Where is your seat now? Nora is a dirty hole for the rest of the years. And oh, and sighs, and regrets will not depress many. Work? You'll have to clean it up. In the garbage will be ordered to pick – perform.
The current British series is about that. About that. MI6 is on everyone's radar. Her Majesty's Kingdom intelligence is insidious, overseas operations are twisting - be healthy. MI5 - ' Junior Sister' - counterintelligence activities on her. Swamp and dirt are a fiefdom. Identify, eliminate, clean, follow, listen, peek, pick, dig, dig... In one word ' earthworks'. Got any shovels? Have you forgotten the gloves?
'Slow horses / Lame horses' - this is just about the same ' earthworks' For six episodes, the director saturated humor in a grin without frank laughter. Irony? Bullying? Sugar-icing joke! Released in circulation, fell into disgrace, disfavored from MI6 on ' correction' in MI5, rot sent. The department is headed by Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman). The actor is 64. The character is no less. He's a king and God in his chair. Drinks bitter from morning to evening in the office, sometimes - lets gas. He eats in the evenings in a cheap noodle and broth diner. The house is a garbage dump. Socks wear - in holes... Do you need anything else for the portrait? I don't think so. But the mind is razor-like. However, the look is sharp to the piercing. He ate a dog in his business. No less. Exactly, the dog! The subordinates, the staff - in his own words - more and more nerds, more and more washing ... What's it like? Funny. Funny ...
And the writers are still fabulous writers! Screenwriters are sores! They laugh silently, their stomachs tearing!
...and the department gradually begins to reveal its secret secrets to the viewer. . .
How do you usually do that? From the general to the particular comes acquaintance. Who do you have here? What sins are you exiled for? Why was he deposed from Olympus to Hades? The team - pay for the first or tenth! And of course - about working under a big secret we are told ' what to what' all in turn, all in order. Almost ...
But it is, in particular. Distracted from the main canvas of the picture addition. Life doesn't stand still. She doesn't freeze in stupor. The mover-driver-driver is constant. It's a mess. And now the development of the object by the author is ready for the public. And now terrorist activity squeamishes with real action, expanding the palette of persons involved in the film.
Drive this movie 'bomb' the first series. Then there is the minor current in grounding, in diligence, in honesty of service. For how long? Careful until the end of the second episode. There's a new splash. What happens next is hard to say. It's intelligence. It's always 'everything'.
Nice to have Gary Oldman ' back with us' Eleven years ago in 'Spy, get out!' he initially lost his place in 'Circus'. He was fired from MI6. Then, having calculated 'mole' received a promotion, he became a leader. Judging by 'Slow Horses / Lame Horses' - fate once again prepared him a trick... It was not long before he was in favor.
Fighter? Thriller? Drama? Oh, yeah! But also comedy. Partly.
Ironic British humor is a substitute for American bloody punch.
8 out of 10