At times it was fun and watchable but ultimately there were a few things that annoyed me beyond any positives.
Why do British productions still insist on copying guy ritchieโs tired formula all these decades later. It had worn thin by the time Snatch came out yet here we are still, with the retro cars and poor wannabe Tarantino dialogue feel that is so out of place. Why do they all drive 80s cars around an empty London before parking on double yellows? Is this made for a US audience who doesnโt know better or is it just lazy? If they could attract the big names why didnโt they get more extras for some of the scenes?
The all female rival assassin team led by Harry Potterโs neighbour and Sarah Lancashire as the handler character all feel unrealistic and add to the eye rolling daftness and overall cringing. Then thereโs the cheesy lowest commonly denominator script.
Though the whole series is more annoying because thereโs actual glimpses of potential- Keira Knightly and Ben Whishawโs characters have good chemistry as does Andrew Buchan as husband. Theyโre all obviously good at acting. The storyline could have been decent too.
Thereโs nothing original at all though, and thereโs no shortage of competition in decent spy type thriller series with moments of comedy. But if Slow Horses is a brilliant 8.5/10 and The Agency is a decent 7.5/10- this struggles to hit 5/10 for me. Other than the two main characters and her husband thereโs no reason to watch this. Absolutely none. But thanks to them itโs just about worth passing the time, sometimes.
TLDR: Had potential but ended up as cliched, reductive, unrealistic and poorly cast/produced/directed.