Catherine MacAdam

The book was an amazing read, and this series is a loose adaptation. While the TV series is interesting, very moody and noir, it does not impress me as the book did.

A mixed bag. Aims to be a satire, not a comedy, but it loses impact due to over-the-top caricatures and very broad brush strokes. Yes, bureaucracy appears to be slow. Yes, politics appear to be a game of popularity. Yes, the military appears to have one goal only. With such obvious statements the movie would need witty dialogues and subtle acting. But even the cameos by two extremely talented actors, Ben Kingsley and Tilda Swinton, are painful to watch as they are overacted. The pace is uneven as the story heads into traumatic scenes, which seem out of place, then lurches back to characters that are not sufficiently developed. It's disappointing, especially considering the untimely death of Michael Hastings, the journalist who broke the Rolling Sones story and published The Operators, on which this movie is based. I can't help wondering what the movie would have been like with George Clooney as the lead. Lots of potential and I did watch it to the end until the new General White appeared... Sorry, Brad, I really wanted to like the movie but it did not quite hit the mark. (I am grateful it introduced me to the heartbreaking statue 'Mother with her Dead Son' by Käthe Kollwitz).