Jack Holland

Started well but the writing and the plot rapidly gave way to implausible nonsense, with a layer of in-your-face gratuitous gayness seeping into the story line at every turn like soggy tiramisu (why???). Keira Knightly’s character oscillates between super-wife and Super Woman with the power to fool the entire US Embassy including burly security guards. Uber gay Sam cries his way through multiple killings as a trigger man while simultaneously texting his ex-lover. He is ably assisted by his two psychopathic sisters-in-arms (one Welsh, one Irish) who exchange playful quips while defying death and killing everyone in their line of vision. Guy Ritchie would get away with this with his over-the-top but always entertaining plots. Black Doves on the other hand can’t decide if it’s a political thriller or a tongue in cheek comedy (did I mention the tiramisu?). Abysmal!

Pros: Good sets of wartime London Cons: Almost everything, starting with the woeful script; child-child dialog abysmally unrealistic; the Dickensian Fagin and Nancy subplot (one of many in this tortuous mess); the poor unconvincing acting - even by the talented Saoirse Ronan; the direction - arty but contrived, and laced from beginning to end with McQueen’s main, mind-numbing theme, his take on racism in wartime Britain. Enough said! Overall: A disappointing overhyped disaster of a movie. Shoot me now!!

I had read the book and was in awe of Towles’ imagination in creating such a wonderful and compelling story (In fact I have read all his books - all written in different styles and on totally different subjects - but all engaging from beginning to end). The TV adaptation did not disappoint. Previous reviewers have provided overviews of the interwoven themes and I shall not repeat them here. I am in agreement that the acting, the settings and the direction were absolutely first class. Ewan McGregor as the imprisoned Count was excellent. In particular, his relationships with the two little girls (Nina and Nina’s daughter) were beautifully nuanced. The loss of a ratings star was due to the casting which, in my opinion, greatly detracted from the historical core of the entire story - the immediate horrors of surviving in post revolutionary Russia. Mishka’s role in the story was important, serving as a link to the Count’s past and as a window into his character. The choice of a black actor with dreadlocks and an East London accent for this part is hard to understand, regardless of the strength of the performance (which was mediocre at best). I understand that the book is a work of fiction and not a reenactment of an actual historical event, but nonetheless, as an observer skillfully pulled into the life and death struggles of 1917 Moscow, each scene between Mishka and the Count rapidly broke the illusion and brought me back to cynical 2024. Perhaps I need to get past this and simply enjoy the overall experience of a story well told? I can’t.

Full disclosure: I am an older non-Korean male who simply likes to be entertained by the best in foreign movies and TV whatever their source or language. I tuned into Eve because I had watched “It’s OK Not To Be OK” and had enjoyed the performances of the lead actors very much, and in particular Seo Ye Ji. In general, I agree with other reviewers that this series started well but ended badly, with an implausible mid-series tangent from its revenge core. This might have worked with different casting (or directing) because I found the character played by Park Byung Eun was completely wooden, cold and lacking in any emotion. How on earth could Eve (SYJ) possibly be diverted from her 13 revenge plan by this man? I wanted him to die by episode six! Despite this mismatch, SYJ’s performance was superb right up until the tedious bitter end. Although there was the usual Korean over-the-top shouting here and there, the other characters were very well acted, especially that of Han So Ra (Yoo Sun) who had to throw at least one temper tantrum in every episode, which must be hard to do. It occurred to me that if Lee Sang Yeob (Eve’s good friend) had played the Park Byung Eun role, I might have enjoyed the ending a bit more (and without an Episode 6 death wish). The cinematography was excellent as always in K series and the directing was generally very good but with some flaws. There were many, many, costume changes, several stretching the imagination. Overall Conclusions: Strong performances by Seo Ye Ji and Lee Sang Yeob carried this series and kept me hanging in from its strong magnetic beginning to its tiresome and disappointing ending.

Appallingly bad. The worst acting performances I have ever seen, although the script that they were given was partly to blame. Terrible. Childish. Also, every other episode featured heavy drinking and drunkenness. Is this socially acceptable in Korea? Are we supposed to be amused? And why is there so much over-acting and shouting? I stuck it out to episode 10, thinking it couldn’t possibly get worse. I was wrong. I couldn’t take it anymore. The absolute worst! Can’t believe all the positive ratings. What were you thinking?

I had read the book when it was first published, pre Pulitzer, and thought that it was wonderful. At the time I was amazed that an American could write so compellingly about fictitious French characters in obscure St Malo in war-time France. In watching the Netflix series I put aside my admiration for the book and watched it with fresh eyes. Verdict: I was ready for some deviations from the original story and accepted most of them, except perhaps for the ending. The St Malo setting felt real. The effects (war, bombing, misery) were very well done. From there, to me, everything went downhill. The script was appallingly bad and didn't do the author justice. The casting was poor and in general the acting performances were flat and detached. Hugh Laurie was terrible as Uncle Etienne. Dull, flat, boring. His actress "sister" was equally bad. Every German character was over-the -top demonic, with the exception of Werner the boy-genius radio operator who was quietly excellent. The main character, blind Marie (actually blind, American, and an accomplished academic) did a reasonable job (her first role) with the abysmal script handed to her. Her Essex-like English accent was a bit cringe-worthy. In fact, of the entire cast of "French" characters only Mark Ruffalo, as Marie's father, attempted a pseudo-French accent, with contributed greatly to the unevenness and credibility of the show. Odd decision by the director. Finally - the ending: very different from the book and while warm and tear-inducing, felt highly unlikely. Overall: Greatly disappointed. Could have been so much better. Sigh! Jack Holland Toronto

Good concept and well edited to patch the disjointed pieces of the plot together, but this series was marred by truly terrible acting performances by most of the cast. The lead role was well done, but for the most part, all of the "bad guys" roles were appallingly bad. Shouting or screaming episodes substitute for emotion, turned on and off at will, with robotic repetition. Five stars? Absolutely not!

This show has absolutely no redeeming features. The story line, despite a promising beginning, spirals into a disjointed and totally unbelievable mess. This reflects in the performance of the actors who look like they can't wait until this fiasco is over. The big money, Uma Thurman and Noah Emmerich, are simply reading their scripts but without much conviction. What a waste of high priced talent. The British cast members, with perhaps two exceptions, do the best they can with the appalling dialog given to them but with accents that wander backwards and forwards from the Estuary to middle of the road English to Oxford. The final "let's tie up the loose ends as quickly as possible" scene is predictably awful with many, many unanswered questions . There can't possibly be a second season in the wings!!!!!

Poor writing; wooden acting; cheesy narration. Kelly MacDonald was particularly bad.