Extremely Dangerous

The opening sequence (ie. the escape from the train en route to a prison) and the initial premise (ie. a man accused of slaying his wife and child) is very similar to that of the Harrison Ford film entitled The Fugitive. Whether or not the rest of the show is in essence a remake of The Fugitive or not, I cannot say, as it's been years since I saw the latter film.

With a mix of gangsters and government agents, in addition to the police, this is a suspense drama with a good storyline (of which I shall say no more, as I don't wish to give anything away). It requires close attention, as there is some subtlety in the method of presentation, with the viewer occasionally having to make connections that are not explicitly spelled out for him or her. Even with close attention paid, it is still a series which benefits from repeated viewings. The series is split into four 50-minute episodes. Initially, I watched it over four evenings, but I strongly suggest viewers watch it over no more than two evenings (at most) in order to keep the characters and plot straight.

Apart from Sean Bean, the show also stars Juliet Aubrey (Catherine Cookson's The Moth, Bertie and Elizabeth) as Annie, the daughter of one gangster and girlfriend of another. Though this is a drama, there is some welcome comic relief (of a very dry and ironic nature) provided by the Pakistani owner of a mini-cab agency (played by Nitin Ganatra) with whom Byrne finds employment. Personally, my favourite scenes are those between Bean and Ganatra.

All in all, this was an enjoyable mini-series, and it is certainly worth checking out if you're a fan of suspense drama in general or of Sean Bean in particular.

A gripping and amazing performance by Sean Bean, who it seems, cannot deliver anything else, and is worth every second of viewing to realize the end. He is made for this kind of role. Simply made for it, and not bad on the eyes either.

Obviously, the script is the greatest weakness here. In terms of suspense or mystery, it is a total flop. None of the clues amount to much, you can see the supposed plot twists a mile away, and the villains are easy to spot.

The worst part was how scriptwriter Murray Smith got the protagonist out of scrapes -- much like an old-time serial, there is even a scene where he dives into the water and is surrounded, seemingly without escape. Then, fade out. Fade in to Sean Bean back at his apartment. How he managed to escape is never shown or explained!

What I assume was the lack of much of a budget seems evident by other odd choices. In one scene, a skyscraper is said to be burning to the ground, but instead of seeing any part of it, we're told about it (with the sound effect of sirens in the background). A low budget is not always a liability, if it spurs creativity, which was not the case here.

What might have made this bearable -- an interesting main performance -- is not forthcoming from Bean. He exhibits no range or subtlety. That leaves the interesting bits to supporting actors -- in particular, Nitin Ganatra as a Pakistani cab service operator. His scenes crackle, but little else in the movie does.