This series is mediocre! - The Night Manager (2016) Discussion

[–] Oneohtrixxx 8 years ago

So because it's slow and hard to follow, it's mediocre? Someone should have told that to Bela Tarr and Andrei Tarkovsky before they were allowed to finish their first film.

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[–] MoviemanCin 8 years ago

I guess I didn't make myself clear. It's all three: slow, hard to follow and mediocre.
I'm only watching it because of Hugh Laurie and morbid curiosity.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.

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[–] binkysguy 8 years ago

I really WANT to like this show but man, is it boring.

Dammit...and I paid for the season on Amazon, too. *sigh*

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[–] BoSoxRules 8 years ago

My God, man, it's not boring at all.

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[–] binkysguy 8 years ago

lol...yes, those scenes of people lounging around on rattan furniture in a villa are just gripping.

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[–] BoSoxRules 8 years ago

Right, because that's all the show is.

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] lynxx55 7 years ago

Let's compare it with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. IThat's a similar Le Carre story, spies and doublecrosses and everything. Did you watch that?

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[–] guywood 8 years ago

"It moves very s l o w l y , and is difficult to follow."

***

Most of le Carre's plots a somewhat involved and require close attention. Has it ever occurred to you that you are the one who is a little slow?

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[–] Sibyla01 7 years ago

Hey, Le Carre adaptations are usually even slower, but not boring at all! One´s getting to know the characters in depth. But here, sorry - no depth, no psychology, no suspense, just a pretty effeminate boy with a constant "I´m a little orphan boy" look, extremely trusting villain and a hysterical anorectic moving in circles around each other.

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[–] XO (24) 6 years ago

fantastic, this describes the show very well :)

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[–] brux (14666) 6 years ago

It's true, Le Carre's stuff is generally slow, and I don't care much for it ... but I liked this a lot. Now sure if it was due to Hugh Laurie who picks interesting work.

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[–] big_kmc 8 years ago

Something can be slow and hard to follow and not be mediocre but very well made.

I really hate how most tv shows move so fast, they blow their wad in the first two seasons and all that's left is ridiculous or repetitive plot material.

This was only six episodes so it wasn't that slow. There are tons of tv shows that move super quick and only a few shows that go for deeper character and plot development. It's a shame.

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[–] filmklassik 8 years ago

Nah. Most serialized TV -- at least "off network" serialized TV -- is characterized by the slow burn.

Indeed, the slowness is so common now there's even a term for it -- coined, I think, a couple of years ago: "Slow TV." (I'm not making it up; Google it)

And it drives me crazy. Because even the best examples of the form feel like wonderful 2 1/2 hour movies stretched out to 6 hours (or more!)

And THE NIGHT MANAGER is no exception. It plays like a very good 2 1/2 hour movie with 3 1/2 hours of justly deleted scenes put back in.

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[–] big_kmc 8 years ago

I dont' know what country you are from but nah, in the US most serialized tv shows blow their wad in the first two seasons and have no place to go but toward ridiculous plot-lines. The only exceptions to this are the shows that come from England and one notable exception from america is Breaking Bad.

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[–] filmklassik 8 years ago

I'm from the USA too and I agree, the only serialized show I really dug was BREAKING BAD (which actually got better as it went along; Season 5 is a masterpiece).

I think BB was great for many reasons, one of which is that it was unapologetically PLOT DRIVEN. The story kept taking clever twists and turns, but always logically... there weren't a lot of dead spots (the episode "Fly" being one unfortunate exception)... and many of the twists were set up several episodes ahead of time.

So which exciting (and hopefully suspenseful) British minis can you recommend?

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[–] Stirchley 8 years ago

I presume you have never seen The Sopranos, The Wire, The Shield, True Detective - just to name 4 excellent American shows. IMO, no show has ever come close to The Sopranos. BTW, I love Breaking Bad too.

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[–] brux (14666) 6 years ago

The Sopranos never went anywhere, it was terrible.
The Wire was great, but it was also a kind of patchwork.
True Detective was fairly exploitative, all style and no substance.
Breaking Bad I wanted to dislike, but it was a well told story.

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[–] gard_86 8 years ago

Agreed, if I had known I would not have watched it. A lot of other much better series out there I'd rather watch.

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[–] magatsu 7 years ago

The show actually moves quite fast. But the writing is crap. Merely full of cheap thrills. How did this win?

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[–] rubirub 7 years ago

Totally agree. The show moves very fast to make it believable: the shift from night manager to undercover agent, the friendship between Pine and Roper, his son, his mistress...

The writing and the character development is crap, that's all.

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[–] Ehrgeiz 7 years ago

Well, I did not think it was bad. Good quality in actors and cinematography. Have just 2 problems with it:

- minor one: scene set up was bit repetitive; all the long introductory shots of Mallorca villas and beaches and arabic hotels, like it was a long James Bond exposition without the campy action parts later.

- it was pretty straight forward; while in the end I digged that the good guys just won against all the bad guys without much losses in an old-fashioned way , you can see all the supposed plot twists coming from miles away.

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[–] brux (14666) 6 years ago

It moves slowly and is difficult to follow? Maybe it's you? I was able to follow it without a problem, but I would agree to the extent that the time jumps around and if you do not follow it or notice it it could be confusing.

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