MovieChat Forums > Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt (2012) Discussion > not to be rude about the series but..

not to be rude about the series but..

posted 11 years ago by mcgill_j
3 replies | jump to latest

I have read a few Spenser novels and a friend recently got me into the movies, but I will say this is not a good series of films to watch back to back. I think it would be better to watch them with some time beteeen. Much as my experience of reading some serialized novels a lot of the banter is repeated repeatedly throughout the films. A problem I had in trying to catch up on 2 series of books. The Jack Higgins Sean Dillon novels that are very formula and the Stephanie Plum series from Evanivich. The first chapter is almost always like a recap.

Anyone else coming in new to the series have this issue? Don't get me wrong. Love the supporting cast, characters and stories but are very formula so watching them back to back can blur the stories.. Good or bad as it may be.

Although the converse argument could be the films themselves have a very strong book-like quality in that regard.

Just curious on any one elses's thoughts. Honestly I do love the idea of a serial film every year or twice a year. It would have been the ideal model for other series of books I'd love to see filmed. The previously mentioned Plumb, Dillon and Gregory McDonald Fletch series.

I will say for a TV production the Jesse Stone series has set a high bar in terms of consistency throughout. Something most major film series fail out spectacularly.

[–] JrnlofEddieDeezenStudies 11 years ago

I just watched them all back-to-back over the last couple weeks. Yes, they're very formulaic in some ways, and there is a lot of repeated dialogue, not to mention many general dialogue-related quirks that are almost OCDish . . . but I dug all of that and felt it was an asset rather than a detriment to watching them back-to-back.

My only disappointment is that watching them back-to-back made it feel so much more like I was watching a TV series, which made it a bigger bummer to get to the end of this one, Benefit of the Doubt, #8, and realize that that's it. There are no more. (And that was especially bittersweet given the ending, with not only Jesse Stone once again being police chief, but with Suitcase finally returning, too.)

[–] Prismark10 9 years ago

I watched this and by and large I found the film to be slow and ponderous. Surprised it lasted so long.

Its that man again!!

[–] I_Guard_Tanelorn 9 years ago

Just watched them all in one day for the first time. Very repetitive. When years apart, familiar nods are welcome. But its damn tedious in one go.