Critic Reviews
| 80 |
The New York Times Alessandra Stanley
The pacing is occasionally so slow and deliberate that it may test some viewers’ patience, but the series takes its time because the real mystery is Wallander and his uneasy inner life. |
| 80 |
Baltimore Sun David Zurawik
It is a joy to see a first-rate, high-quality production featuring a genuine star. And this star is bringing his best game to an intelligent script that deals with challenging, knotty, complicated issues and characters that mirror the real world in which we live. |
| 80 |
Kansas City Star Steve Paul
It’s an atmospheric, pinned-to-your-seat winner. |
| 75 |
USA Today Robert Bianco
The cases he tackles are intriguing, if wildly complicated and too often sustained by that peculiar TV mystery mix of intuitive leaps and bad basic police work....Yet as with all such shows, it's the main character who provides the main reason for watching, as the long-suffering Wallander struggles to solve the crimes and put his life back in order. |
| 75 |
Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan
The strength of the script and Branagh's finely drawn performance--not to mention the excellent scenes between Branagh and David Warner, who plays Wallander's dad--make up for missteps [by the director]. |
| 70 |
Los Angeles Times Robert Lloyd
I recommend the series, though Sunday's opening film, "Sidetracked," does present a bit of a stumbling block. |
| 70 |
Newark Star-Ledger Alan Sepinwall
As wonderfully played by Kenneth Branagh, Wallander is a fine addition to the tradition of PBS' "Mystery!" |
| 70 |
Variety Brian Lowry
It's a familiar formula, to be sure, but handled with enough panache and conviction to invest the BAFTA-honored pic series with an element of freshness. |
| 70 |
Wall Street Journal Nancy DeWolf Smith
Kenneth Branagh is perfect as one of its broken-down men. His face telegraphs defeat even as he relentlessly answers the call to duty, on a cell phone that never stops ringing with news of another crime. |
| 70 |
Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert
The pieces don't tend to add up to much; the suspects and victims often slip out of custody too easily; and each episode's crimes dovetail with some predictability. These aren't brain teasers. Still, the series has great hypnotic allure, as the murders and deaths drive Wallander further into himself. |
| 50 |
San Francisco Chronicle David Wiegand
Branagh is pretty good at being mopey and jowly, and the rest of the cast is fine as well. It's just that none of this really adds up to anything very compelling. |
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