SummaryBased on John le Carre's novel, ex-British soldier Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) is recruited by MI-6's Angela Burr (Olivia Colman) to infiltrate the inner circle of an arms trader named Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie).
SummaryBased on John le Carre's novel, ex-British soldier Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) is recruited by MI-6's Angela Burr (Olivia Colman) to infiltrate the inner circle of an arms trader named Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie).
Each weekly episode of The Night Manager will feel too short. But the pleasure is so great that we should probably thank AMC for letting it stretch out over six weeks.
The real le Carré unreels here, with savvy updates (re-gendering the book’s male spy boss) strengthening his nail-biting storytelling and ever keen focus on the toxic bureaucracy behind even the most opulent intrigue.
My show of the year so far. Incredibly well-scripted, Hiddelston is a major star after this, and "House", the bad dude, is extremely spooky. Loved that they jammed it all into six episodes - not room for filler. Would love to see more of this type of thing.
A brilliant mini series by the BBC with a superb pair of leading cast members, The Night Manager is exactly what many of us want in these types of shows: intrigue, suspense, class, strategy and some unknowns. The show not only tells a great story, it does so without ever feeling the least-bit boring or mundane. While I was yearning for more episodes (and more episodes could have been made to offer up more details from the book), I was totally happy with what I was given. The 6 episode story arc is absolutely fitting for the events that unfold. Hugh Laurie is a likable bad-guy and Tom Hiddleston makes for one of the best protagonists I've seen on screen in quite some time. The only thing you need to know about this series is that there's a lot going on in the early episodes that help setup the story. Pretty much everything shown on-screen is crucial to being able to identify what's going on throughout each episode, so wandering off to grab a snack or checking your Facebook could immediately land you in a state of "what's going on?". If you're going to watch an episode, don't let yourself be divided.
The Night Manager overcomes cliches, objections and a few wobbly American accents, in large part thanks to the combined appeal and talents of Hiddleston, Colman, Laurie and Hollander. Together, they prove that action TV can be made at a high level of quality, and quality TV can be entertaining.
Unapologetically sleeker and more sentimental than any George Smiley tale, and streamlined to the point of simplicity when compared with the recent "London Spy," it is tense but linear, clearly framed to take full advantage of its stars' strengths and, it must be said, their cross-demographic fan base.
[The Night Manager] makes the most of some gorgeous spots. Viewers, however, may find themselves anticipating the plot. Hiddleston is the draw and the catch. With a less capable lead, this story would only be mildly interesting. ... He proves here he’s ready to serve her majesty’s secret service and then some.
I found this interesting and totally engaging all the way through. What's not to like about our handsome leading man. Love to watch things I can't predict. I highly recommend it.
"The Night Manager" isn't awful, in many ways it's quite good but I've got some "notes". First, though I enjoyed Hugh Laurie's return to television, his English accent is offputtingly pretentious. His American accent was natural and great, the English accent is just wrong. Tom Hiddleston as an everyman James Bond is just too much. He's got a wimpy looking face and manner that's made more for a sad romance than a spy thriller. The love interest - Elizabeth Debicki - is attractive but not stunningly so which I think is necessary since she's the pet of the villain and the fantasy of our hero for which he jeopardizes so much. And that brings me to my last note. The mini-series was thankfully short at six one-hour eps, but there was a predictability to it, like it was a film school project that was busy checking all the requisite drama boxes: loss of loved one, revenge, recruitment, sacrifice, boinking, murder, betrayal, etc. There was only maybe one plot twist but everything proceeded as you'd imagine it would and by the end it was clear you knew this was how it would end. That's fine for writing in the 1960s but not for 2017.
Could've been great, but wasn't adapted to TV well (and I've never even read the book). The plotting & early character story seemed terribly truncated and don't fit well together --especially Jonathan Pine's first "romance" which I didn't buy at all but is the basis for everything to come. Then his sudden skill set change from Night Manager to trained double agent? The actors do well with what they're given but that's not saying much. It's still beautifully shot & entertaining, just misses the mark on the whole.