I ended up finishing the Night Manager. I think it must have been edited because a few setup things happened in the last episode seemed to be missing. But this is Tom Hiddleston's audition for Bond. So many Bond things are in it, right down to his ordering of a vodka martini. I love the questioning and assassination scene in episode 6 too.
I found her character annoying (and so did my mrs).
Especially the hotel safe scene if I remember correctly
She was the only thing I disliked about the whole thing
I liked her character but felt her actions in the last episode were far fetched and way too life risking on her part. Also, I didn't get the passing of the safe number. It looked to be edited incorrectly in the casino.
Bumping this thread as the second [belated] series of THE NIGHT MANAGER premiered on BBC in the UK just now.
Tom Hiddlestone is back and seriously looks ten years older, so he doesn't fit for Bond any more. However, given the timeline of this imagined second series which is only based on John Le Carre's characters, his aging works well.
Without giving too much away, the story seems to revolve around a Colombian arms deal, and Jonathon Pine's old adversary Richard Roper probably has a historical or contemporary hand in it. It moved faster than the original, which erred towards Le Carre's slower than slow burn. This series felt more like a BBC version of RED EYE - which was premiering its second series on ITV at the same time. Murder and intrigue comes fast in this one, although the script writers have noted some of what made the original so intriguing - such as an attractive, unknown woman appearing on the scene, the nominal everyday circumstances that give way to the exceptional, and the idea of surveilance being the identity of a secret service. Performances okay. Narrative good. Jets around the continents a bit. It does feel constructed by numbers.
I will reserve final judement until I have seen the whole thing.
Watched the second episode, like the critics I want to love it. But, while it's sort of watchable, I also find it boring, convoluted and unconvincing.
I saw the first ever episode of the Man from UNCLE the other day and that also did the thing of trying to inveigle your way into the villain's society by pretending to be someone you're not - and that wasn't very convincing either but it was more convincing than this, and that was essentially a kids' TV show. You can't get away so easily with this stuff in the modern era of the internet and phone hacking to such an extent.
I liked the first Night Manager because it was everything Licence to Kill should have been but wasn't, it was upgraded. And while I do think the Bond movie would have benefitted from better, sumptuous interiors and locations that both these series do, I think it was better than the Night Manager sequel, which I'm just not buying.
Well, The Night Manager is purring alomg and not doing very much. The worst kept secret on telly - that Hugh Laurie's Richard Roper is back - it was a badly kept secret because his name is on the credits as an Executive Producer, so i couldn't see him not being in it - is now officially out and it hasn't added much other than to do the usual thing with these 6-parters and bump the story for longer than necessary. Now, as we all figured in Episode 1, MI6 seems to be involved in some shady double dealing. Meanwhile, Jonathon Pine keeps making mistakes and then keeps correcting them in swiftly edited, implausible scenes. I found it open-mouth-stunning that given the high stakes and the type of vicious gangsters involved Pine allowed the Colombian judge to visit the state prosecutor unaccompanied. Even worse that said judge doesn't bother answering his phone when Pine calls him. And how does Pine handily run into that tasty woman from Miami who hops about all over the place in low cut blouses? She never told him where she was headed. It's okay, I suppose, but like Red Eye, if you concentrate too hard it all becomes even more silly than it already is.
Hugh Laurie is a superb villain and made this episode tick - something like this is only as good as its villain. So I enjoyed this episode even if it's just marking time. Unfortunately you feel you're ahead of the thing even if you're not - I assumed the prosecutor on the balcony with the city views would get shot from long distance; he wasn't but then what unfolded wasn't very plausible and you don't just tell the receptionist on the phone everything because they won't put you through.
This old guy obligingly bugging the dogs, I mean they're all pulling together aren't they, despite risk to life.
It's okay on a Sunday night with a drink in your hand I suppose.
This finished on Sunday last and was distinctly underwhelming. I don't know what to say other than "Night Manager 3 anyone?" Everything has been nicely set up for a sequel. By the end, the plot twists left too much unresolved, too much unexplained [there are holes so huge you could fit Richard Roper into one of them] and too little to please. If the writers wanted to tell us that crime, in fact, really does pay, they've done so - and hang the majority of us who do a day to day job, live hand to mouth and are cannon fodder for rich imperialists. Ultimately, depressing. I am not surprised there has barely been a peep of praise for this convoluted and badly expurgated serial. It was interesting without holding my interest and exciting without ever being tense. I blame the writers and the almost twenty executive producers who probably muddled the waters too much. It needed a clearer remit. Like I say, roll on Part 3.
I guess they had spent all the budget by the time they filmed the jungle finale. It kind of looked like it was filmed in one of our AJBers back garden.
Comments
I liked her character but felt her actions in the last episode were far fetched and way too life risking on her part. Also, I didn't get the passing of the safe number. It looked to be edited incorrectly in the casino.
Bumping this thread as the second [belated] series of THE NIGHT MANAGER premiered on BBC in the UK just now.
Tom Hiddlestone is back and seriously looks ten years older, so he doesn't fit for Bond any more. However, given the timeline of this imagined second series which is only based on John Le Carre's characters, his aging works well.
Without giving too much away, the story seems to revolve around a Colombian arms deal, and Jonathon Pine's old adversary Richard Roper probably has a historical or contemporary hand in it. It moved faster than the original, which erred towards Le Carre's slower than slow burn. This series felt more like a BBC version of RED EYE - which was premiering its second series on ITV at the same time. Murder and intrigue comes fast in this one, although the script writers have noted some of what made the original so intriguing - such as an attractive, unknown woman appearing on the scene, the nominal everyday circumstances that give way to the exceptional, and the idea of surveilance being the identity of a secret service. Performances okay. Narrative good. Jets around the continents a bit. It does feel constructed by numbers.
I will reserve final judement until I have seen the whole thing.
Watched the second episode, like the critics I want to love it. But, while it's sort of watchable, I also find it boring, convoluted and unconvincing.
I saw the first ever episode of the Man from UNCLE the other day and that also did the thing of trying to inveigle your way into the villain's society by pretending to be someone you're not - and that wasn't very convincing either but it was more convincing than this, and that was essentially a kids' TV show. You can't get away so easily with this stuff in the modern era of the internet and phone hacking to such an extent.
I liked the first Night Manager because it was everything Licence to Kill should have been but wasn't, it was upgraded. And while I do think the Bond movie would have benefitted from better, sumptuous interiors and locations that both these series do, I think it was better than the Night Manager sequel, which I'm just not buying.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Well, The Night Manager is purring alomg and not doing very much. The worst kept secret on telly - that Hugh Laurie's Richard Roper is back - it was a badly kept secret because his name is on the credits as an Executive Producer, so i couldn't see him not being in it - is now officially out and it hasn't added much other than to do the usual thing with these 6-parters and bump the story for longer than necessary. Now, as we all figured in Episode 1, MI6 seems to be involved in some shady double dealing. Meanwhile, Jonathon Pine keeps making mistakes and then keeps correcting them in swiftly edited, implausible scenes. I found it open-mouth-stunning that given the high stakes and the type of vicious gangsters involved Pine allowed the Colombian judge to visit the state prosecutor unaccompanied. Even worse that said judge doesn't bother answering his phone when Pine calls him. And how does Pine handily run into that tasty woman from Miami who hops about all over the place in low cut blouses? She never told him where she was headed. It's okay, I suppose, but like Red Eye, if you concentrate too hard it all becomes even more silly than it already is.
Hugh Laurie is a superb villain and made this episode tick - something like this is only as good as its villain. So I enjoyed this episode even if it's just marking time. Unfortunately you feel you're ahead of the thing even if you're not - I assumed the prosecutor on the balcony with the city views would get shot from long distance; he wasn't but then what unfolded wasn't very plausible and you don't just tell the receptionist on the phone everything because they won't put you through.
This old guy obligingly bugging the dogs, I mean they're all pulling together aren't they, despite risk to life.
It's okay on a Sunday night with a drink in your hand I suppose.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
This finished on Sunday last and was distinctly underwhelming. I don't know what to say other than "Night Manager 3 anyone?" Everything has been nicely set up for a sequel. By the end, the plot twists left too much unresolved, too much unexplained [there are holes so huge you could fit Richard Roper into one of them] and too little to please. If the writers wanted to tell us that crime, in fact, really does pay, they've done so - and hang the majority of us who do a day to day job, live hand to mouth and are cannon fodder for rich imperialists. Ultimately, depressing. I am not surprised there has barely been a peep of praise for this convoluted and badly expurgated serial. It was interesting without holding my interest and exciting without ever being tense. I blame the writers and the almost twenty executive producers who probably muddled the waters too much. It needed a clearer remit. Like I say, roll on Part 3.
I found it boring and convoluted. I struggled through the first three episodes and then binned it.
I managed to catch up with this…I thought it was ok - damned by faint praise? 🤨
Hugh Laurie was fun in it and Olivia Coleman is always very watchable.
I watched it all and I thought it was balls. Sort of a guilty pleasure but the guilt was there because it really wasn't very good.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I guess they had spent all the budget by the time they filmed the jungle finale. It kind of looked like it was filmed in one of our AJBers back garden.