This is an epic telling of (as they advertise) The World's First Superspy. Sidney Reilly is an actual historical figure, who really was very instrumental in the development of intelligence methods at the turn of the century. Doubtless these adventures have been exaggerated for dramatization, but the events do actually follow Reilly's real life activities. He was the character whom Ian Fleming used as inspiration for Bond - ruthless, womanizing, and still very effective. (On the last disc of the set, there is an 'extra episode' worth of documentary on the real Sidney Reilly)
Yes, it's a 12 episode miniseries, but it's totally worth the watching. If you are picking specific episodes, looking for a quick fix, The Visiting Fireman (episode 3) is my favorite. 'Guest stars' include Joanne Whalley (very small role, took me a few viewings to catch that one!) and Bill Nighy. Dreadnoughts and Crosses and Dreadnoughts and Doublecrosses are two episodes that kinda form a 2-part adventure, not stand-alone like some of the other episodes. I liked those two because everything he's doing is so planned, and watching it all fit together is very much like a long con or heist film. As the series progresses, Reilly is working less for the British government and more independently for anti-Soviet efforts in Russia. The series becomes a bit darker, since as history classes taught us, the Soviets did take power, so we know already that Reilly won't win.
Sam Neill is perfect as Reilly, as if it was written for him. Sardonic, ice water in his veins, manipulative, a perfect spy, and Neill is perfect for those roles of manipulative-but-charming. I think that goes back to the first role I saw him in, Brian de Bois-Guilbert in the 1982 version of Ivanhoe (the one with Anthony Andrews and Olivia Hussey). Anyhoo, it works for him :)
Other cast members are great. You get to see a lot of very strong British stars in smaller roles, since this was 20-some years ago. Joanne Whalley and Bill Nighy I've already mentioned. John Rhys-Davies is in the first episode, and David Suchet has a role in one episode too (very oddly cast as a Chinese officer, but that's just my opinion). One of Reilly's great Russian friends is played by Clive Merrison, who owned the roles of Sherlock Holmes on BBC Radio (he and Michael Williams are the only Holmes-Watson duo to have performed the entire Holmes canon!) Leo McKern is there, and David Burke appears in the last few episodes, well cast as Stalin.
Yes, it's a 12 episode miniseries, but it's totally worth the watching. If you are picking specific episodes, looking for a quick fix, The Visiting Fireman (episode 3) is my favorite. 'Guest stars' include Joanne Whalley (very small role, took me a few viewings to catch that one!) and Bill Nighy. Dreadnoughts and Crosses and Dreadnoughts and Doublecrosses are two episodes that kinda form a 2-part adventure, not stand-alone like some of the other episodes. I liked those two because everything he's doing is so planned, and watching it all fit together is very much like a long con or heist film. As the series progresses, Reilly is working less for the British government and more independently for anti-Soviet efforts in Russia. The series becomes a bit darker, since as history classes taught us, the Soviets did take power, so we know already that Reilly won't win.
Sam Neill is perfect as Reilly, as if it was written for him. Sardonic, ice water in his veins, manipulative, a perfect spy, and Neill is perfect for those roles of manipulative-but-charming. I think that goes back to the first role I saw him in, Brian de Bois-Guilbert in the 1982 version of Ivanhoe (the one with Anthony Andrews and Olivia Hussey). Anyhoo, it works for him :)
Other cast members are great. You get to see a lot of very strong British stars in smaller roles, since this was 20-some years ago. Joanne Whalley and Bill Nighy I've already mentioned. John Rhys-Davies is in the first episode, and David Suchet has a role in one episode too (very oddly cast as a Chinese officer, but that's just my opinion). One of Reilly's great Russian friends is played by Clive Merrison, who owned the roles of Sherlock Holmes on BBC Radio (he and Michael Williams are the only Holmes-Watson duo to have performed the entire Holmes canon!) Leo McKern is there, and David Burke appears in the last few episodes, well cast as Stalin.
The writing is very well done. Sidney is written to be a very well rounded character. He's charismatic, but at the same time so cold and ruthless that you feel allowed to dislike or hate him. Despite having a less-than-lovable lead, the story still thrives. There are movies I watch where you hate the characters, but still love the movie because you love the stories around them and the acting and all. There are also movies where you hate characters and it is to such an extent that you can't even finish the movie it's to such an extent. This is definitely one of the former.
Overall: 5 of 5. Time well spent.
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