The Ipcress File (2022)

Watchseries; With such a fabulous storyline as source material I was expecting this to be really great entertainment. I have a passion for espionage movies set in the 50s and 60's but sadly this was just okay and nothing special.

It could have worked but a few poor judgements by the production team were critical. Psychological espionage movies need to be knee deep in believable suspense and intrigue but this was lacking mood and felt flat as a pancake.

Quite simply Joe Cole and Ashley Thomas were poor casting decisions and were not up to the job. They seemed to excel at both awkward wooden acting as well as being over acted caricatures too. The rest of the cast were fine but Lucy Boynton was the only real stand out believable performance.

Overall the cinematography was good at portraying the era but the music and editing designed to add mood and highlight suspense didn't work well at all.

Clearly you can ignore the rather silly 10/10 reviews, this was watchable but lacks mood, depth and pace that only puts it slightly above the quality of ITV's Coronation Street.

With such a fabulous storyline as source material I was expecting this to be really great entertainment. I have a passion for espionage movies set in the 50s and 60's but sadly this was just okay and nothing special.

It could have worked but a few poor judgements by the production team were critical. Psychological espionage movies need to be knee deep in believable suspense and intrigue but this was lacking mood and felt flat as a pancake.

Quite simply Joe Cole and Ashley Thomas were poor casting decisions and were not up to the job. They seemed to excel at both awkward wooden acting as well as being over acted caricatures too. The rest of the cast were fine but Lucy Boynton was the only real stand out believable performance.

Overall the cinematography was good at portraying the era but the music and editing designed to add mood and highlight suspense didn't work well at all.

Clearly you can ignore the rather silly 10/10 reviews, this was watchable but lacks mood, depth and pace that only puts it slightly above the quality of ITV's Coronation Street.

The Ipcress File watchseries. I think the reviews here are overly negative.

Sure, we all like to stand up for old movies with actors like Michael Cain and proudly announce how superior that is to anything that's new. This is also the people that think vinyl is superior due to the warmer sound....

I thought this show was pretty entertaining. Sure, it has its flaws - it struggles to find its place in comedy, drama and thriller - but does it have to be one thing?

And sure the angled camera shots gets REALLY old already half-way through episode one - but, I just felt that it added to the whole 'cartoonish' take on the story. It doesn't take itself too seriously. It has some fun with the source material.

I for one rather enjoyed the ride.

Total disappointment. Better watch the original film with Michael Caine. Boring, with a highly unlikable actor as the main character, Harry Palmer. Not even his glasses can save him for a silly remake.

New six part TV adaptation of Len Deighton's classic spy thriller with the protagonist spy Harry Palmer played so memorably by Michael Caine in the 1965 film.

I liked it, excellent period detailing, a snappy soundtrack, a strong ensemble cast and a very sharp script. The production values were high and it was nicely directed, though the wonky angles got a bit tedious after a while.

Joe Cole vs. Michael Caine - well who was ever going to top Caine? But he put up a good fight and played it his own understated way - Lucy Boynton was excellent. All round a winner, I'm in for the duration.

While some may be overly critical of this show by comparing it to the classic 1965 movie, I think this show can stand on its own. I loved the "vintage" cinematic look they achieved. They could have done something atrocious as many remakes do, of "re-imagining" to the modern era (and they certainly could have--the cold war is back). As this show sets out to be a very different animal than the earlier classic, there's no need to compare.

The story moves quickly and smoothly, though it meanders a bit in the middle episodes to establish a second arc. But very little is wasted; no unnecessary side arcs, no eyerolling overtures to politically correctness or woke agenda. It stays laser-focused on telling the story.

The acting is very good if not excellent. Cole doesn't fit the stereotype British agent, but he makes it work, though he deadpans most scenes. Boynton is well cast as a beautiful but cold and bitter agent who warms up to Palmer in a believable way, and really carries the show. Hollander gives an excellent performance, as well, as a pragmatic veteran spook who finds himself trapped by his past.

I'm not sure if they will fabricate a second series, but this first one can stand alone very nicely.

Terrible direction, dull instead of dry, slow instead of studied, wooden instead of solid, very little acting at all, crappy music.

Joe Cole looks and acts (hah!) like a junior school version of Michael Caine. There is zero chemisty with Lucy Boynton. Tom Hollander is credible, but struggles with the terrible script which has very, very little to do with the masterpiece that Deighton wrote.

The director, James Watson, has little experience with anything like this, and clearly could not take the time to study other spy genre greats.

What a shame.