Why so much hype?

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Blistering performances.

Leftie socialist claptrap. All right, not in keeping with majority opinion, but that's always been my forte.The story is set in 1912. Life was hard for unqualified working people, and a lot better for employers, especially owners of large and successful businesses. That's how it was, and always has been. If you don't like it, tough - leave, and someone will take your place.The characters... tired cliches to a man and woman. So rich b*tches tended, and still tend, to look down on poor working girls. Not exactly a shattering revelation, is it? So rich young men tended, and still tend, to take advantage of pretty, vulnerable young women. YAWN.And as for that ridiculous 'no man is an island' drivel at the end... do me a favour. The vast majority are concerned only with themselves, their families, and their own kind. In that order. Avoid this nonsense at all costs.I could hardly believe that the original play was first performed in 1945 in MOSCOW! The fact this was allowed to happen just shows how many 'useful idiots' still infested the British Establishment back then. Plus the lingering euphoria of our very own Glorious Socialist Revolution the electorate had just ushered in, after apparently taking leave of its senses.

I had no idea about this film nor what to expect other than I love British movies and the lead actor, David Thewlis. The plot is spellbinding & holds you to every moment. Each actor is brilliant in character. Such a pleasure to see a totally different type of movie instead of these huge epics. Bravo!

Definitely a highlight of 2015 television, and has made me interested in checking out the earlier versions highly recommended by several viewers.There's not much to add to what's already been said. A very well-made, brilliantly acted and gripping drama. Two of 'An Inspector Calls' strongest elements are the production values and the acting. It's filmed with class and atmosphere and the production and costume design are evocative and beautiful to look at.Faring best of the cast are David Thewlis, Ken Stott and Miranda Richardson. Thewlis gives an understated but quite brilliant performance that tells so much in the facial expressions while doing little but still making it interesting, it enhances the character's ambiguity very well. Stott is commanding and suitably gruff, while Richardson portrays her character's coldness flawlessly. The rest of the cast also impress, if not quite up the level of Thewlis, Stott and Richardson.Writing is similarly very strong and thought-provoking, a lot is covered and talked about but done in a way that never comes over as confusing. The emphasis on the psychological elements give a lot of complexity, help make the characters interesting and show their flaws without making us hate them.'An Inspector Calls' storytelling is gripping from start to finish. While taking its time to tell the story it does not drag and the ending, while a bit confusing on first watch, is very clever and unexpected.Overall, splendid stuff and a 2015 television highlight. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Based on Priestley's work, an Inspector Calls (AIC) has been brought to video quite a few times, and most recently, this year on BBC1. I have to say, I was slightly disappointed. Many people think Priestley made a social critique, and he did, but in this version of AIC, I saw less critique and more drama. I'm not going to deny, it was a cinematic masterpiece, with many amazing shots and beautiful music (I'll get back to that later). But it completely missed the point Priestley was trying to make. In this play, a rich, British family (representing capitalist mentality) sit down and try to enjoy a nice dinner, celebrating an engagement, when the Inspector arrives (representing the socialist way of thinking) and tells them a girl (Eva Smith) committed suicide because of them. Now, he doesn't pinpoint one person in particular and say like "You! You killed her, it was all your fault! Have fun in jail!". No, instead he guilted them individually one by one and made them, well only Eric and Sheila to be honest, feel bad about what they did. Mr and Mrs B are seen to be the capitalists (and Gerald too). They "ruined" Eva purely out of spite and power. The entire play is a power struggle. The other family members had a somewhat legitimate reason for doing what they did. Anyway, back to the point. By the end of the play, Eric and Sheila (The Birling's children) see themselves as horrible people for doing what they did and they're filled with guilt and remorse. They see their parents (and Gerald) as horrible capitalist people who care more about their image than someone else's life. The Inspector then proceeds to lecture them about how "there are millions of Eva and John Smith's in the world, and if they don't learn, they'll be taught in fire, and blood, and anguish." He then leaves and decides to TIME TRAVEL because you know, he's The Inspector, he can do whatever he wants. This part in particular actually annoyed me. Priestley may have suggested that The Inspector might not be entirely human, but the director didn't do a very good job with this. I mean, to have him time travel is one thing, we see it all the time in other good shows, like Doctor Who, but to have him actually disappear at the end, that's another thing entirely. Was he a ghost? Who knows. Is he not human? Probably. But all that put aside, it was actually quite entertaining even though it lacked similarity to the original play. I'm sure the script was pretty much identical, but still. It lacked a moral. Also the hinted romance between Eva and The Inspector was completely unnecessary, I can't have been the only one who picked it up. The camera angles were glorious, portraying power, control, lack of control sometimes, snobbiness and just about every adjective you can imagine. The music was spooky, but not eerie enough to distract you from the script. Also, there is one particular shot that is perfect in every sense. Eric is sat down, back to the audience (or camera), the two women are sat down by his right, and his father and brother-in-law are stood to his left. The Inspector is standing at the other end of the table, if I'm not mistaken. This shows a perfect social critique and understanding of the play. The woman are aside, trying to not get involved, whereas the men, especially Mr B are distressed and ready to take action. Perfectly done, I think. It portrays the characters perfectly. Mr B is trying to seize the floor, fists clenched on the table, leaning forward with his head down. Gerald is looking away, visibly uncomfortable and trying to get uninvolved. Mrs B is sat there, head high, proud as a queen, whereas Sheila has her head down and looks absolutely ashamed of herself. On the whole, I'm not sure I liked it. It was entertaining, but I'm not sure I learned anything from it other than not to fire people who smile at you.