Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Expected more

Best movie ever!

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The absolute worst! Whoever decided to air this drivel should be drawn and quartered, and yes I read the book and this is a massacre of it! How this ever got aired could only be a case of nepotism or outright sabotage. I am at a loss to come up with words to decry this utter garbage, I feel sorry for the actors who had to put up with this utter crap.

Firstly, let me say that I didn't read the book. I did watch the Pillars Of The Earth and thought it was terrific. I was therefore looking forward to this sequel. But how I regretted that. It was like they had filmed 40 hours of movie and then cut it back to 4 hours. By committee. There were so many plot threads that lead nowhere, so many pointless scenes that did nothing for the overall plot and countless times I found myself wondering WTF was going on. I apologise for all the upcoming spoilers but take Godwyn for instance. As Prior, he is subject to being voted out of office any time he behaves "ungodly". This is firmly established in Pillars. But he gets to lie, cheat, steal, murder and molest his way right thru the entire series. How is it that the two nuns can walk all the way from England to France to visit the King (and then walk home again) but the King and his army are unable to find a way home. Here's a tip: FOLLOW THE NUNS. Why do they go to all the trouble of setting up a Let's-get-the-young-bloke-to-build-the-new-bridge scenario and then totally abandon that entire sub-plot. They are ordered to stop construction. Next episode the thing's finished and no explanation of how and by whom. How is it that everyone who gets the Plague dies - except Godwyn and his mother, both of whom seem to be able to pass it on to others without dying themselves? Seriously, the screenwriters should be shot. This crap wouldn't pass muster on a B-grade soap opera. Ralph is the big disappointment. I spent all 8 episodes waiting for him to become the hero of the saga and he just never got there. In the beginning they set him up as bold and forthright, but circumstance forces him into some wicked ways. You always feel he's going to change his ways but no, he's a complete prick until he gets killed by a 10 year old with a longbow. Brilliant story line. WTF was the whole Gwenda-Wulfric sub-plot? They spent hours developing a storyline around them and in the end it just fizzled into nothing. Did the writers run out of ideas? Totally pointless. I liked Caris. Especially when she became Prior and then locked up Godwyn in the loony bin. Strong, calm and in control. But the writers' dementia creeps in again. Here's her big chance to get rid of him as he was clearly insane or possessed or both. But cut away to a couple of other scenes and next thing you know, he's the bloody Bishop!!! What...? How...? Who...? Huh...? And in the ending, if the old King is graceful enough to request that none of the Kingsbridge people are harmed, then why didn't he just give himself up in the first place and avoid all the slaughter? Stupid. In it's defence, the evilness of Godwyn and his mother made for some good television. I watched eagerly for someone, anyone, to finally give them their comeuppance. But it eventually just became absurd and I realised that no resolution to this would occur until the last episode. And even then it was lame. I think that if Pillars hadn't been so good then I wouldn't have been so disappointed in World. But it really sux...

The World Without End Production was not even the same story. They changed everything. What a complete shame. I also thought that they destroyed The Pillars series as well. How can you change and mutilate two of the best books I've ever read. I hope if they make movies of his newer trilogy that they keep the story the intact or I will refuse to finish watching those just like I stopped watching these. Ken why did you let this happen? Please remake the movies.Did someone pay you a lot of money to change these story lines?Stop the madness. Give the readers what they want. We are loyal fans. I was looking forward to seeing these great stories come to life.

If you have not read the book, you may enjoy this movie. However, like most Jane Austen fans, if you are a Ken Follett fan, you require only two things in turning books into movies: 1) an attempt at accuracy with plots/characters, 2) changes that only ENHANCE the movie. Sadly, this does neither. The characters are changed. The plot is changed. I am wondering throughout series if why Ken Follett didn't sue them for using the name of the book as that was the only thing that remained unchanged. This movie is a poor man's Ken Follett novel. This is the tootsie roll that you eat last after you have eaten good Halloween candy. This is the person who thinks since dirt looks like cocoa powder, he can use dirt to make brownies. This my friend is dirt in brownies. I am a little sad and confused that they would even use the title of the book if they planned to use nothing else. Also, there seemed to be a campaign to make the movie as horrible as possible. However, I am still watching and addicted. My goals is to see how bad a job they did. I may write another review.