Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Let's be realistic.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Did not finish first segment. In terms of plot it's a jigsaw puzzle. A piece here, a piece there.Filled with hidden menace and foreshadowing. But also long stills of not much happening. Background sound enough to make conversation hard to hear. Music atonal. Lighting low contrast, and low level. There is not a sharp edged shadow in the entire show. If designed to give the impression of dirt, and sordidness it was successful. Camera height is consistently at chest level. This adds to menace, but it all seems so pointless. Yawn.

Someone asked what the murder 20 years earlier had to do with the events in this series. I think it was just one of many hits by the "Help Desk", and it got Venn and his brother into the story. Mark and Hillman hadn't been sitting around waiting for these events. Hillman told Venn that he had been kept around to do jobs for the Help Desk, and was well taken care of for it. I suspect the same was true for Mark (who I also suspect killed Hillman before Hillman killed Venn). Now they were called out to deal with Gina because she wouldn't let her parents' deaths go, and maybe they were after Venn because he wouldn't let his brother's purported death go. Then they were to assassinate Wentworth, maybe to open a way for Morpeth to move in. That part's a bit murky. But Mark took out Morpeth and Styles to, once again, protect his brother. I suspect that Venn went back into the prison at the end because he didn't want to be on the run for the rest of his life, but it would have wrapped things up nicely if he'd turned in that direction.The length of this was good (four episodes); plenty of time to build a story and build tension, but not so long that it dragged out (like the French series Spiral that carries one case through about a dozen episodes).

I enjoyed the acting, Philip Glenister reminded me more of an updated "Callan", disheveled, unshaven, half asleep etc.. It was good to see David Suchet out of his "Poirot" skin for a while, although I had hoped to see more of a role for him. Anna Chancellor is a fine actress who I have seen do justice to many roles was underused,given her talents. Nevertheless the cast was well thought out and worked well together.The storyline was another matter. The plot zig-zagged all over the place. I appreciate the need for suspense, but many questions went unanswered. Why were Gina's parents killed? (Because they were a brilliant legal team?) What had the earlier crime, the killing at Braddock House have to to do with the events 20 years later? Maybe I missed something but there seemed to be quite a few loose ends that never got resolved. And, what happened to Elspeth? The ending was not satisfying. Maybe there will be a fifth episode.Or perhaps a new PI series based upon Philip Glenister's character. With a better plot and no loose strings, it could probably go somewhere.

I was looking forward to this, some reasonably good write ups in the paper, probably by critics who never watched it. David Suchet, Philip Glenister are usually very good, not in this. I thought it would be something on par with 'Shadow Line'.Unfortunately it didn't live up to expectations. Glenister is no babe magnet, so his attempt to be a Bond type in pursuit of Thekla Reuten was pathetic.I lost interest after two episodes, the script being patchy, with the usual flashbacks keeping you wondering why the hell they need so many of these. They are great if they are done properly as in 'Shadow Line', in 'Hidden' I couldn't see the need for any. The acting was hammish and as it went on it just became more boring. I guess it might be enjoyed by Glenister fans, but it really isn't very good.It was too long after two episodes so be prepared for a marathon.