good back-story, and good acting

Absolutely brilliant

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This should be a lot more loved than it seems to be. If you like fantasy stories you will find this to be a very ambitious and well executed. Top shelf acting, sets and ideas. Bravo! Probably not going to be as appealing to some of the Harry Potter fan base because it's a bit more cerebral. Although, I like Harry Potter too. If you like Neil Gaiman's stories you will probably like this.

A friend of mine recommended this series to me, mostly because I like Eddie Marsan, so I gave it a go. I have not read the book it's based upon, so I can not tell how much the series deviates from the original source, but after watching this I just might pick up the book.When I started with the first two episodes, I was not quite sure where the story would take the series and I was slightly put off by the whole setup: early 19th century, Napoleonic wars, onset of the industrial revolution... and magic. I kind of hoped it would go into the direction of classic steam-punk. After that I was very pleasantly surprised that it was not a steam-punk setting and rather thankful in the end.The entire story revolves around "English Magic": its absence over the last 300 years, and its sudden and somewhat violent return. Summing up the story without any spoilers is rather difficult, so I'll stick to general topics covered. As mentioned, it's about the return of magic to the 'modern' world and how it can change the lives of people and reshape history.Further to this there is a lot about prophecies (self fulfilling or not), friendship vs. competition, abuse of power (given or earned), faith in oneself, love and loyalty and most of all, IMO, the yearning for 'the good olde tymes' - I think that is why they always talk about "English Magic", maybe even the English want to be more English? Whatever that means ;)The entire story arc is well written out and, this is a huge bonus, it does define its own confines and does not leave them. Some authors tend to pull a rabbit out of a hat when they notice that the story is stuck, instead of making it coherent. In this case the entire story line adheres to its own rules and is still comprehensive.In terms of production the entire series is well done and most certainly en par with other modern productions. Only here and there there are a few CGIs that could have been done better. The characters seem transparent in their motivations and are easy to relate to. My personal favourite is Mr. Childermass.Almost all actors do really good in their roles and the overall casting was very good. Paul Kaye was a good choice, I like him when he plays the slightly nutty characters.However, there are small things that could have been done better. Jonathan Strange's backstory, i.e. how he became a magician, could have been a bit more elaborate. Also, the entire sub-plot with the Napoleonic wars was a bit short, as it is right now it seems a bit like a forced gap filler - maybe the book is more helpful there. One thing I did not understand was the reaction to Magic by the general populace - imagine you see an alien ship landing downtown: okay, you shrug, slurp your 5 o'clock tea and go on with life. That's more or less the extent of what is shown when "English Magic" returns. Well, maybe you have to be English to get it, I would not have been so calm about it, then again, I prefer coffee...Also, some of the characters could have used a bit more backstory (or screen time), notably Arabella Strange and the Lady Pole, after all, both are the reason for some of the story's most dramatic decisions.As said, I have not read the book, so I can not tell if this is the same, but the end of this series is obviously a cliff-hanger. Personally I hope they do a follow-up. Six to seven episodes to conclude the loose ends and perhaps give a bit more insight into the past would be appreciated.It was, in general, a fun series to watch, and most certainly something different than the "usual suspects" these days: crime drama, superhero or the endless soaps. If you want something else, with a truly dapper English flair, give it a go.

Living in the U.S., I'm not able to keep up with what's on television across the pond but I was pleasantly surprised to find that someone had made a TV adaptation of this wonderful fantasy book. I figured it would be mediocre since I hadn't heard much about it up to this point but was pleasantly surprised. This miniseries exceeded my expectations.The casting was great and the set design and direction really encapsulated the book's feel. I won't squabble over the parts it glossed over since it had to compact a 1000 page book into a 7 episode mini-series. Overall, I thought it did a fine job of keeping the important events. For television, the CGI and special effects are quite good. Despite the fact I already knew the plot, this series kept me on the edge of my seat.

I read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell about a year ago, which helped a lot in terms of following the story. My girlfriend, who read the book many years ago, found it more confusing.The book is terrific, wonderfully combining history and fiction, and the author had a wonderful ear for writing of the time. The movie generally tells the story well, but it can be episodic and at times truncates elements in a way that makes them seem almost extraneous. The actors are quite good, particularly Marc Warren as "The Gentleman" and Ariyon Bakare as Stephen Black. While it's all pretty good, the series never quite grabbed me as the book had. There is something a little murky about it all, both in the lighting and in the story. I would have liked it more if it had shown the meticulousness you get in series like Downton Abbey, but the series never quite felt like history and I wish it had.I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it.