The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

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

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Anyone who had a TV set in England in the 1980s will know Minder. A beloved series to many, a guilty pleasure to many more and a load of old codswallop to a few others. But hey, that's just horses for courses. The show ran like a backbone through British TV in the 80's. To watch it now is nostalgic and in some ways quite cosy viewing, but there is so much more to it than that. First and foremost it is gloriously entertaining. Especially the first few series - hardly a duff episode, if any. The humour and delivery are consistent throughout, always with a variety of interesting characters who are all a bit like someone you know or knew. The plots in general are reliably similar - i.e. Arthur (the wheeler/dealer businessman) ropes in Terry (the good hearted, odd job man/minder) to help out in his latest scheme, masquerading the job to Terry as something far less dodgy than it actually is. Thus, Terry lands unknowingly in hot water, fisticuffs ensue (as does the occasional bunk up with some dolly bird) but Terry usually comes up trumps and ends up saving both the day and Arthur - who more often than not ends up with egg on his face. A classic sit-com set up - but always so very enjoyable. George Cole is a comic master. He cut his teeth in Ealing Comedy films, appearing in them since he was a youngster with the legendary Alistair Sim as his mentor of sorts. He even played the young Ebenezer in the classic 1951 'Scrooge'. In Minder, his Arthur Daley is one of the most memorable UK TV characters of all time. Dennis Waterman is more the straight man if you like and brings with him all the rough diamond charm established in previous programs such as the brilliant 'The Sweeney'. Minder allows him far more room and air time to show warmth and stretch his comedy legs while losing none of the 'ard man who can be a bit tasty with his fists as and when required. The show also features a whole host of UK classic and character actors, too numerous to mention. It's a real treat watching Minder, not knowing who will turn up, how or when. In fact that is one of the great things about Minder, it feels like a huge family of UK TV greats portraying with solidity, quality and often a tongue in cheek, a whole world of London that is sadly pretty much now gone. Decades since it first aired, it is amazing already as a time capsule. For eg - in one episode i saw recently, Arthur drove his mustard XJ6 jaguar into a posh, residential square in Chelsea and swept straight into a parking space! There were no other cars parked, no yellow lines, no parking restriction signs, no speed bumps, no cctv etc. Oh how things have changed! Not only that but he then offered to buy a bloke's Chelsea flat for £10,000! You couldn't buy a garage for that now, i kid you not. So it serves now as a caper through a very real London of the time. Warm and light of heart, tough, gritty and almost bleak in places but always funny. To anyone who wants to know what it was like in London in the 1980s, this would be an essential piece of your TV jigsaw. A comfortable addition to 'Only Fools and Horses'. In fact, put 'The Sweeney' and films such as 'The Long, Good Friday' and 'Babylon' into the pot and you are getting there nicely, my son.

I was 8 years old when this started, and when I left home aged 18 it was still on. The theme tune followed me through the 80s - Bagpuss came and went, Dangermouse arrived, a raft of American programmes designed to sell toys (which was a brand new idea then) crashed onto UK shores, the Commodore 64 bleeped and caroused in the corner, acid house music chipped and blooped onto the radio..... and Arthur & Terry were still there. I saw a handful of episodes as child & teenager, and always found the on- screen chemistry pulled me in...... but I did feel that it had become a bit of a dinosaur by 1990. I left home and virtually forgot about it, until ITV4 started re-running it again. The writing was, and is, simply superb. Secondary characters are strongly developed and given good lines, something non-existent nowadays (see Taggart, Waterloo Road, Monarch Of The Glen) and almost every episode hangs together as a complete thing, ends tied up, viewer satisfaction assured. That takes good writing and good acting. Another, unintentional but wonderful, boon for the programme was that due to 75% of each episode being filmed on location outdoors over 15 years, it captured London in a constant state of flux that is clear and visible, something no other show has. It's fascinating to see London in that era, changing from series to series. And there's that chemistry between Cole and Waterman, which really shines through. That was fairly rare in a TV series back then, but is now like hen's teeth.Its success with 15-24 year olds today is surprising, yet gratifying. It says, perhaps, that things like story, good acting and love of craft do not age, or lose their brightness.

I'm trying to think offhand of a dreadful episode of this series - it should be said though, through no fault of his own, Gary Webster who played Ray after Terry left didn't quite cut the mustard as well as 'Tel'. Dennis Waterman (Terry McCann in Minder) was a popular actor at the time, following up from his success as Sergeant George Carter, tough but respected copper in police drama 'The Sweeney' with John Thaw. Obviously, in 'Minder' his associate, the spiv-like conman, 'Arfur' Daley,(George Cole) stole the show, scheming, ducking, diving and wheeler-dealing. Being able in talking his way in, let alone out, of tricky situations, with his 'spiel' (a term not used now, meaning fast-talking and lies, basically!). We're offered the reason in the opening credits if missed, that Arthur has taken Terry on to be his 'minder' - all things tough, hard, to be minded including Arthur's dodgy goods in his lock up the 'export and import' empire - (Fire damaged smoke alarms, need I say more!) he also had a car lot, with of course dodgy motors. Arthur has plenty of sidelines going involving his low-life connections and his intent to aspire to being a respected businessman means he tries also to con his way in to respectable people's lives in offering 'his services' and proclaiming he is 'one of them'. These are his 'earners', that inevitably go awry at some point leaving Terry to pick up the pieces. Terry is the lovable-rogue type, ex-con trying to go straight - but remember he works for Arthur Daley of all people - that's going to be a contradiction in itself! Terry, although working for Arthur still retains dignity and honesty, pulls the birds, is hard where it's needed only, but is constantly at Arthur's beck and call, but sometimes puts the spiv in his place! George Cole played his role like a true master - even getting himself an 'earner' by ending up portraying the same-like character in a series of commercials for a building society. He actually reprises a role from 'The St. Trinian's' films of the 1950's, as a character called 'Flash Harry' - obviously this has taken fruition even more here!Arthur often referred to the missus as " 'er indoors", who we never actually see! The duo were ably served by some great support from Glynn Edwards as 'Dave' the barman, with his sardonic comments (Arfur: "...that suit I got you was a 'steal' Dave." "Yeah," replies Dave, "And I know the bloke that stole it!"). And of course, the police were sniffing around on the duo with slimy 'Charlie' (Albert) Chisholm, brilliantly played by Patrick Malahide, ("It's you, Daley, the plot sickens.") as was Mr Rycott (Peter Childs)and their respective partners, 'Taff' Jones and 'Mellish'. They were always ahead of these four, when they thought they'd get them. Even though you knew they were crooks, you couldn't help but laugh when they got away with it. Some fine established British actors appeared in it as did ones who were going to go on to other things. Good support also from a young Ray Winstone and George Layton as very dodgy motor mechanics-cum car thieves! You always got your money's worth with this series, at least up until Terry's departure (As I've said, no fault of Gary Webster, perhaps if the roles were reversed I'd be saying it was better with him in it).

Brilliant British TV series starring George Cole as Arthur Daley, a shady businessman and used-car dealer on London's "alternate economy". Dennis Waterman is Terry McCann, Daley's business associate and bodyguard, or "minder", hence the title. The show ran for several years and usually centered on Arthur hatching some half-baked scheme, only to escape just a half-step ahead of the police or British mobsters. Patrick Malahide played Det. Sgt. Chisholm, a low-rent Javert who always seemed to let Arthur and Terry slip through his fingers.