Kirandeep Yoder
The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
Mandeep Tyson
The acting in this movie is really good.
kbohna
The shadow line probably one of the best written Grandma crime series that you can watch it is the most impressive thing I've ever seen on television and need to see this most serious way. There's just something about this show that will blow your mind it's only a shame that we don't have more television quite like this but I'll tell you one thing if you watch this you will definitely leave a comment stating how much you love this show the show is more than the show but it is a view into what governments will go to. I just hope everyone gets a chance to watch it and it doesn't get lost in all of the other television that is out there their greatest Network that ever existed in my opinion next to Nexflix. When I say Netflix their programming is incredible and it is all definitely based buy big Hollywood production companies so you're not watching some type of show that is just made by a small budget these are actually movie written shows that could be actual movies as if that makes any sense LOL I hope everyone gets a chance to watch it and the text that I'm writing get Steam hopefully lots of times I give this show 10 stars and I know that isn't a number that they give out for TV series or even movies but this show has it all and the actor Chris Rhea is phenomenal along with all the other actors that are in the series it is only a series but yet it feels like the greatest movie you've ever watched like a bomb film on steroids and Back Again please watch but do so at your own apparel because it is that great.
shmsmisc
Spoilers----Overall I found it gripping viewing - unusual in many ways but clichéd and unbelievable in others.e.g. It was unbelievable that known drug barons would be given a Royal pardon for some unknown reason. There would be a public outcry.Also, there were so many corrupt officers willing to murder that it made parts of the storyline unbelievable...more mafia than the mafia, and the reason for all that corruption seemed ridiculous in the extreme. Doing it just for the money would have been much more realistic. The story was too convoluted in parts.The actors were very good. However, I did find the Patterson character irritating. His dialogue was unnatural and more suited to the stage than TV. I've also never seen any real life press conferences where police officers spout poetry and make snide quips non-stop. Let alone a press conference where the victim is another officer.The Jay Wratten character was a bit too over the top. Like a character from the Little Britain comedy show gone psycho. It would have worked better for me if he said the same words but with a different accent, to stop any thought of Little Britain from entering my mind. The Gatehouse character was absolutely brilliant - very chilling. Quite believable - apart from his miraculously quick recovery.The actors - playing Joseph Bede, Jonah, their partners etc. were great, often acted with great sympathy.Glickman's finale was a surprise. Some of the others less so, but generally this did not matter - e.g. the storyline with the driver and his wife. Although there were things that could have been better - there was much to be praised and the good definitely outweighed the bad. There were, at times signs of real brilliance.
Rockwell_Cronenberg
The closest thing the Brits will have to an answer for The Wire. The Shadow Line is a stunning exploration of the line that men walk between morality, faith, justice and identity. The writers keep you in a constant state of mystery, unsure of who these people are and what side they ultimately lie on. The lines are blurred up until the end and everyone involved makes it a gripping and intense journey through this dangerous world. There are so many scenes that had my legs shaking in paranoia, dying to see how things were going to turn out. They somehow manage to make the quietest moments the most epic; there's a scene at the beginning of the fifth episode (that ends up lasting almost half an hour) that felt very reminiscent of that epic feeling during the Omar/Brother Mouzone meetup in The Wire.Of course, the talented cast is an essential piece of crafting this brilliant work; Chiwetel Ejiofor is the perfect protagonist, a do-gooder with a potentially dark past who explodes in the final few episodes. Christopher Eccleston excels as the "good guy" on the bad side, a very Stringer Bell-esque character who takes a business approach to everything. The supporting cast all make huge impressions as well; Rafe Spall and Stephen Rea both create two of the most terrifying villains in recent memory. Spall the livewire with his finger always on the trigger and Rea the calm and mysterious shadow figure hiding behind the door. They take two entirely different approaches and each one is marvelous beyond words.It's pretty hard for a mini-series to end up ranking among the best complete series for me, but this one is high up there. It's without a doubt the best mini-series I've ever seen and at the end I was definitely just desperate for even more. The final episode ends up having to rely a little too much on exposition and there are a few too many twists, but it's all necessary to wrap up the story and leave the viewer satisfied with answers. The Shadow Line is the rare series that will have you constantly guessing and on the edge of your seat. Intensity beyond intensity, a really powerful masterwork.
kjg28
I was recommended this series by a friend. I find it visually uninteresting, the writing is poor, the small details (locking care doors, smoking in an office inside a police station - not for years! - car chases around London that don't make sense if you actually know east London at all ) and the acting is a let down. There are a few glimmers of hope, and I will persevere (well I've bought it on iTunes as I live outside the UK - So frankly I've paid for it now!)It appears to have been done on a low budget and reminds me of the 'spoofs' that you see on the impressions show. Such a shame - I was hoping for another gem like Zen, oh well!
