Spooks: The Greater Good [Blu-ray]

good watch

Kit Harrington is no star and was much weaker than any of the male leads in the TV series. His acting is below par and his charisma severely lacking. Such a shame it wasn’t one of the original leads they used. Low budget and quite watchable but that’s just about it. A disappointment.

A cross between Bourne and Bond

Spooks has always been a favourite TV series, so I was looking forward to this. I had read varying reviews saying none of the series cast, apart from Harry, appeared. Well, that's probably because Spooks has a habit of killing of it's main cast. Buttttttttt, guess what? Those people that said none of the series cast appeared are incorrect ...... that will have you guessing.As for the film itself, I enjoyed it. It stayed true to the TV series, with a "Who do we trust?" scenario. You don't need to know the series to enjoy it.It was nice to see Kit Harington in a modern role, I think this is the first time I have seen him as such.Also, I can shy away from Brit films, set in London, as so many have the clichéd 'mockney' characters. I was pleased to see there were none in this. It goes to show, we can produce a good film without regional stereotypes, not everybody that lives in a big city has a heavy accent and slang usage, me being from Liverpool, is an example of that.

I have watched every episode of Spooks and thoroughly enjoyed them; there was a sense of professionalism but it also had camaraderie and that's what was lacking in this film version. Peter Firth as Harry was excellent but It would have been better if he had had someone that he could have openly trusted - I was hoping that Tom Quinn (Matthew MacFadyen) would have appeared and filled the slot. The only 'old' face was the wonderful Malcolm who was seriously underused.Elyes Gabel was very good as the baddie, unlike the young male lead (I couldn't be bothered to look up his name) who lacked the charisma and grit needed for the role. He was certainly not up to the standard of 'old spooks' Rupert Penry-Jones, Richard Armitage or the superb Hermione Norris.I enjoyed the film but the old magic that made 'Spooks' special, had gone; I really hope another film (or better still another series) is made to put it back up where it belongs.

Similar in format to all those great spy thrillers we used to enjoy and which haven't really been on our screens since the fall of the Iron Curtain. This is a superb romp of a film with enough twists and turns that will prevent you from guessing whodunnit pretty much up to the end. The main stryline is not really that believable but suspend your disbelief and go with the flow. The characterisation has enough depth to hold you and make you care enough about what happens though lacks any real depth. I heartily recommend this film to practically anyone though I am unsure whether you will want to watch it repeatedly as once you know who the baddy is there is limited point in watching.

Following on from the final series of Spooks (or MI5 as it was known in some countries)Harry (Peter Firth) is back as the helm of the counterterrorism unit when something goes wrong forcing him to disappear. He recruits his protege Will (Kit Harrington) when Erin (Lara Pulver) is kidnapped. The wickedly evil Oliver Mace (Tim McInnery) is back but he's Harry's boss. The computer wizz Malcolm (Hugh Simon) makes an appearance, helping Harry prove his innocence, in this action packed thriller. If you love the tv show you'll love this.

Having watched all the seasons of Spooks on catch-up, I decided to watch the video. If you're a big spooks fan it's worth watching but it's not as good as the individual programs