G'day,
Enclosed you'll find my review of AMC's 'The Prisoner' which I watched when it first came and haven't since. However it has recently been introduced back into my life and quite frankly I'm bored so what better to do then to review a mini-series. So Boekelaar, how did you get re-introduced to 'The Prisoner'? Thanks for asking random CBM member, it happened a little bit like this:
Believe it or not, ladies and gentlemen, I had a date and being the person that I am and being raised in the fashion I was I inevitably arrived significantly earlier then expected. But no fear because me and this lovely lady were going to see a movie, and for all those who love details we saw 'Due Date' but that's not a CBM so I'll speak of it no further. Anyway so there I was....alone....waiting for a beautiful girl to come watch a film with me. So to eat away at the time I decided I'd go do something I loved, which was to spend all my money on DVDs. And where I come from the best place for DVDs is the JB Hi-Fi, so as I'm sure you're all assuming I did in fact traverse to JB to look at DVDs.
After arriving I tried to think of what I needed for my collection, which is getting substantial lately, and I recalled that on a previous visit to this establishment I'd seen a 'Flight of the Conchords' that included both seasons and a live performance. Naturally I grabbed it. Next I stumbled across a 'Jackass' tripple movie pack which was cheap and something I needed so I grabbed that as well. I then saw 'Bored to Death' which I didn't realise had been released over here, I'd been reduced to watching the series online because of our countries inability to show television shows relatively quickly after they're released in the States. So I also grabbed that. But this particular DVD sparked something in my head about another series I'd watched online which was made all the more clearer once I saw a whole row of 'Prisoner Cell Block H'. 'The Prisoner'! Had it actually been released over here? And lo and behold after a few moments of scanning the shelves with my sword-like pierce of a gaze I saw it. Grabbed it. Off to the counter. Paid for it. And was off on my way to meet my desirable date. Perfect evening. (The date went well by the way, thanks for asking guys :) You're the best!).
Right then....'The Prisoner'. Now I haven't seen it since it first aired and I'm far too fidgety and full of energy to watch the whole series and then write my review. I'd rather just write the review because I'm having a fun time doing it :D. Now when first viewing the program I instantly got a 'Lost' vibe, the main character wakes up confused of his whereabouts, by himself, with a close up shot of his face. Hardly original though I'm sure that was done before 'Lost' anyway. But the entire show does have a 'Lost' vibe, there's lots of mystery, confusing stuff, a giant monstery thing, talented actors and it's shot very well.
Sir Ian McKellen does what he does best which is act like a champ. He's good but that's really no surprise. John Caviezel is also very good, and as a lead character I found him very likable and sympathised with his character a lot and found it easy to put myself in his shoes. The whole premise of the show is a bit of a mind frak, and I did find it a lot harder than normal to figure out what was going on. I won't say what was going on but I'm sure it hurt a lot of peoples brains. The finale was perhaps a bit cliché and confusing (I know that it's hard to do something that's been done a million times and still have the audience going "what?" so top marks for that) but it was far more satisfying then the 'Lost' finale. Maybe they didn't watch it and didn't realise that that's how you end a confusing show, well at least how to end it half decently.
Overall I liked the show, I think it might have gotten ripped apart in the reviews and didn't fare as well as the makers may have liked. But I liked it, I liked it enough to buy it on DVD after having seen it once. The general vibe of the show was something I really liked and the way it was shot and the way the show looks is really quite something. To me that is. You guys might not like it, I did and recommend at least watching it online or something. Really wasn't that expensive, maybe just go out on a limb and buy it. It's a mini-series so even if you don't like it you won't have to be strung on for years and years to get those intriguing plot twists resolved (or apparently not get them resolved at all).
I'll give it like a 3.5 out 5, could even peak to a 4 once I watch it again.
The best way I can compare it to a CBM is that it's like 'The Spirit'. Most people don't like it but visually it's very good, I hope people like it like I do but if not at least you'll have something that's pleasing to the eye.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Boekelaar