Hatton Garden

The most we had any right to expect from "Hatton Garden" was a fairly accurate reconstruction of the crime and yet another addition to that long line of British gangster pictures and TV shows. What we got instead was one of the all-time great heist pictures, be that on television or in the cinema, and a masterclass in great acting, helped along by Paul Whittington's superb direction and a brilliant screenplay from Jeff Pope and Terry Winsor.

Spread over four nights it told the story of the 2015 Easter Weekend Hatton Garden robbery and its immediate aftermath. The first two nights concentrated solely on the robbery, filmed with a documentary=like precision and up there with the very best of them. The subsequent two nights showed how the police finally caught up with these, not-very-bright, geriatric robbers.

As the thieves who couldn't agree on anything, (it's amazing they were able to pull the job off in the first place and they very nearly didn't), Timothy Spall, Kenneth Cranham, David Hayman, Brian F. O'Byrne, Geoff Bell and Alex Norton were absolutely terrific with Spall and Cranham taking the lion's share of the honors. This wasn't just a bunch of fine British actors playing at being stock criminals but beautifully fleshed-out portrayals of living, breathing ordinary individuals and the real pleasure of "Hatton Garden" was watching great actors act. Yes, it was also a hugely entertaining crime caper, all the better for being based on fact, exciting and often very funny but it was so much more; proof that television can sometimes leave the current cinema trailing in its wake.

By far the best TV drama in years. Timothy Spall was absolutely amazing and even said the 'C' word in the last episode....lol. The casting was genius and the drama intense. I'll not give anything away but this has to be viewed and I'll be surprised if this mini-series along with the actors doesn't pull some BAFTA awards the next time around. Absolutely brilliant, well done ITV.

A great script and memorable acting from Timothy Spall and David Hayman playing men who know it's madness but just have to steal big - it's what they do.

Had this movie been made in the distant past, then I reckon it would have been made with just a sneaking empathy and admiration towards the characters and a 'good side' to them may have been evident..but there is nobody to admire here. The characters are depicted (and played very well, by our favourite trouper actors) as aging, unhappy,self serving,greedy and arrogant whom you would not trust with your loose change to buy you a chocolate bar. A swansong perhaps to a dying breed where all their actions can be seen and judged, but a reminder that today's cyber criminal can cause even more mayhem, misery and poverty but his/her actions are not seen and mostly will not be punished.

British mini-serieses about true stories are almost always worth to watch. This is certainly one of them. There is not much to spoil since this is a true story and everyone who googles for the title will get the whole story. This mini-series is more than well done. The cast is on point, the story well told. Good entertainment too. I watched the movie "King of thieves" only two weeks ago and I thought it was very boring but this mini-series is so much better. Just watch it ;-)