The Night Manager

I have to say That Night Manger was even better than I expected and I was expecting it to be good! Especially after reading all the great reviews and ratings. Tom Hiddleston is one of the most underrated actors working today. He's terrific in everything he does. The Night Manager follows former British soldier and now hotel manager, Jonathan Pine (Hiddleston). He is contacted by a spy operative for his help to spy on international businessman Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie). Roper is believed to be the leader of secret arms trade. Pine infiltrates Romper's inner circle while keeping his real mission a secret. If you're looking for a good spy thriller that will hold your attention throughout every episode then give this a try. You won't be disappointed.

I missed this mini-series when it came out but recently discovered it on Blu-Ray at my public library. It is a joint project of Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie who also are two of the primary stars. It revolves around undercover, illegal weapons sales and the team trying to bust the ring.

Tom Hiddleston is former trained British military man Jonathan Pine. We encounter him working as the night manager of a hotel in a foreign country. He ultimately gets recruited into the undercover organization out of London and reports to Olivia Colman as Angela Burr.

As it develops Hugh Laurie as Richard Roper is the very wealthy big boss behind the illegal weapons sales program, the type and quantity to start a small war. As Roper states at one point, his involvement is "War as a spectator sport." He has no sides, he just sees it as a great money-making opportunity.

As key character is Elizabeth Debicki as Jed Marshall, the much younger girlfriend of Roper, but she will eventually cooperate with the good guys.

My favorite in the series is Tom Hollander (so good as the bad guy in "Hanna") as Roper's enforcer Lance Corkoran who is called Corky. He plays a dastardly character but is so good at it.

All in all a very entertaining series.

At last a good old fashioned yarn where bad guys are bad and the good guy has a moral position. A flick through the average night of TV and the schedules are filled with low-cost reality rubbish, The Night Manager breaks the mold it has a good storyline, high production values, and a great cast. More like watching a Bond movie, for example, using three million pound plus speedboats to go out to a restaurant just to get a beautifully choreographed overhead shot framed against the Med. Certainly looks and, with its intelligent script, sounds more like a big budget movie filmed on location in Europe than TV series. What more do you want for your licence fee? Forget it is reminiscent of a bygone era it is entertainment. As long as it doesn't degenerate into an overlong series with filler episodes that go nowhere I will keep watching...

This masterpiece shows where TV series shine and where features fail. A Carré story in the format of a 1.5hour or even 3 hour movie would just have to take so many shortcuts that it will inevitably hurt the story. This well paced production captures all the mystery and action of the original material and perhaps even surpasses it.

Nonetheless the Golden Globe awards including Tom Hiddleston (Best Actor), Hugh Laurie (Supporting Actor) and Olivia Colman (Supporting Actress) are all well deserved as is the formidable pitch perfect performance of Tom Hollander. How magnificent Hugh Laurie is in a less expected role, and Hiddleston as the very suave man he just is, or plays. Go watch this.

The Night Manager really is one of the better mini-series that you'll ever see! It will draw you in from the first episode and keep you captivated and on the edge of your seat throughout each episode! This show won a bunch of awards including Tom Hiddleston (Best Actor), Hugh Laurie (Supporting Actor) and Olivia Colman (Supporting Actress) all winning Golden Globes for their performances and each one was well deserved! The rest of the cast is great too. It's also directed by an Oscar winning director in Susanne Bier. This has to be the best adaptation of John le Carre that's ever been made. If you haven't seen this yet then do yourself a favor and go watch it.