Alex Rider

This is a pretty good show. Not your usual spy show. It's dark and intriguing. The actors are pretty good. Slow burner. Oh and the background music and soundtrack is an absolute treat, it so friggin good.

Alex Rider is a typical 14 year old whose world is thrown into chaos with the death of his Uncle Ian. Upon investigating his uncle's suspicious death, Alex discovers that his uncle was an agent for an off the books intelligence section of British Secret services. Alex is unwillingly recruited for an operation investigating a mysterious reform school, Point Blanc, for ultra wealthy problem teens that conceals darker secrets.

Alex Rider is the second attempt to adapt Anthony Horowitz' best selling YA series following the critical and box office failure of Stormbreaker back in 2006. The series was supposed to be James Bond by way of Harry Potter, but Stormbreaker's approach was more akin to Spy Kids than Harry Potter neutering much of the book's action sequences and leaving it a rather toothless and dull affair. With this latest incarnation being made in a post Harry Potter/Hunger Games world where adaptations are allowed to have more breathing room, Alex Rider is given a more than worthwhile adaptation.

The series is developed by Guy Burt of Wire in the Blood and The Borgias, and he brings a more grounded approach to the material that is more in line with the Bourne movies and Daniel Craig Bond movies than with the considerably more fantastical and gadget reliant Bond movies that inspired the Alex Rider series. The approach is very well done and keeps the series' high concept believable and gives weight and a sense of danger and intrigue to the material. Otto Farrant is pitch perfect as Alex Rider and brings both a sense of humor to the character as well as a hair trigger intensity that gives the character a darker edge than he had in the books. Otto Farrant is a massive reason why this series works. The series also has a very capable supporting cast who all fill their roles well and feel very much at home in the shady espionage world created for the show.

Alex Rider is a show knows what to keep from the books and what to change and update. While the show has the arduous task of Frankensteining the second book in the series into a jumping on point, it does so successfully. The show takes the introductory elements from Stormbreaker and does a near seamless job of attaching them to Point Blanc to make for an entertaining ride for both fans of the books and newcomers to the series.

I was a huge fan of these novels growing up, Point Blanc being one of the best of them. This is such a good adaptation I was blown away, from the trailer and lack of marketing I figured it would be some cheap attempt but this show is SO well done. Not only is it technically well made, with every shot looking slicker than the last, but it also sticks really closely to the original novel it's based on, while managing to flesh out areas where needed. I think the writers decision to skip Stormbreaker was probably a good one after that awful film, but I really hope this gets picked up for many future seasons. Fans of the books will definitely enjoy the name drop towards the end of the show that makes it clear they want to make this a long running success and I hope it is!

Oh and also, Otto Farrant, perfect casting. The closest I've ever had to the image I've had in my head when reading a book actually coming to the screen, he nailed it.

I read critics review. They seem to think the series was for kids. No way! Although I don't imagine that some won't watch it. I'd say 15+. Yes it was violent but not unnecessarily. Some called it slow, I think the pace was nicely set fast enough to keep interest but not so fast to miss the detail and the detail was needed. Ok it wasn't that believable but neither is James Bond. So what if the number of times Alex rider isn't shot is stupid, it's entertainment not reality. Compare it to other action adventure and forget that your meant to watching a kid. When you do this, you realise it's better that most and compares well with some of the best.

I watch a lot of TV -- check out my reviews -- and this is one of the best first seasons I have seen in years. The writing, the suspense, the tension are at a level as good as or better than the best spy films. WOW