Opiniones de usuarios

My husband and I are impressed with David Jonsson, whom we are watching for the first time. His character is classy, like old school acting we haven't seen in a while.

I am no more a fan of revising classic works than the next Marple fan. I've seen "4:50 to Paddington," with Joan Hickson, more times than I can count. When it was remade some years later, there were some tweaks to the story, but I enjoyed that version too, especially with Highclere as the filming location. As far as other retellings after Joan Hickson's time, I felt some were good and some not.

They never did "Murder is Easy," with Joan Hickson. In my opinion, Benedict Cumberbatch made the version he was in, as he assisted Miss Marple ("not a Miss Pinkerton" - no offense to the wonderful Penelope Wilton) because, frankly, the subject was particularly distasteful.

I am reviewing this before I see the second part of this new "Murder is Easy" because I already know my opinion of what makes watching this version worth at least one viewing: the lovely filming locations, Penelope Wilton, Douglas Henshall, Mark Bonnar, Matthew Baynton, and the old-style charm of David Jonsson, which is why I'm being generous with my rating.

I doubt the BBC cares what fans of British mysteries think of their revisions. There have been some pretty awful re-re-re-retellings of classic titles this past decade, to be sure. The best we can do is not watch what isn't good - but then we can't always know it isn't good until we watch. And maybe that's why the BBC keeps the bad revisions coming? No, they'll do what they want anyway.

Whilst travelling to London on a train, Luke William encounters pensioner Lavinia Pinkerton, who explains that a killer is at large in her village of Wychwood, only the locals believe the deaths are all accidents, if nobody thinks it's murder, murder is Easy.

After the likes of And then there were none, ABC Murders and Witness for The Prosecution, Christie at Christmas is back.

Well publicised, I'd been looking forward to it, I don't think it's a brilliant adaptation, but it's a good one, it's a great story, one of my favourite Agatha Christie page turners, definitely one of these more bloodthirsty texts, there are plenty of murders.

The main talking point seems to be the casting of David Jonsson, several people seemed to be upset by the change, for me, he was the best thing about this production, he's excellent throughout.

Sinead Matthews, Tom Riley, Douglas Henshall, lots of talent to enjoy.

Very nicely produced, it looks great, those scenes of London looked amazing, some wonderful costumes.

Dear BBC, can we please have more next Christmas?

7/10.

Well, the scenery and locations didn't disappoint. They're absolutely gorgeous (filmed in Scotland I believe).

Agatha Christie stories are pretty rote so the bar isn't too high, but this two-parter didn't manage to clear it.

The body count was really too high for Our Hero (Luke Fitzwilliam) to sink his teeth into any one murder and frankly while he did ID the killer in the end ... he was one step behind the whole way, unlike say Miss Marple.

About the casting and the plot line:

I was very distracted by the fact that David Jonsson's left eye is much smaller than his right. There are many many closeups of his face where this affected my ability to focus on the plot.

Apparently in order to justify casting a Black actor in the lead role, they gave him a back story as being from a rich Nigerian family and coming to London to work in a diplomatic post as an attache to some British muckymuck. He speaks with a posh accent and there is almost no relevance to his African background in terms of the plot.

We get some stereotypical racist comments about "mud huts" from the local high and mighty lord of the manor, but almost everybody else in the film basically just accepts him and appears virtually color-blind. In 1954 rural England? I dunno about that.

Also, he's not given much to do, other than to wander around snooping, and then give a knowing smile in almost every scene.

The dialogue he was given to say didn't help at all.

I couldn't help feeling, this would have been a much better production if they'd just stuck with a snoopy old maid like Miss Marple as the detective.

This quite village murder mystery was pitched just right. Is there a serial killer in their midst or is it just a bizarre series of accidents? Sometimes it takes an outsider to see through to the truth. The outsider being David Jonsson who is solid as the Nigerian finding his way in post war britain. What connects these victims and who has a motive for their murder. All these are answered but not before the body count is increased. This is a period Mid Sommer style of mystery. I have not read the book, but was certainly entertained by the two part drama. A solid seven. See for yourself on iPlayer before dismissing.

Agatha Christie has a chequered history with Tv and Film adaptations, from early Poirot characterisations that made him French, yes French. Margaret Rutherford was a fun but hardly faithful to the source Miss Marple. The recent ITV adaptations of Marple have played fast a loose with the narratives and even changed murderers at points. So, it's true to say that adapting Christie can be fraught with difficulty when it appears 'easy'.

This adaptation was a mess on many levels. From a sub Wes Anderson approach to texture and editing rhythm, strange close ups, wobbly camera work and a script that clanked along pouring exposition on top of the imposition of a post-colonial narrative - it just didn't mesh.

The ideas were bold, and in many ways could have been brilliant, just so many choices at once going away from the source material began to stress the story so much that it became vague and confused, an original piece about colonial attitudes in the 20th Century or a straight down the line thriller would have been much more effective and a much stronger choice from the BBC.

The problem with BBC commissions at the moment is their lack of vision to make original drama, they appear to want to be commercial whilst trying to service what is current and hotly debated. This leaves the BBC feeling confused and only concerned with issues that trend in London and liberal media outlets.

ITV have delivered Christie stronger, better and more radically than the BBC over the last two decades. So perhaps it would be nice to see this 'tradition' of a bbc Christie at Christmas knocked on the head, until they begin to understand how to produce drama that doesn't betray the source.

This was just a real dud.

First, I absolutely loved the twist of Luke Obiqke Fotzwilliam as a Nigerian British man, and how that reflects the major theme of class and discrimination. That was managed brilliantly.

The lead was incredible as the smart, elegant sleuth.

Excellent supporting cast. Nicely filmed. A bit uneven in pacing and exposition, but that's also classic Christie. Pointed exam of small town dramatics.

Why are reviews required to be so long? Silly really. I've made all the points i need to make. Loved the red dress but the jewelry struck as paste. Funny how they put the redhead in red after the thing about the hat.

Agatha Christie wrote many dozens of murder mysteries, some famously ingenious; but either 'Murder is Easy' was a dud, or this adapatation is badly screwed up. People start dying in a small English village, but everyone still alive is remarkably unperturbed and several seem not to care if they're suspected to be the killer. Eventually, the real culprit is unearthed, and explains exactly how they've done it, although our amateur detective hero has identified the villain without in fact piecing any of it together for themselves. I've seen Christie adaptations that were fun, preposterous, or anachronistic; but none as anemic as this.

While some mention disappointment with this "to parter" and may say the effect is "embarrassing" they fail to appreciate Agatha Christie's contemporary commentary on issues such as class and race, which she hardly shrouded in mystery. Rather, her mysteries always commented on "class and colonialism and the bad treatment of certain ethnic groups." I suppose you'd have to pay attention, however, and read beyond a certain ghoulish appreciation of a cleverly revealed cadaver.

Like this well-written new screenplay, her mysteries held up the glass, so to speak, to British society, showing how human nature and psychology touched each and every level of society. I think Agatha Christie would have admired the characterization of an elderly auntie, connecting with a Nigerian on a train to London. This supposition is based on her novels set in such far-flung locations as Egypt, Jerusalem, and Iraq.

This adaptation highlights the incisive perception of the author and her characterizations of the English country town. I highly recommend it as a modern adaptation completely aware of its storied history. It not only comments on the hierarchy of the society but also illustrates how such hierarchies lead to murder and dissolution of moral integrity.

I confess to being a lover of Agatha Christie. Having read every book and seen every ITV Poirot and all renditions of Miss Marple.

I found the beginning of this plot really gripping thanks to Miss Pinkerton aaand was looking forward to how things developed. I did not like the decision to introduce a black Nigerian character with the odd confusing vision on top of an already busy plot. I also found the pletherer of well known actors playing characature roles distracting.

The bright colours had my eyes straining and desperately reaching for the contrast adjustment on my remote.

The plot was plodding but at least it was so confusing it took me a while to work out which of the books I was watching. I realised in enough time to recall who did it and why.

I found the acting wooden throughout but to be fair it reflected the stuffy English class system of the period. The setting, costumes and cars was excellent.

I felt Fitzwilliams character out of place yet deserving of an entirely different production.

Without giving the plot away this is one of Christies more disturbing plots with a cold blooded murderer who really does find Murder is Easy witb weight added being based on more than a little truth to there being some people, such as Dr Shipman, who hide among us capable of such awful deeds. .

I'll start off with the positive side to my opinion: I loved Penelope Wilton as Miss Pinkerton!

Anyway...

Two hours of my life really felt wasted - I can't stress this enough. I'm a huge fan of the classic murder mysteries by Agatha Christie, but when I finally got to the 'Murder is Easy' 's ending credits, I found myself begging for her ghostly forgiveness and I didn't even make the show!

A huge issue I had was the lack of emotion with any of the characters. I didn't sense any fear in anyone despite there being a literal serial killer on the loose in a tiny village or when some of the characters were even faced with possible death, there wasn't any emotion AT ALL. It felt like the show was more focused on the boring romance between Fitzwilliam and Conway than the actual murders, which was an extremely unnecessary subplot by the way.

The acting felt very dull at times and I found myself disappointed with many of the performances, which is surprising since the cast looked extremely promising. This could be down to a lacking script and poor directing but it's a weak excuse to make.

Another issue I've noticed with a lot of modern period dramas lately (as a fan of history in general) is that there is A LOT of inaccurate displays of diversity in certain time periods and their settings. So many shows/movies have fallen prey to this, so I don't hold much against any of them at this point. Little English villages did not (or barely did) contain diverse families back in the 50s. I've already written about this in many other modern period drama/movie reviews so I won't go into much further detail, but it's just getting boring at this point.

I can't say too much more about this show without bursting into flames from irritation but overall, I really recommend not wasting your time on this programme and for BBC to stop butchering the cherished work of Britain's best writers.

Maybe not one of the best Agatha TV adaptations but the twists, village intrigue and characters are a great (if slightly subdued) and easy watch.

All really fantastic actors and feel it could easily have stretched to 3 episodes which would've helped the viewer connect and care more for the characters. Some were easily forgotten with too few lines, other great characters played by great actors (Dougie Henshaw!) weren't given enough time (but still managed to shine). I enjoyed seeing the connections between them all but again it was just hard to remember as moved so fast.

It's a fun, easy watch for a festive time when we all needed a bit of Agatha. I liked the bright and summer light, but again there was a great potential to show much of the darker side of the village as well for added depth.

It just needed filling out a bit in terms of story/characters. This potentially could've been amazing.

The main hero and heroine were a joy to watch but again we needed a bit more.

Overall this was dull and lifeless. I also think it's cultural appropriation.

I know the story really well and have read it, seen the Julia mckenzie version - all of which was great. But this is tedious, slow and drags on.

And while I'm all in favour of diversity casting, I can't help but question the rewriting of one of uks most loved and successful authors into an entirely different diverse narrative. If the situation was reversed I suspect there would be outrage - rightly. And I see this as no different. This is clearly cultural appropriation, and tastelessly so.

That said, I'm not offended by it, and my low review is in no way because of that. It's just a really, really bad remake taking a great story and turning it into a terrible dirge. I think the team spent all their time focusing on splicing diversity in and left no time for story telling. A terrible shame.

The name actors in the 2-part miniseries that you might tune in to see are hardly in it at all and play tangential characters to the main plot.

If you're hot to see Douglas Henshall, Mark Bonnar, and Penelope Wilton, blink and you'll miss them. What you WILL see is a lumbering adaptation that has been "updated" to allow for odd casting.

A Nigerian (David Jonsson) comes to England in the 1950s (?) to work for the government but gets sidetracked into investigating a series of murders in a small village. There's also a post-Colonial plotline that clumsily ties into this racial narrative.

Otherwise it's the usual Christie stuff. The rest of the cast is blah (and with bad teeth to boot) and we get some outlandishly bright costumes and the usual impeccably clean cars driving on dirt roads. There's also some ugly statuary added for no reason to the entrance of the country manor.

Not the worst, but it's not very compelling.

Murder is Easy kicks off when Luke, who has come to England for some government position, meets little old lady Miss Pinkerton (an excellent Penelope Wilton), who is headed to Scotland Yard to persuade them that a series of accidents in her little town are actually murders. She doesn't make it to the Yard, so Luke decides to take up the cause.

The town has a nice sense of underlying hostility - half the residents seem like they might be murders, half seem like they might be scared, and most look askance at Luke, who is both a stranger and a black man in a small English village.

Luke soon find himself romancing a sharp-witted local and making himself a bother to a number of people. Meanwhile, the "accidents" continue.

I found David Jonsson's Luke a little bland, but Morfydd Clark is terrific as his world-weary, complicated love interest, and Tom Riley is excellent as a rich jerk. And Jonsson's has good chemistry with Morfydd and is fun when he is needling suspects in his low-key way.

Overall this was an intriguing mystery, but the 2nd of the two parts felt a little less compelling than part 1, and It felt particularly draggy when I figured out the murderer and how to watch the detective catch up. (He's no Hercule Poirot, but I think that's the point - most people aren't equipped to solve a murder.)

I see a number of reviewers object to the lead being black, (because there were no black men in England in the 50s?), and because racism and colonialism come up a few times, but I thought it was an interesting approach. On the other hand, Luke's recurrent dream is a silly addition that, even when its psychology is explained, seems pointless both in terms of the mystery and Luke's personal journey. I don't know why the writer thought it was a good thing to add.

The ending wasn't quite as emotionally satisfying as I would have liked, but it does make sense in the context of the story.

Don't pay attention to the low rating here - I think that's mainly from Brits angry that colonialism comes up and people who saw the Marple adaption and are now convinced that Marple is the original detective of the book (she's not) and this adaptation has tossed her out.

This isn't one of the *best* BBC Christie adaptations, it's as good or better than most of them. If you like Christie mysteries, you should definitely take a look.

Firstly I'm a big fan of the whodunit period drama. From Miss Marple to Poirot etc. When I saw this advertised on the BBC over the Christmas period I was hoping for a good watch.

This starts off intriguing with Miss Pinkerton boarding a train, making her way to Scotland Yard. On the train, she meets Luke Fitzwilliam, whom she tells her tale of a murderer in her village. Fitzwilliam, an investigator himself, who is frustrated at a delay in starting his new job and so goes to Miss Pinkerton's village to investigate her claims.

To be honest, I found this one a bit boring. The way it played out and was acted it almost felt like a parody of Agatha Christie rather than a serious drama.

Although David Jonsson carried the lead well enough it didn't really suit the story to have Fitzwilliam's character changed to Nigerian. It made it difficult to believe the setting where the story takes place and that it was 1950s Britain.

I would recommend spending two hours doing something better than watching this. There are much better adaptations of Agatha Christie's work than this and time would be better spent watching them. Sadly yet again another Christmas and another sub par BBC adaptation.

Other reviewers keep mentioning Agatha Christie, this really confused me as I thought I was watching the latest episode of Midsomer Murders.

I wondered why it was on bbc.

I joke of course, but in all seriousness this was the latest episode of Midsomer Murders except slightly more ludicrous and with endless political preaching stuffed in.

The latest vehicle for the bbc to stuff its politics down our throats. Nothing to do with the casting, mind. That was decent enough. Some good if not great performances. Good variety.

I still fairly enjoyed it, Midsomer always has been one of my favourites.

My wife and I were really looking forward to this, it should have been right up our street as we live this sorry of things, but it was very disappointing. Just felt very tedious, disjointed and a bit of a chore to watch. Good cast and basis of a good story but it really, really dragged.

Maybe it was the script that was the problem, and having. Also we found the excessive colours jarring, almost cartoonish. Some of the characters were just caricatures and the "reveal" felt forced. A real opportunity missed as it probably cost a lot to make. The romance felt unconvincing and some very good actors came across like they were in panto. Not recommended.

I think we've found our next James Bond, first time seeing David Jonnson in an acting role, he has the good looks and charisma of 007

Murder is Easy the BBC 1 TV adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic mystery novel, is a captivating and brilliantly executed production that successfully brings the timeless brilliance of Christie's storytelling to life.

Starring David Jonnson in a compelling lead role, the show delivers a masterful blend of suspense, intrigue, and a touch of classic charm.

One of the standout features of Murder is Easy is the meticulous attention to detail in capturing the essence of Agatha Christie's narrative. The production team has skillfully recreated the atmospheric setting, drawing viewers into a bygone era where the plot unfolds with an air of mystery and sophistication.

David Jonnson's portrayal of the central character is nothing short of exceptional. His nuanced performance captures the complexity of the character, adding depth and authenticity to the storyline.

Jonnson's ability to convey the subtle nuances of emotion and intellect aligns seamlessly with the intricate layers of Agatha Christie's storytelling.

Can't wait to see his next role.

Murder Is Easy (2023) delivers a visually rich and atmospheric adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel, blending classic mystery elements with a modern cinematic touch. The period detail is beautifully crafted, and the performances-especially the lead-are convincing and nuanced. The story maintains a solid level of suspense, with an intriguing premise and a small-town setting that enhances the eerie tone. However, the pacing can be uneven, and some characters feel underdeveloped, making key plot twists less impactful than they could have been. While it doesn't reach the heights of other Christie adaptations, it remains a respectable and enjoyable mystery drama for genre enthusiasts.

Sat through all 2 hours of this despite serious misgivings early on, (a racing post available 3 decades before they were printed) the cast appear to be trying their hardest to work with the terrible script and direction so it can't really be blamed on them.

The show lacked violence or even a sense of darkness or foreboding that has already been achieved before in better Agatha Christie adaptions, the colours appeared overly heightened with the contrast turned up 100% which often became distracting.

The point of a good murder mystery is trying to figure it out with the characters as you watch, this was impossible in this show due to none of the clues being revealed until the end, even the lead character stated at the end they hadn't figured it out.

Very disappointing, hopefully this writer isn't allowed "adapt" anymore of Agatha Christies fantastic mystery books.

On my movie site I noticed many poor reviews, and they are wrong!!! I don't know if it is possibly a racial thing or what, but I thoroughly enjoyed this, and hoped there would be more episodes!

I almost didn't watch because of the idiotic low ratings, but am very glad that I didn't listen.

A fantastic miniseries, and after a bit I will watch again!!!

I Completely Love all good mysteries, books or otherwise, and this was extremely well done. The cast was great, the locations brought every scene to life, as if another character itself. There seems to be a bit of low key racism in the background here and there, probably from the same type of folk giving this excellent show bad reviews. I'm sorry if ya'll feel that way. You weren't raised right. I'm a middle aged white southern guy, that has read since I was 3 years old, and discovered the joys of classical and current mysteries at 7, devouring the Agatha Christie books, everything with Sherlock in it, and noticing people will often dance around what they want to say by saying something else.

Just because something doesn't fit in with what you're used to, bad reviews. That's a personal problem with you, not this great show!!!

I realise that this was Agatha Christie's first novel so she hadn't hit her stride, but my sense of disbelief had to leave the country let alone just the room. However my main issue is that they have taken what feels like a forty minute drama and stretched it to two hours by having the actors silently stare at each for long periods during each conversation. I think it's supposed to look brooding, pensive or intelligent whereas I think it just makes them look constipated.

After all that, British tv this Christmas has been fairly appalling, so even given the above I still sat through the whole two hours.