The Last Enemy

Now 2 episodes in and this show is really picking up pace. The first episode had the difficult job of setting up this complex story, but I'm glad I stuck with it. It's great to see the BBC make some drama that challenges the viewers in the way that the best American shows do. The plot is complicated but I for one want to know where it's going.

The acting in general is excellent but special praise has to go to Benedict Cumberbatch who plays the socially inept Stephen to perfection. It is also good to hear Robert Carlyle's character get to have his share of dialogue after his silent opening episode as he is such a great screen presence. This is a slow burner, but none the less gripping for that, and I can't wait to find out where it's headed.

This isn't the best of British TV. TLE is just "OK." Too long and too many storylines. They could have compressed 5 hrs into 2 or 3, and it would have been far better.

I really hate giving anything with Benedict Cumberbatch in it a 6, but this time I have to.

"The Last Enemy" has a brilliant premise that practically has happened - total information about everyone at all times in the UK. A mathematician, Stephen Ezard (Cumberbatch), who has been working ivory tower style in China, returns to England for his brother's funeral. There, he meets his brother's widow Yasim (the gamine Anamaria Marinca). In her unhappiness and loneliness, she reaches out to Stephen (it's Cumberbatch, who could resist) and he falls madly in love with her.

Stephen's ex-girlfriend works for the government and recommends him to help with a new information system, TIA (Total Information Awareness), the ultimate information gatherer. With the job comes the promise of funding his work. Stephen uses his access to TIA to investigate what happened to his brother.

Okay, that's sort of plot one. Plot two is a virus that's killing people in the middle east. It is impossible to discover the etiology of the virus because a) the bodies are destroyed immediately so no one can get a blood sample; and b) bioscientists are suddenly dying left and right.

My major problem with this series is that the writer waited too long to meld these two plots. The other problem for me was Robert Carlyle, an excellent actor, but was he a good guy or a bad guy? I'm embarrassed to say I never figured it out.

Otherwise, the story is chilling because it's becoming true. And the performances - Cumberbatch is perfection as a man forced into reality and absolutely terrified. I don't think I've ever seen a male character in anything act this frightened, but it is right on. He had great chemistry with Marinca, who did a fine job as well.

Definitely worth seeing, though your attention may drift from time to time. This could have been a fantastic miniseries if it had been put together just a little better. Very thought-provoking nonetheless.

It isn't difficult to be paranoid about the intrusiveness of the computers, cameras and new ways of identification. The possibilities of misuse and control are immense. Ergo, comes this more than slightly disheveled and confusing TV mini series. It bombards us with gadgets and technical lingo, and unfortunately most of the time forgets about people and their motifs, what makes them tick and bleed. In this world in near future there is no way of escaping, our all existence is monitored and recorded, under the guise of anti-terrorism and state security.I do not disagree with the concerns of this TV show, for me the problem with it is that it does not manage to fully connect us or make us care for the protagonists. In the end it is like a cold video game for lonely souls not unlike most of the characters of this moderately successful endeavor.

I liked this mini-series. I wandered in looking for more of Benedict Cumberbatch's work after seeing his great performance in "Sherlock" (which I give 5 stars). This multi-episode story held my attention throughout, and Cumberbatch played well a genius astounded at what was unfolding around him. You can't look away from the screen though because they don't dumb it down for you. One must pay attention. Sure, there are definitely some holes in the fabric the filmmakers weave, and some thin spots you could easily rip wide open... but I am going thumbs up on the drama as a whole. I cared about the characters and what their ultimate fate would be.

Of far more importance however then the drama itself is the obtuse message delivered by the producers. We are on the verge of losing what remains of our personal liberty. The England painted by the film makers is not some maybe, kind of, far off 'Mad Max' could-be dystopian future. It is more of a 'Max Headroom' world that is looming up all around us. The world of The Last Enemy is just around the corner. In fact, we are at least half way around that corner. Much of the suggested technology appears to be here already (and micro-biologists ARE dying at an unusually high rate).

Many well-intended people --such as portrayed in 'The Last Enemy"-- think strong controls on the populace is a logical means of preventing terrorism and related crimes. History does not bear that philosophy out however. You can't gain freedom by removing freedom. Given the current state of the evolution of human consciousness, powers given to the Government are used. At first. Then they are mis-used. Then they are ab-used. Every single time. Treatments such as 'The Last Enemy' help point out the futility of 1984 style controls placed on the populace. Our best way out of the dilemma the world faces is instead through individuals raising their own consciousness. We MUST evolve or freedom WILL die.

btw - A title I can think of that might interest those who liked this film is the British political mini-series 'The Amazing Mrs Pritchard'. For those wanting to learn more regarding the themes presented in 'The Last Enemy' have an abundance of choices in video. Two that come to mind are the black dystopian comedy from Terry Gilliam 'Brazil', and the documentary 'Ayn Rand & the Philosophy of Atlas Shrugged'.