Sniffer

Ukraine buddy cop series, very polished production and likable leads. I love it because first show or movie I've seen where Russians are normal, ethical ( and not) folks. They aren't you stereotype of sneaky corrupt and ruthless. As American I'm forced to look to scandi noir and BBC for quality TV these days. I never in a million years thought I would find my next gem in the Ukraine. How very cool!!

Rather well written and well acted. Weaving in the private life of a disconnected father who glides like a big cat through the forensically impossible. The performances carry the plot well without truck loads of over done music.

The lead actor is convincing as a man with a preternatural sense of smell. His extra-sensory nose is beyond phenomenal as a human sense organ, and he uses it as a positive skill to solve crimes. His ex-wife is gorgeous but she goes a bit over the top to portray a witch with a capital B. Hopefully, she will tone down her "acting" in her next films.

In the opening scene, "the Sniffer" detects an ominous-looking man who boarded the plane has a bomb hidden in his arm cast. The Sniffer tells the flight attendant to alert the pilot Captain, etc...

I wondered how the man with the bomb in his arm cast got past security? Wouldn't the X-ray machines and walk thru's have detected the explosive device?...and arrest him for "packing heat?"(how did he even get on board the plane?) The red sports sedan the Sniffer drives is hot. It looks like it's a newer model Mustang.

The film was made in the Ukraine and shows a lot of local color in Kiev, its capitol city. Entertaining, clever film.

Great idea and I don't see it as entirely impossible, though possibly only with some kind of enhancement to the body. Being a writer myself, I see more possibilities with the idea than I've seen so far in the show, but then I've only watched four episodes so far. The Sniffer would be able to smell disease in humans like some dogs apparently can. Not only could he use his talent to solve crimes, he could work for doctors and quickly tell what a person has, such as diabetes, kidney disease or various cancers and metabolic imbalances. The show could go in that direction too and turn him into a super House. The guy who plays the main character is perfect, his expressions subtle and though the character is a bit of a snob or maybe it's just that he's too sensitive for normal social life, the actor makes him very likable, at least to me.

This series is a mixture of genres all rolled into one. It's a detective series with a guy who uses his uncanny sense of smell to solve cases, it's a "Buddy" film with a "Bromance" between the two male leads, it's a comedy with an element of slapstick and a couple one-liners. It's entertaining most of the times but eventually becomes formula driven with the inevitable wind up at the end. It does give a perspective of modern Russia not often seen in other series. It's not particularly "noir" like many of the Scandinavian series but the sets and outdoor shots are more often monochrome. I guess this makes the brilliant green and red cars, driven by the lead actors stand out more. It's a good watch when you want something silly and light, yet entertaining and fast moving.