The Last Enemy

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.

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.

I went to this for Benedict in the first place, but when I finished I found that the story was more exciting. Very good plot, every things were quite confusing in the first few episodes, and I didn't understand the whole thing until the last one. There could be some improvements in the way they delivered the story to make it more clear and intense. You need to be patient to wait for 2 or 3 episodes to get an idea of what's going on because they've been laying too much clues around and not connecting them till the last sec. They also spent quite a few shots on drawing the social background. But towards the end it was irresistible to see where the characters will end up despite their struggles. And at the last few scenes I did get horrid, thrilling feelings that the story tried to create. It made me so disgusted about what's happening in that fictional world and that's why I found this series quite nice.

The cast was good. All actors/actresses were delivering fantastic performances. (And I am more than happy to see what a brilliant job that Benedict did in this).

Overall, don't expect this show will be witty or delighting or full of fun. It followed the George Orwell "1984" and in a sense, dull, but still alarming. In my view it was unnecessarily lengthy, but not intolerable. So if you are after some kind of serious drama on political conspiracies, this one worth a try.

This is definitely worth watching if you are a fan of George Orwell's famous novel "1984". The series takes on much of the same material and ends in an equally depressing way. So if you are not bothered by the lack of a happy end, go ahead and watch this. Aside from the frustrating story, this does include some fabulous acting, though. Benedict Cumberbatch gave an Oscar-worthy performance. He really did all he could with his - admittedly - rather badly written character, Steven Ezard. It was very hard to emphasize with Steven because he was so unpredictable and not all of the inconsistencies could be chalked up to his mental state. But BC managed to draw you onto his side, at least. The script itself has some confusing dialogue and takes a long time to explain what was actually going on. It's okay that you have to keep guessing who's on what side but the key elements of the story and the main parties should have become clearer a lot sooner. Still, the time to review the series' issue is certainly here. Public surveillance and monitoring of individual citizens is not a distant vision any more like it was for George Orwell. It is very real and present at this date. Just think about smartphones. Or credit cards, bonus club cards,... Let's not even start with CCTV! We really ARE just one small step away from the scenario in this series and that is a system to combine and cross-reference all the data gathered through the various monitoring tools. If something like that would be found you'd be just where "The Last Enemy" begins. So, the series might be founded on frightening fiction that will probably become fact really fast, but it still should have ended on a more uplifting note. I do hope our future is not THAT bleak.