Cape Town

Just started streaming On Prime. 4 (2 out of 5) star- from minute to minute it is boring. Not the worse thing I've seen lately. but somehow, it just doesn't hold my interest. Again, sex trafficking. important but tired plot. and a serial killer. comments on Norwegian actor Selms poor S. Africa Accent- for me the pinched English sounds, I am not that familiar with regional accents. I never understand why when there are great local actors, they insist on hiring English language 1st (not true here) try to do other accents which are so divergent- if I see one more English Irish Scottish Aussie playing an American.... OK so I am a Hugh Laurie fan, but still. There's talent in South Africa ( District 9) but back to this. Cliché hard drinking smoking grief stricken heart broken cop. If he had high cholesterol and high blood pressure (that can come with age over 45, or genetic) smoking and drinking would kill him off soon.

I have to say that I was absolutely bound by this new crime mini-series. Of course it is not reinventing the wheel, but it tells an exciting story in a very dynamic way. There are several plot lines / crime cases connected, and the suspense is increasing bit by bit until the surprising finale, when all the loose ends come together. Maybe a bit conventional at some points, but quite entertaining! The drinking and overweight police captain, mourning after his dead wife, surely is a well-known character in the crime genre. Anyway, I think the role is very well interpreted by Seim, who gives it all the pessimism and self-doubts it needs. I really liked the various characters and the multiculti cast - especially the Polish Dorocinski playing the junkie coming clean. The hair and make-up stylists may have overdone their work a bit with the female actors… you won't see these loads of eyeshadow and rouge in a U.S. or European series. The city of Cape Town looks stunning in this show and the camera work is really high-quality! Well done altogether.

Based on Deon Meyer's novel "Dead before Dying", this series should have had enough going for it to come out tops. Unfortunately due to a rather disastrous screen-play and some extremely amateur acting it has become a prime belly flopper. The two actors in the main roles are Norwegian and Austrian. Both attempt to imitate South African accents (and very red-necked ones too). Kodjoe is probably more successful but Seim never manages to get rid of his Norwegian accent and his line about growing up in Goodwood was just not credible. Both of them seemed to be in the wrong country, wrong series. And that is where the credibility issue of this series begins and falls. Continuity in the camera work was another problem. Constant interpolation of random shots of areas in and around Cape Town were constantly thrown in for no reason and only served to make this confused screen-play even more nonsensical. Most of the South African acting is awfully staid and artificial (the embarrassing scene with the neighbors commenting on Drew Wilson's homosexuality was a typical example). Good camera work (Cape Town is always wonderful to look at) but the screen play is confused, drawn out and suspense is almost non-existent.

There are some really terrible reviews for this series and I don't think it's at all bad. The story is good, acting ok without being memorable and locations/filming pretty good.

All in all definitely a 7 in my view. The comments about bad accents I simply don't understand. It's South Africa for god's sake. What do they expect ?!

Cape Town has a wealth of characters and cross plots that requires you to pay attention. The seemingly divergent stories all come together for an exciting finale. The characters are well drawn and detailed, right down to the background actors. Cape Town itself is a major visual draw card and I loved the quick shots around the cape that open each scene. Worth watching.