Catarina, A Grande

Great sets, costumes and cinematography. Let down by a tedious script over peppered with graphic debauchery and foul language.

Was looking forward to this but felt totally underwhelmed.

Not Mirren's best work.

I have only seen the first episode but so far this is what I think ...

Firstly, Helen Mirren was the absolutely wrong choice. She is 72 years old playing a character who is supposed to be in her mid 30's. Catherine the Great didn't even live to 72 .. she died in her 60's. Helen Mirren is an incredibly talented actress but why not give someone younger the opportunity to play such a great character?

Secondly, Mirren's portrayal isn't how I pictured Catherine the Great to be. Catherine the Great was a Tom boy as a child and was not feminine. She was strong and willful. Her husband had been a weakling who played with dolls in the bedroom. She cane to power out of necessity for Russia more than personal desire. She loved Russia from the beginning and was doing what was best for the country ... not herself. This portrayal of Catherine the Great shows her as a greedy, selfish woman who is acting out of her own personal desires and not those of the country. This couldn't be more wrong!

Further, I am so tired of hearing british accents in every movie that takes place in other countries. It is historically inaccurate. But heaven forbid someone play a Brit and not have a proper accent! It is such a double standard! Make those actors learn and use a Russian accent.

Lastly ... this show was so far just plain boring. Such a missed opportunity. Really sad ...

Catherine was in her late 30s when the drama starts, and Helen is in her 70s... so it is a little bit, strange. The history is poorly reconstructed and it lacks enthusiasm and the Russian carisma. I was expecting more...

I leave to others to pour over the historical innacuracies or the fact that was Helen Mirren to old to play Catherine over a 20 year period. My initial view was that the sets, the scenes , the costumes were simply stunning, held together iby a bravura performance from Helen Mirren - although the story & script were a bit dull. However, after I'd seen all the episodes, I felt the limited story flowed well, that Jason Clarke and others acted immpecably. Yet Helen Mirren was magnificent , a delightful blend of duty, love, and preserving the Russian Legacy. Surely an Emmy awaits her performance in this. If you find it boring , stick with it & the performances will carry you through. Not a classic but a very good attempt.

Was so looking forward to this, as Russian historical dramas are hard to come by. Helen Mirren is of course stellar (as is Rory Kinnear) but its let down by the need to have unrelated/ unnecessary vulgarity that doesn't progress the plot and comes across as unintentionally funny.

The Russo-Turkish War is merely a generic background war, Catherine's enlightenment and progression barely touched on. I echo others in these reviews that are underwhelmed and disappointed.

My advice is to avoid and watch the 2015 Russiabn series "Ekaterina: The Rise of Catherine the Great" currently on Amazon Prime