P.O.W.

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

A drama concerning the exploits of a group of men trapped in a German P.O.W. camp in World War 2.

This is another inspired concept for ITV to make a series out of,but the soap opera style execution the stories and sub plots end up being carried out with and limp dialogue make something that could have been brilliant into something that is merely okay and nothing special.***

Loved this series.

A previous reviewer complained about mistakes in military procedures, who cares? It's escapism. No pun intended LOL.

There could easily have been a second series which I would have loved to have seen.

Some of the posters on this have it right: this is for the most part a pretty routine dealing with the ordeals of a group of British POW's in a German POW camp. Truth be told, the movie wouldn't have much credibility if it broke new ground on this point because, truth be known, the ordeals of POW's is a matter for history, and only can be reflected in more or less accurate ways in film.

For my part however, I really did enjoy the film. There are of course some moments of unimaginable cruelty, as there always seems to be in times of war- however by and large, the performances were sharp, and the movie while its not exactly light material, was done in earnest and with good intent.

Oh, and I have to say, James D'Arcy is one fine looking lad, and seeing him in a sheepskin flight jacket will always be welcome with me!

I thought this series was GOOD! Maybe i haven't seen many decent P.O.W films but i think i have! I found i couldn't wait for Friday when i could watch the next episode and i missed it when it finished! All my family thought it was good too.

I think they should do another series as they did another Rosemary and Thyme and that was RUBBISH! James D'Arcy is a great actor and deserves to be in more brilliant movies. I have seen him in Master and Commander and The Trench. He was better than Russell Crowe! All the acting was great and Joe Absolom was funny and should get more TV jobs as well. The critics slated it, HOW COULD THEY!

P.O.W. centres around the escape attempts of several British officers in a Prisoner of War camp in Germany. The lead, Jim Caddon, is played by James D'Arcy (Master and Commander, Nicholas Nickleby) and the series starts off with his capture and subsequent transport to the camp. At first untrusted by the other officers, Jim eventually becomes good friends with a number of men and is brought into the folds of the escape committee.

Each episode is very neatly wrapped up at the end, with nothing being left unanswered. This helps if you happen to miss an episode, however it can be frustrating because when the episode finishes the men are usually right back where they were at the beginning of the episode.

Several episodes are based around fairly violent and emotional topics such as rape, murder and a man is even lit on fire(!), so this is definitely not one for the under 15s.

Fine acting and a brilliant script keep this series action-packed, and while its historical accuracy can be questioned, all in all it's a jolly good ride.

If you liked POW I recommend The Great Escape.