Before We Die

This is a straight remake of a 2017 Swedish Series which can also be found on All4. I watched it earlier this year and It's vastly superior to this.

For me the adaptation didn't travel well or ring true set in Bristol but shot in Brussels? Lesley Sharp is an excellent actress but she has too much to do here as the supporting cast around her is very weak. Direction was mediocre with a lot of forced scenes, the score was busy and cheesy often telegraphing the action or destroying the drama within scenes. A poor script with much clunky dialogue.

Overall the remake felt dumbed down and a lot of the relationships didn't work. The original was subtle and built slowly but this one gave away the plot cheaply.

If you haven't seen the original and liked the first episode stick with it as the series storyline has a great pay-off. But if you weren't convinced by the first episode and enjoy Scandi Noir watch the original Series on All4 as it's miles better.

I enjoyed this series. The main actors were more like real people would be with their emotions and frustrations. I thought the plots were quite well done. The only glitch in my mind was Chief Superintendant Kane's rank insignia-- A Chief Superintendant wears the crown with a diamond or "pip" below it. Kane is wearing a much,much higher rank such as Commissioner or Chief Constable. If the wreath were taken away on his epaulettes the rank would be correct. Just odd that no-one would have researched this. Overall an enjoyable watch and good acting with a minimum of swear words and overkill.

Higher rank.

Hannah Laing's complex relationship with her son is made harder when it becomes apparent that he's involved with a very dangerous, criminal family.

Ignore the dismal reviews for this show, yes it's a remake, but one I thought that was fantastic. It is incredibly well paced, and doesn't let up for a second, six very intense episodes.

A few quibbles, why does Bianca have an incredibly English accent, when all her family have definite Serb/Croat accents. Why are there so many sky shots of Bristol, we all know chunks are filmed abroad, and why do they have Jurassic phones?

Minor quibbles addressed, this is a very edgy, stylish six part series, the acting is terrific Lesley Sharp is first rate, everyone has their part to play, not least Patrick Gibson, who plays Christian.

It feels as if they've left the door open for a possible second series, I'd be delighted if one were made.

Thoroughly enjoyed it, 8/10.

The producer bombed out many times.

Seriously, if you were under cover such as Christian, would you risk sending so many texts at times of being in the company of "the family"?

Also the attempts of running from them whilst being chased by a car, mostly done on main roads. Hilarious!

A few flaws here and there but decent entertainment. And so good to see Lesley Sharp get another major role... she's an oldie but goodie... I like that. It's also nice when the 2nd half is better... makes you happy you hung in there. And they did a fantastic job of leading into season 2... I look forward to it.