Fleming

This is a quote excellent four part story which looks at the life of Ian Fleming, his wartime career, the time before he became famous for James Bond.

Fleming is portrayed as a Bond life character he, he guns down Nazis, takes up secret missions, and certainly puts it about.

It's a very raunchy drama, Fleming was certainly a man for the ladies. Cooper cuts a dashing figure as Fleming, you can't help but see flashes of Bond. Laura Pulver is wonderful as Ann, they make a great duo.

A wonderful, dazzling production, it looks amazing, smart costumes, great sets, they didn't go overboard with special effects thankfully.

Well worth a watch, 8/10.

In the great tradition of excellent, professionally made British TV Series...

How good, how refreshing! Finally a production which entertains, informs and intrigues at the same time! Everything about this show is well done, the script (above all), the direction, the acting, the cinematography, the sound... There is absolutely nothing to complain about. It is interesting, the dialog (finally) is engaging, it is wonderful to hear the English language spoken so beautifully. Yes, it does not completely conform to historical fact, it has been a little dramatized for entertainment purposes, but who cares? It is and remains an excellent production.

I am certain Fleming would have loved this! Well done to all!

I find it fascinating that much of the criticism in other reviews is based on the idea that James Bond wasn't based on Fleming. A fictional character by its very nature has its roots in more than one place. I've no idea how Fleming's war exploits compare to the novels, but it's quite clear that James Bond's personal behaviors, tastes, preferences, and prejudices are based on Fleming's. His wife made direct reference to this in the series opening and these similarities are well documented in analysis of the novels. Fleming wasn't Bond, nor were any of the others that have been posited as his inspiration. Bond is an amalgam of many, and Fleming himself was certainly one of them.

From the very beginning, we're gently nudged towards the idea that the inspiration to Ian Fleming for James Bond was... Fleming himself. As fictional as that may be, and there are reasons to appreciate it for the entertainment value at least, young Fleming's routine gets old really really fast. The boozing, womanizing, good-for-nothing, but ultimately lovable scoundrel has been portrayed in many a production before. Nothing bad about Dominic Cooper's performance, and he does radiate a certain charm, but really... there's only so much dickish behavior one's charm can excuse.

Ultimately, I got bored by Fleming's antics and the repeated, sanitized sex scenes. The central plot never grasped me and frankly, I ended up not caring particularly much for any of the characters - least of all the titular one.

It's not a bad product per se. But not a very good one either.

A four-part mini-series about James Bond author Ian Fleming. Based on true events how his work during WW2 formed the basis for his later novels. Booze, beautiful women, money, casino's, secret missions, ... its all in this mini-series. In a sense it is truely his life during WW2, which resulted in the inspiration for his later Bond novels.

This mini-series also shows how the "30 Assault Unit" was Fleming's initiative, like the famous way in which the Germans were fooled in believing the Allied Forces would invade Greece instead of Sicily. This by using a dead body that was rigged with false intelligence.

It also shows the complex relationship that Fleming had with women, including his own mother. We also get an idea how Fleming came to know his later wife Ann O'Neill.

Excellent acting and stunning scenes make this mini-series a very attractive watch. It really gives the viewer an idea how high-society London was during the 1940's war years.

Overall, this show scores 7.5/10, thereby just making it an IMDb rating of 8 stars.