Total Stinker

Rating: 1/10 (18 January 2012)

I was sure I was going to enjoy this film, but what a disappointment it was.
The pace is leaden rather than suspenseful, the violence is gratuitous, and the plot is quite inexplicable to anybody who has not read the book. And what the Dickens were they doing turning Peter Guillam into a homosexual? Just what the hell is that all about? And did nobody realise that casting Roger Lloyd-Pack (only known for Trigger in the BBC sit-com "Only Fools and Horses") as Mendel was going to blank any credibility of that character? And what were those swimming shots for? (And is there anything more ridiculous than the sight of a man swimming while wearing horn-rimmed spectacles?)
Anybody tempted to watch this rubbish should instead go out and buy the DVD of the BBC serial made in 1979. It will take you longer to watch, but it is more suspenseful, better acted, better directed, better scripted and better paced. Better everything in fact.
And all this Oscar talk..... I'm just baffled. (Just like last year, when another crappy remake (True Grit) got a lot of nominations.) I don't understand it at all.