6/10
Pretty good, but four episodes would have been better.
7 August 2023
1963, British MI6 Agent Nicholas Elliott is placed in an impossible situation, when he's forced to consider the possibility that his friend Kim Philby, a fellow agent, has detected to The KGB, and spent 25 years working as a double agent.

This was a little hit and miss for me, it's a famous, real life story of a cold war espionage, I was hoping for some excitement, but Part from episode five, it was quite a slow moving affair, it's definitely dialogue heavy.

It's interesting, the story itself is absorbing, but I fear the pacing may be off putting for quite a few viewers.

I'm really surprised that Irvine Welsh's Crime was given an obscure transmission slot, and that this was given a primetime Sunday evening slot on ITV after being shown on Britbox, Crime in my opinion is by far the superior show.

In terms of production values, it is visually incredible, the period detail, cars and sets are faultless, you even have the atmosphere, which takes you straight back to 1963.

I feel they could easily have told this story over four episodes, that would have done a great deal to increase the causal pacing I expect.

Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce are outstanding, the acting is beyond question, the pair truly delivered.

Mrs Thomas, I couldn't make my mind up how I felt about her character, not part of the original book, her presence felt awkward, as though she was there simply to balance things out, she mentions her humble background several times, and as for that accent, it slipped quite a few times.

6/10.
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