zekesdad-75877

Y'know how sometimes movies can be be really terrible, but there were a few scenes, or characters, or lines of dialog that made them worthwhile? This isn't one of those. To be fair, the opening scene was enjoyable, but that only upped my expectations for the rest of the movie. Yup, two minutes into the movie, you've already seen the best this movie has to offer, then nothing else comes close.

There were some early scenes that the director may have felt were stylish, but, in retrospect, were more likely added just to pad the movie's runtime. Or, equally plausible, an early draft of the script had elements that were discarded along the way. I won't go into specifics, so as not to include any spoilers, but if you have absolutely nothing better to do and watch this movie, you'll see what I mean.

Highly recommended. This series covers a time and place untouched by American tv. With a backdrop featuring tensions between Sunni and Shiite, French and Algerians and French Algerians, the Catholic church, scores being settled from both WW2 and the war in Algeria all added to the mix, the story moves along quickly and keeps viewers guessing how everyone fits in.

It's good to see Clive Owen again. His portrayal of Sam Spade provides a convincing progression from Humphrey Bogart.

Rebecca Root was unconvincing as a British agent. In a story of intrigue, I didn't know if Root's portrayal of a woman was part of the story, or if I was just supposed to pretend not to notice her difference. Either way, Root is an unnecessary distraction.

Finally, the location in a small French town serves as a beautiful and endlessly engaging setting for the story.

Now that we know San Spade has retired to France, I hope more trouble will find him.