FILM REVIEW: Spooks: The Greater Good

Four years since the ending of the hit BBC TV series Spooks, comes The Greater Good, a feature length adventure for MI5’s section D. We follow Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), the long-serving head of department, as he incurs the wrath of the CIA, not to mention his own team, when a major terrorist Adem Qasim (Elyes Gabe) escapes on his watch.

In disgrace, and with an incomplete mission on his conscience, Harry disappears. 

Concerned, her Majesty’s bigwigs convince ex-agent Will Holloway, played in role-share between Kit Harington and Jon Snow’s hair, with the hope that his personal connection to Harry will prove an advantage (that's Will, not the hair). Naturally though, Harry being Harry, nothing is as straightforward as it seems. The two must negotiate a tangled web of morality, laws and loyalty as London is threatened by a terrorist attack, and the future of MI5 itself hangs in the balance.

The Greater Good is full of twists, turns and surprises, and largely remains true to the TV series. The franchise’s attitude to killing off its characters has always been gung-ho at best, and this is true here. There are also some fantastic set pieces and shots of London to feast your eyes on. Rightly or wrongly, Spooks was always about defending our capital from malign outside forces, and again, that’s exactly what we get in this feature length outing.

Kit Harington is very good as the tortured moral compass of the film, although his character could have been pushed much further. In fact there was very little in the way of character exploration full stop, unless that character was Harry. The TV series made him its focus in later years, and rightly so, but here it felt at the expense of everyone else on screen. All the other agents, looked and felt a little flat. I also feel like the writers probably owe Lara Pulver an apology, but that’s by the by.

On a wider lebel, it was also a little lacking in terms of what terrorist Adem Qasim really wanted, other than revenge. Like it or not, we’re much more aware of the people, and the human stories, behind extremism than we were when Spooks was last on our screens, and we needed more than a cardboard cut-out terror leader to reflect that.

The plot was decent enough, although nothing that you couldn’t really have worked out for yourself. We’re so used to seeing Harry going against the orders of his superiors, that this didn’t really feel like anything new. As a result it was a little too linear, with too much character over content, if anything. Which I’m not normally one to complain about. In fact, dare I say it, it all felt a little too Hollywood.

On the plus side, there are a few things in there that will make long-time fans very, very happy. I squeaked with joy at the re-appearance of one character in particular. There was also some convincing exploration of the psychology, and ultimately the loneliness of working for the security services. Harry’s reference to the shortness of the list of ex-spies he trusts, when you exclude ‘the mad and the drunk and the dead’, was particularly telling.

If The Greater Good suffers from anything, it’s simply not quite having the heart of the TV series, the ending of which was so perfect, that, creatively at least, you can’t help but feel like they were wrong to tamper with it at all.

It’s an enjoyable film and worth seeing, especially as an existing fan, but ultimately it’s just not quite as good as an episode of the show it was based on. Not enough to make you angry, or complain that you wasted your hard earned money on a ticket, but enough to make you a little bit sad. Sad that these characters have been trotted out again for our amusement for seemingly little more than commercial gain. 

But mostly sad that we can’t see this slick, subtle and clever TV show on our small screens anymore.

- Jen

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@jenniferklarge

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FEATURE: Spying According To Spooks

For ten series, Spooks (or MI5 in the States) has brought us some of the most amazing drama the BBC has had to offer. From the sublime to ridiculous, we saw spies being all heroic, spies going rogue and the officers of the fictional Section D get dispatched in increasingly interesting ways (although they did have to work hard to top Series One's chip fat fryer...). 

With the new movie, Spooks: The Greater Good looming on the horizon, we decided to take a look at how luminaries such as Harry Pearce or Tom Quinn stop as many secret terrorist organisations, Americans and generally anyone else who threatened our national security as well as they did over those ten years. So we at Assorted Buffery have decided to bring you our comprehensive(ish) guide to How to Spy according to the characters of Spooks.

Please be warned; major spoilers for the Spooks TV series ahead.

Sir Harry Pearce (Peter Firth)

How to Spy: Drink whisky, and lots of it. If you've had a particularly bad day, simply drink more whisky and listen to some stirring classical music, just to add to the pensive mood. As capable of falling in love with colleague Ruth as you are ordering the assassination of a confirmed terrorist, you keep Section D running and let's face it, you're just impossible to kill.

Defining moment: Poisoning the Home Secretary to avenge the (actual) death of Ros Myers 

Secret weapon: Whisky. And the best phone voice ever. 

Current Status: Indestructible. Like Captain Scarlet.

Tom Quinn (Matthew Macfadyen)

How to Spy: Always turn on your morals at the least appropriate moment, then run into the sea in a blind panic and turn up on a street corner somewhere a week later disguised as a tramp.

Defining moment: Returning to kill off a loose end at the very last moment of the series, stealing the finale with his dashing good looks. 

Secret Weapon: A voice that could melt chocolate.

Current Status: God knows...

Danny Hunter (David Oyelowo)

How to Spy: Look cool. Then look a bit confused. Flirt with Sam. Look longingly after Zoe. Look a bit cool again and then die a heroic death.  

Defining moment: "Fuck you, you death-worshiping fascist!"

Secret Weapon: Winnie the Pooh (no, seriously)

Current Status: Triumphantly dead.

Zoe Reynolds (Keeley Hawes)

How to Spy: Secret identities never really worry you. I mean, who wouldn't want to tell a fit Welsh photographer your real name, whilst working an undercover mission on which people's lives depend? Besides, you can always escape "off-the-books" to South America should you completely balls it all up.

Defining Moment: Proving kicking ass and taking names wasn't just a boys' playing field.

Secret weapon: "The tight blue sweatshirt"

Current Status: Somewhere on the Inca Trail.

Ruth Evershed (Nicola Walker)

How to Spy: Panic. Then look longingly at Harry. Refer to GCHQ for no real reason other than exposition. Tell Harry what to do whilst looking longingly at him. Then look worried. Save the day with your wicked research skills.

Defining Moment: Saving Section D's arse so many times that she should be a national treasure. 

Secret weapon: Painstaking attention to detail.

Current Status: *Sob* We're still grieving this one.

Malcolm Wynn-Jones (Hugh Simon)

How to Spy: Without you, the MI5 technical department looked like a member of a boyband (Exposition-Tariq, I'm looking at you). Whether coming up with a convenient technical device to save the day or just hammering away at a keyboard looking like an expert movie hacker, Section D crumbles without you. So much so, they bring you out of retirement.

Defining Moment: Losing it at the death *sob* of Colin, his tech-wizard partner in crime.

Secret Weapon: Mad typing skills and the kind of computer graphics only seen on TV.

Current Status: Being awesome. 

Ros Myers (Hermione Norris)

How to Spy: You are always right. A universe in which you are ever not right simply does not exist. Be tough, kick arse, get your own way and if all else fails simply fake your own death. 

Defining Moment: Oh you know, casually coming back from the dead.

Secret Weapon: Withering sarcasm.

Current Status: Dead. Again.

Adam Carter (Rupert Penry-Jones)

How to Spy: Remember, your wardrobe is your most important asset. That, and a damn good designer stubble chin. Always charm, smile and persuade your way out of trouble. When in doubt, forget your designer labels and get naked.

Defining Moment: Cementing his position in the team by making it to a secret meeting using only a series of costume changes and sandwich board messages.

Secret Weapon: That piercing stare.

Current Status: Exploded.

Zafar Younis (Raza Jaffrey)

How to Spy: You are so damn badass you bring a baseball bat to a gunfight. Literally. So badass that getting rid of you in a suitably outrageous way was just impossible because you beat a guy into submission with a baseball bat. One convenient kidnapping plot later and you fade away into Section D memorial obscurity. But it's OK. Because you are awesome. 

Defining Moment: Dealing with a racist who'd already locked him in a cupboard and accused our Zaf of attempting to down an airplane.

Secret Weapon: A freaking baseball bat.

Current Status: We refuse to believe those photos.

Lucas North (Richard Armitage)

How to Spy: Being a spy is far easier than it looks. In fact it's often best not to use your brain at all. Rely on your superiors whenever you can, run into the odd moving vehicle and not to worry if you lose your target along the way. Oh and your name is JOHN by the way, that's JOHN. 

Defining Moment: Attempting to kill everyone in Section D. Including Harry. Seriously, who does that?

Secret Weapon: Going batshit crazy at inappropriate moments.

Current Status: Very dead. Which to be honest, is probably for the best.

Sarah Caulfield (Genevieve O'Reilly)

How to Spy: Perfect accents are a sign of a spy with too much time on her hands. Just go in there wavering Bostonian vowels a blazing and shag the nearest dimwit who's a few handguns short of an arsenal. Let's face it, we all knew she was a bad egg even before she somehow managed to throw a man twice her size down a fancy stair well. 

Defining Moment: Travelling from Boston to New York via Georgia in the space of about 30 seconds. Her vocal coach needs sacking.

Secret Weapon: Hulk-like strength without the unflattering green complexion. 

Current Status: Assassinated (Cor, they don't last very long do they?)

Dimitri Levendis (Max Brown)

How to Spy: It's a tough life being a sidekick, especially one who has all the character development of a wooden spoon. So give it your best frown, remind everyone you haven't yet turned into a cardboard cutout and only show emotion when defusing a bomb... again.

Defining Moment: We only actually remember him defusing a bomb and possibly shagging a target.

Secret Weapon: A well-practiced frown.

Current Status: Desperately seeking a personality.

Erin Watts (Lara Pulver)

How to Spy: Eyeliner. Heels and eyeliner. That's the secret. Oh and a damn good blow dry. 

Defining moment: Who are you again?

Secret Weapon: Erm, unhelpful killer heels?

Current Status: Getting her hair done and then sashaying into Spooks: The Greater Good.


Disclaimer: We hold no responsibility for anyone who actually attempts to spy according to the above techniques. Leave it to the sharp-suited professionals and catch Spooks: The Greater Good in cinemas on May 13th, with Kit Harington and the indomitable Peter Firth returning as Harry Pearce.

- Jen and Becky

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SERIES REVIEW: Mayday

 Having noticeably ended both of their hugely popular BBC One shows, Hustle and Spooks, within months of one another, it was clear Kudos productions must have had something else up their sleeves. That something else, it transpires, was Mayday, the drama that most critics have pegged a curious mix between Midsomer Murders and ‘insert other mildly sinister programme of choice here’ – I’m going to go with Lost.

Set in a small rural town with ‘filmed in leafy Surrey’ all over it like so much luminous yellow police tape, Mayday is a meticulously planned whodunit tracing the disappearance and possible murder of a teenage May Queen in the creepy local woods. (You see what they’ve done there with the title? Clever, eh?) Aired over five consecutive nights, the show introduces us to several male suspects, with very little in the way of subtlety in all honesty, although the damn thing’s so addictively intriguing that it hardly matters. 

They’re all suspicious seeming in their own ways, with the glorious Peter Firth, an epithet I shall ever more refer to him by, reprising his association with the company to play Malcolm Spicer, a property developer whose career was ruined by the missing hippy girl. Peter McDonald is equally shifty as angry policeman Alan with everything to lose, alongside silver fox Aiden Gillen as a convincingly damaged and leery widower. Other suspects include schizophrenic tree hugger Seth, (Tom Fisher), to whom I spent most of my five nights watching the show wishing to donate a reassuring cuddle, and self-proclaimed leader of the search party, Seth’s loutish brother Steve (Sam Spruell).

Got all that? Good.

Convincingly shifty though they are, with Peter Firth, sorry, glorious Peter Firth, especially excellent, it is not with the grown up blokes that the best performances of this programme lie. No, no. I have but three things to say about the best performances in Mayday, and they are these, Max Fowler, Leslie Manville and Sophie Okenedo. Okay four things, I’m going to say Sophie Okenedo twice. Max Fowler is absolutely spot-on in his performance of Everett’s troubled teenage son Linus, managing to give the character a level of pithy confidence, despite his dark and desperate exterior. He also carries off his character’s crippling crush on Hattie’s distraught twin Caitlin-the-plot-device (Leila Mimmack), although there’s no way he looks seventeen. Leslie Manville is completely captivating as Gail Spicer, taking us on an incredible character arc I would rather like to have continued long after the series ended- from put upon spouse to sarcastic and independent, we’re with her all the way. And last but not least, Sophie Okenedo. I’m working on an epithet for her but I haven’t quite got there yet. If Leslie Manville is captivating, Okenedo is practically spell-binding in this role. Quietly put upon by her temper fuelled husband, Fiona finds a new path for herself in this time of local crisis, stopping at nothing to, as her husband Alan terms it, ‘put things right’.

As the series goes on, more and more clue as to the back stories of our suspects are revealed, allowing us to form our own conclusions as an audience, as we are drip fed just enough details to keep us coming back for more, but never quite enough to fully twig whodunit. I apologise for that tree pun, given the circumstances, and indeed the image above. The simplistic format of the show, then, revolves from start to finish around these men, their lives and their potential motive. However, given my previous paragraph about the fantastic performances in the show, I can’t help but wish there’d been just a little more variety in the suspects. The female performances are indeed excellent, but with every male character in Mayday almost wholly without sympathy, it would have perhaps been interesting if there had been a female suspect or two as well. I actually found myself inventing motives for several of them just so that, in my head at least, they could be a little more involved.

That said, the slow reveal of information is done well, although the time commitment of almost a week with little to no answers revealed until around Episode 4 will not be for everyone. And is it worth that time commitment? Well yes, I think it largely is. Although I do also think that with these things, it is patently apparent from about the half-way point whether it is going to end in a glorious (Peter Firth again) conclusion with all answers handed to you on a plate, as well as gasp or two at the truth to boot, and maybe a car chase. Or, whether it will end in a slight fizzle, leaving you happy with the series overall, but a tad disappointed with the ending. It happened with last year’s The Paradise, much as I adored it, and alas it has happened here, too. Having spent four days looking forward to next episode, musing on woods based pagan rituals and small town secrets, the last episode left me with more questions than answers. This is never really what you want from a mystery drama, especially when you’re up against good ol’ David Tennant in a suspiciously similar programme over on ITV.

Overall, good, very good in places, but let itself down a tad at the end.

You can watch the whole of Mayday here, on BBC Iplayer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01r6kzz/Mayday_Episode_1/

Jen

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