A historical drama. Another film adaptation of the famous Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when a group of radical English Catholics decided to destroy King James Henrikhovich the First Stuart and the entire parliament by blowing up a building where the king, parliamentarians and almost all the closest royal entourage should have been present on November fifth, 1605. But as everyone knows, the conspiracy was uncovered, and its participants were destroyed (who was lucky enough to die in battle, and who was brutally executed by the verdict of the royal court). The locomotive of the production of this series (in addition to the HBO channel) was the world-famous John the Sad Little Snow (according to Kit Harington's passport), who is a direct descendant of Robert Catesby, the leader of the conspirators, whose role is played by Kit himself. I admit, I did not have high hopes for this series, but watching it generally depressed me, because it was a complete failure. And here's my brief opinion for you - A dreary film adaptation of the famous Catholic assassination attempt. There were both pros (which are not many) and cons (which are definitely worth attention) in the series, so I finish this introductory word and proceed to the analysis.
So, the pros: 1. Costumes, scenery - I admit, this was almost the only reason why I did not fall asleep completely while watching this series (and also the story, but more on that later). We just worked with the costumes (although they do not "sit" on all the characters). Maybe it was in a hurry, but only three characters were able to "carry" their clothes - Catesby, Fox and Cecil. Even the king in his clothes is not very pleasing to the eye (although it is clear that the clothes are expensive and well made). In general, the costumes are similar to the historical era being shown. The scenery was also pleasing, and I'm not even talking about the contrast between the palace and the dwelling, although impoverished, but still a lord. London, provincial England look very atmospheric. At the same time, the series does not feel like a chamber, although we are not shown very many rooms.
2. Music - local musical compositions create the atmosphere of England at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Appropriate music plays in tense scenes. Of course, not Hans Zimmer, nor John Williams, nor Ennio Marricone, but for an average dull historical series it will do.
So, the cons: 1. The political version - the failure of the conspiracy here was decided to be associated with the political intrigues of England and Spain, who wanted to conclude a peace treaty with each other (since finances sang romances in both countries, and the war had been going on since 1585). And it seems even logical. But there is one point that ruins this version - the fact is that the peace treaty between the countries was signed in 1604, and not in 1605, as it was presented in this series. Even more, I will tell you - the origins of the conspiracy are still unknown. There is an assumption that the rebel Robert Catesby was his locomotive, but this is only an assumption. The political version itself is simply meaningless.
2. Strong discrepancies with the real story - I will tell you only about some facts: Robert Catesby's estate was taken away long before the Gunpowder plot (he lost it for participating in a conspiracy against Queen Elizabeth Henrikhovna the First Tudor, it's even surprising that he was left alive) and in the series he has an estate, the circumstances of Guy Fawkes' arrest were somewhat different (he did not arrange a stabbing with guards) Father Garnet (already sitting in the Tower) actively wrote letters in invisible ink (they are in the National Archives of Great Britain) and there is nothing like that in the series, Catesby and his remaining supporters were not killed almost instantly after the failure of the conspiracy, but withstood a ten-hour siege of the house where they locked themselves in, Anna Vox spent some time in prison for indirectly assisting the Gunpowder conspiracy, and in the series she escaped this fate. And these are just some of the facts that immediately catch your eye. If you dig around properly, you can find even more of this. When you watch historical movies, never completely trust everything shown, never!
3. Kit Harington - let's start with the fact that Kit never learned how to play, he was John Snow, and he remained so (especially since this series was filmed in between seasons of "Game of Thrones"). But that's half the trouble, the fact is that Keith portrayed his ancestor Robert Catesby as a whiner and a slob with zero charisma. It seems that's how he sees his ancestor. It looks ridiculous, because Robert Catesby (if it was he who was the locomotive of the conspiracy) was able to gather a group of people and organize a conspiracy. Only a man with at least military experience and unquestionable authority could achieve this. A wimp and a slob (as he is shown in this series) would never be able to pull this off. Who would even go after such a thing? Especially in those turbulent times? Yes, the articles of the editors of the most famous Russian website dedicated to cinema should never be believed, never!
4. Guy Fawkes - let's start with the fact that the actor looks completely different from the famous character. Was it really that hard to find the right actor? Or a high-quality makeup artist who would do everything right for you? So they also made a rabid ferret out of him, which, if given free rein, he would destroy all Protestants in England, although documents show that he was an ordinary perpetrator of the conspiracy, who panicked at the last moment (which led to the discovery of barrels of gunpowder) and that he was a Catholic. His image in this series has been exaggerated too much.
5. Catholics were exposed as martyrs - the series is actively trying to hammer into our heads the idea that English Catholics in the country were persecuted almost worse than Jews in mainland Europe. Which, to put it mildly, is not the case. And even more so whose cow would moo. Can you tell me how you Catholics, subjects of the English kings, burned all those who disagreed with you at the stake of the Inquisition? Can you tell us about the persecution of Jews? That you were a litter for the Popes of Rome? And now you've lost everything and you've received a reply from all those you've been chasing? You don't have to wait for sympathy. You are not followers of the "true" faith, but ordinary papists.
6. Dullness - if the first series is still quite dynamic and cheerful, then the second and third against its background seem to be a dull gray. And if the characters are also not hooked, then it's not a big deal at all. That's what happened here. When watching, I had no sympathy for the English Catholics, I was more impressed by King James Henrikhovich the First and his minister, Count Robert Cecil, who wanted to save England from economic collapse (it came later, but the consequences were much milder) and allow the country to live in peace. Against this background, the problem of a group of rebels does not matter.
The actors play at a very average level. The most memorable of them were Cecil and King James, who was played by One of the famous TV series "Xena - the Warrior Queen".
The result was not the best. A dull series that has only an indirect relationship to the story. This series is not worth watching at all, especially since there are other works on this topic in the world cinema. The atmosphere and music do not save the situation. The series is objectively bad.
My rating is 5 out of 10 and I do not recommend watching this series!
So, the pros: 1. Costumes, scenery - I admit, this was almost the only reason why I did not fall asleep completely while watching this series (and also the story, but more on that later). We just worked with the costumes (although they do not "sit" on all the characters). Maybe it was in a hurry, but only three characters were able to "carry" their clothes - Catesby, Fox and Cecil. Even the king in his clothes is not very pleasing to the eye (although it is clear that the clothes are expensive and well made). In general, the costumes are similar to the historical era being shown. The scenery was also pleasing, and I'm not even talking about the contrast between the palace and the dwelling, although impoverished, but still a lord. London, provincial England look very atmospheric. At the same time, the series does not feel like a chamber, although we are not shown very many rooms.
2. Music - local musical compositions create the atmosphere of England at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Appropriate music plays in tense scenes. Of course, not Hans Zimmer, nor John Williams, nor Ennio Marricone, but for an average dull historical series it will do.
So, the cons: 1. The political version - the failure of the conspiracy here was decided to be associated with the political intrigues of England and Spain, who wanted to conclude a peace treaty with each other (since finances sang romances in both countries, and the war had been going on since 1585). And it seems even logical. But there is one point that ruins this version - the fact is that the peace treaty between the countries was signed in 1604, and not in 1605, as it was presented in this series. Even more, I will tell you - the origins of the conspiracy are still unknown. There is an assumption that the rebel Robert Catesby was his locomotive, but this is only an assumption. The political version itself is simply meaningless.
2. Strong discrepancies with the real story - I will tell you only about some facts: Robert Catesby's estate was taken away long before the Gunpowder plot (he lost it for participating in a conspiracy against Queen Elizabeth Henrikhovna the First Tudor, it's even surprising that he was left alive) and in the series he has an estate, the circumstances of Guy Fawkes' arrest were somewhat different (he did not arrange a stabbing with guards) Father Garnet (already sitting in the Tower) actively wrote letters in invisible ink (they are in the National Archives of Great Britain) and there is nothing like that in the series, Catesby and his remaining supporters were not killed almost instantly after the failure of the conspiracy, but withstood a ten-hour siege of the house where they locked themselves in, Anna Vox spent some time in prison for indirectly assisting the Gunpowder conspiracy, and in the series she escaped this fate. And these are just some of the facts that immediately catch your eye. If you dig around properly, you can find even more of this. When you watch historical movies, never completely trust everything shown, never!
3. Kit Harington - let's start with the fact that Kit never learned how to play, he was John Snow, and he remained so (especially since this series was filmed in between seasons of "Game of Thrones"). But that's half the trouble, the fact is that Keith portrayed his ancestor Robert Catesby as a whiner and a slob with zero charisma. It seems that's how he sees his ancestor. It looks ridiculous, because Robert Catesby (if it was he who was the locomotive of the conspiracy) was able to gather a group of people and organize a conspiracy. Only a man with at least military experience and unquestionable authority could achieve this. A wimp and a slob (as he is shown in this series) would never be able to pull this off. Who would even go after such a thing? Especially in those turbulent times? Yes, the articles of the editors of the most famous Russian website dedicated to cinema should never be believed, never!
4. Guy Fawkes - let's start with the fact that the actor looks completely different from the famous character. Was it really that hard to find the right actor? Or a high-quality makeup artist who would do everything right for you? So they also made a rabid ferret out of him, which, if given free rein, he would destroy all Protestants in England, although documents show that he was an ordinary perpetrator of the conspiracy, who panicked at the last moment (which led to the discovery of barrels of gunpowder) and that he was a Catholic. His image in this series has been exaggerated too much.
5. Catholics were exposed as martyrs - the series is actively trying to hammer into our heads the idea that English Catholics in the country were persecuted almost worse than Jews in mainland Europe. Which, to put it mildly, is not the case. And even more so whose cow would moo. Can you tell me how you Catholics, subjects of the English kings, burned all those who disagreed with you at the stake of the Inquisition? Can you tell us about the persecution of Jews? That you were a litter for the Popes of Rome? And now you've lost everything and you've received a reply from all those you've been chasing? You don't have to wait for sympathy. You are not followers of the "true" faith, but ordinary papists.
6. Dullness - if the first series is still quite dynamic and cheerful, then the second and third against its background seem to be a dull gray. And if the characters are also not hooked, then it's not a big deal at all. That's what happened here. When watching, I had no sympathy for the English Catholics, I was more impressed by King James Henrikhovich the First and his minister, Count Robert Cecil, who wanted to save England from economic collapse (it came later, but the consequences were much milder) and allow the country to live in peace. Against this background, the problem of a group of rebels does not matter.
The actors play at a very average level. The most memorable of them were Cecil and King James, who was played by One of the famous TV series "Xena - the Warrior Queen".
The result was not the best. A dull series that has only an indirect relationship to the story. This series is not worth watching at all, especially since there are other works on this topic in the world cinema. The atmosphere and music do not save the situation. The series is objectively bad.
My rating is 5 out of 10 and I do not recommend watching this series!