The Swarm

The massive, very thick book was no masterpiece neither is the tv show one, but the special effects are ok, there is a lot of blurring and vignetting what i don't like, but the visuals are solid for tv. The story telling is slow with many pretty boring dialogues, but i like that there is no social media and no mobile phones, no cctv, like in the book. With so many different tv stations involved, you have a huge and probably very expensive overhead of people, The production if filmed in different languages and in some scenes one person is dubbed the other is not what is hard to watch. The amount of money put into this production is eye watering, but most of the actors are only known well in their home country, mostly from france sweden, canada... and germany. Casting Klaas Heufer Umlauf is a slap in the face of the peer actors as he cannot act, sorry.

I loved "The Swarm". But in its printed form, as the book was a clever and thrilling science thriller that had a few flaws but was nevertheless a page turner. So, I was looking forward to the show, expecting an intelligent thrill ride.

But nope.

This show would've been better off, if one of the bigger streaming services would have given it the right treatment. But this Euro-Production led by German national TV station ZDF is more talking about what happens, then showing it. The effects are nothing special and the changes they made could've worked, if not executed so poorly.

The cast is okay, though, but even they are not able to save the swarm from being a below average thriller/drama that has its moments but is not able to transport the feeling of a global, apocalyptic threat to the screen.

Everything seems "small" and the "possible end of the world" danger is absolutely lacking.

The author himself was not happy with the result and said in an interview "it is more soap, then thriller", and sadly, he is right. I would have given it 6 stars, but the last episode was such a disappointment, that I think an average rating for an average show is just right.

Maybe a bigger studio or streaming service will jump in and make it right. "The Swarm" deserves it!

A bit derivative and formulaic, it doesn't really scream top of the line. But, at the same time, there is no nonsense. And viewers are not treated like idiots, as is the case in most productions of this level. Big thanks to the producers for that. Of course, here and there the screenwriting "heavy handedness" forces a naive or illogical "drama", but, for the most part, 90% of what is shown makes sense.

A refreshingly thoughtful and consistent TV product whose current IMDB rating doesn't reflect its true value and one were "why on earth is this character doing what he's doing" hallmark of bad and cheap TV will not pop up every now and than and spoil the overall experience.

Here's the thing if you have read the book "The Swarm" it sounds like you might not be a fan of this TV adaptation. If you haven't then enjoy it like I am. It seems common for book fans to trash any TV/movie version of the work they love, so use your own judgment and don't be swayed by the naysayers.

Three episodes in I'm' really intrigued. I love the different global locations and the sense that nature is rebelling at human's ecological destruction.

The budget must be major considering how well it's shot and looks, acting is good, the suspense is building and I love how slowly things are revealed. I can't wait for future episodes.

Once again I almost miss out on a series because I made the mistake of reading reviews on imdb, but thankfully I decided to watch it and make up my own mind, yes it is a little bit slow in parts, but nowhere near as bad as some have said. The story is actually very good, as is the acting, and yes things do actually happen, also there's a couple of familiar faces, Rosabell Laurenti Sellers from Game of Thrones, and Rune Temte from The Last Kingdom.

So if anyone is thinking of watching this, don't be put off by the reviews on here, watch it for yourself and make up your own mind, like me you may be pleasantly surprised.