Really Surprised!

People are voting emotionally.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Wallander investigates two crimes, the first sees a man die by a cash point, apparently of a heart attack. The second case sees a taxi driver brutally stabbed to death by Sonja Hokberg, an eighteen year old girl who freely admits to killing him, totally oblivious to any possible ramifications. Meanwhile Wallander's daughter decides it's time for him to meet someone, he's matched with the beautiful Ella Lindfeldt, and the pair plan a date.I would say this is the best of the British made episodes of Wallander, it stands out for so many reasons. Firstly a story that could have been a bit common place is brought to life with such energy and vigour, the episode is well paced, full of tension, a real sense of urgency and threat are created. Wallander, normally quite emotionless is given a new dimension by the introduction of Ella, brilliantly performed by the gorgeous Orla Brady.The location looks fantastic, really adding to the darker tone of the episode, it feels bleak. Beautifully produced as always, a point also for destroying his phone, saving us from that annoying ringtone. Best of the bunch. 8/10

Do not read this if you expect to see the episode. On the other hand, read this and skip this episode. The convoluted plot begins with the coincidence of a young woman getting into a taxi that turns out to be driven by the man who raped her years before. She stabs him to death, figuring that there is no future anyway because she is involved in a sinister plot to destroy world banking and send the world into chaos. Then there's the coincidence of one of the men who is part of the evil dying of a stroke, in spite of his young age and healthy condition, right at the spot where the destruction is supposed to be triggered. Add to this the unbelievable premise that the bad guys hack the computer of the chief investigator and find out, that he is on a singles dating site, so they get the girlfriend of the chief bad guy to respond to his singles ad. Of course, she's the right age, beautiful, warm and sensitive, and the chief detective pines away for her even after she is killed (by the boyfriend), in spite of the fact that she was working with a man already responsible for at least two gruesome murders. And then there's the scene of the taxi-driving killer woman having a boyfriend with multiple computer screens set up showing the same texts as the big bad guy (who chops him up because he might talk). And the smart chief detective follows the big bad guy into a fog-shrouded woods, while the viewers shout out, "No, no! You can't see him but he can see you -- and when you're not looking, he'll get back into his van and speed away, after shooting at you, of course." Last time the chief detective was shot at he tripped on a rug at the exact moment, the same way he had in the set-up shot a few scenes earlier. Oh, com'on now. This is story-telling at its worst and most predictable.

Kenneth Branagh continues his portrayal of Kurt Wallander, the morose, driven policeman who holds forth in Sweden. In this offering, a young woman is killed and then dumped on some power lines, causing a district-wide blackout. The body of another man, murdered earlier, has been stolen. All this leads to a plot by some terrorists to set off a catastrophic event. A young man known for his computer skills is brought into the fold to try to figure out what is going on. Apparently, there is some grand design to all this and our hero must sort everything out. Branagh seems permanently depressed. He loves his daughter who recommends that he get out in the dating world, now that there is no hope of saving his marriage. He meets an attractive woman who starts to fall for him, but there is more to the story. Some of the technology is, quite literally, cryptic. We know that there is an endgame, but for most of us viewers, the science is so hard to follow as to be incomprehensible. Still, the slow pacing allows Wallander/Branagh to flex his acting skills.

As the first film of the English Wallander mini-series set a shining example, the second installment was a bit of a let-down in my eyes. Despite the obvious problems with turning a story that somewhat evolves around hackers into something eventful and interesting, Wallander himself isn't a very happening person; it's what's inside that makes most of this series kick, if you look away from the wonderful cinematography, the energetic screenplay, good dialogue and real acting, this story didn't entice me. It's a bit like flogging a dead horse, but still, not a very good TV film. I wish I could say something better about it, but the other two installments are, however, recommendable.