What makes it different from others?

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

What can I say, one of my favorite of the 7 series, along with 1 and 3. I've always told everyone I knew, being an American, that the reason I've never been able to stand American TV (Aside from Sci-fi shows) Is because of just a few shows as standards across almost every genre. In the Crime Genre, again, Britain takes the cake, the crown and every prize in-between. Prime Suspect, Cracker and Wire in the Blood set a standard for criminal drama unmatched by anything anywhere on earth.PS 5, is once again a juggernaut of engaging drama, tension and expert weaving of both overt and subtle story lines. Helen as usual is "Prime", I did miss the absence of many of the standard team-mates I had come to admire in the first 4 series. But this new team stood the test, as always, with varied personalities that made me wish the series was 2000 minutes instead of 200.And what's to say about "The Street"...not since J.R. Ewing (Back when I was a teen) have I found myself so enamored with darkness, he is such a hateful psycho that repulses, yet one can't help but be attracted to his power and charisma, (as guilty as that makes one feel). He's pretty fit in appearance as well. The fact that the series makes clear, though so subtle in nature that one hardly notices, that on top of everything else. He's Gay. Making (At least for Gay guys anyway) the whole love/hate thing even more powerful. Adding more to the already tense and fulfilling series.Along with Cracker and Wire In The Blood, and with a few other shows of other genres. Americans have to pay out the backside for these shows, I paid a huge amount for the complete 7 series DVD box set. But It was, as with the others, worth every penny.In conclusion, one has to say, that no one who considers themselves a collector of phenomenal cinema, especially if you're a crime series buff, should be without this series in their library. Bravo, Brava, and I only wish they'd made 40 of these series instead of 7 because I could never ever get enough.

Prime Suspect 4 was a bit of a mixed bag so it is great to report that PS5 is of a very high standard.Having blotted her copybook with the top brass in the Metropolitan Police force DCI Tennison finds herself in Manchester and before long is trying to solve a gangland murder in a flat complex. Suspects are hard to come by but she is convinced a local drug baron is involved somehow.I prefer the longer format as it allows some lengthy scenes where Tennison and her team of detectives try to get information from a suspect or a witness. Tennison is well able to play good cop and bad cop, sometimes in the same interview! She is also not afraid to show her sympathy for innocent victims and their families and her contempt for the criminal and the corrupt. She also has to deal with the varied personalities of her new team of detectives.Top quality criminal drama yet again from the Prime Suspect series.

It just gets better. What's to fault in this one? Is there anything? No. Curious how they interweave string quartet music through it - that's a new one. And it's stark - it brings a quality of immediacy and tragedy to it.Like all in this series, this has a long running time. Like everything in this series, nothing is set in stone. This is longer than many of the others. It's timed at 200 minutes which means a long time in front of the screen.But it's worth it. This is a strong drama like all of them, and not in the least because of Steven Mackintosh who plays one of the all-time creeps of silver screen or television.I checked his filmography and saw he's done quite a lot of work and I was surprised because I don't remember ever seeing him before. He really takes out the stops on this one.As always the story is well written and deftly directed. It's another masterpiece - and it's for television which is the surprise.And as always, you have to reckon Taylor Hackford's a lucky man.

Spoilers:At the end of Prime Suspect 4, Jane Tennison was subjected to disciplinary action for disobeying orders, despite her actions resulting in the safe rescue of an abducted woman and the capture of a serial killer. Her enemies used these events to destroy her career in the Metropolitan Police. However, she seemed to develop a personal relationship that could withstand her inner demons.As this series unfolds, Tennison is starting a new job, in exile, in Manchester. No mention is made of her previous relationship. What she finds is a depressed city riddled with crime, in the form of a young ganglord, "the Street". The Street seems untouchable, but Tennison vows to bring him down. She also encounters a young boy, Cameron, who wants law and order. Meanwhile, Tennison's new boss seems to appreciate her skills, as well as her body. Tennison enters into an affair, despite their professional relationship and the fact that he is married.Tennison uncovers a world of street violence, where drugs are mixed in private homes and criminals are cheered by the downtrodden. Her police team seems ineffective, and possibly corrupt. One of them is a promising detective, who is much like Tennison. She immediately finds herself at odds with Tennison, who she respects, but can't understand.Ultimately, this series comes across more like an old gangster movie than the police drama we've come to expect. The Street seems too invincible, for someone operating independently. Added to this is the intriguing, but implausible idea that the Chief Superintendent is in league with the criminal. Also, the affair with Tennison seems out of character for her. Although Tennison has been involved with police officers before, it seems that she would be unlikely to further jeopardize her career by sleeping with her boss. Maybe, at this point, she feels she has nothing to lose, but I don't think so. Again, I think this series has suffered from the absence of Lynda La Plante. The story is still engaging and the performances are good, but the result is less satisfying. Still, this series, even when stumbling, is at a far higher plane than its contemporaries.