Sadly Over-hyped

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

First I'll write that Karoake is great, this follow-up is crap. The dialogue, characters, casting sets and plot all stink. Worse it makes a muddle of Karoake , which seemed to be an outstanding story on the nature of reality....how was Feeld affecting "real world" events ? Cold Lazarus never answers this and dwells on societal control of substitutes for things such as cigarettes and coffee ( tho never touching on why this should be important to the "ruling powers") ..crap. CL never explains how Feeld affected reality in Karoake, but throws in his twin brother's history in some meaningless way that does not settle the questions raised by Karoake at all.Cheap claptrap. What did Feeld say at the end ?

This story is a very good story in itself and if you've seen the story (behind Lazarus) you will get even more out of the serie. I enjoyed this "realistic" sci-fi stuff more than most of the hollywood style bang-boom-big explosion kind of action sci-fi.But I must warn you, if you hate each and every drama movie, go watch something else. All other people should watch this one.

I consider Dennis Potter's "The Singing Detective" the best thing ever to appear on TV. "Karaoke-Cold Lazarus" are contenders for second place. It is vital to see Karaoke first because Dennis Potter wrote them as a part of a whole.Potter racing against the clock to finish Lazarus before he died. They are funny, weird, mysterious and profound -- a rare combination for any medium. It helps to know a bit of Potter's bio to fully appreciate the depth of this accomplishment.My favorite moment came when slimy TV producer Siltz exults in the opportunity to own a writer's mind (literally) in order to exploit it. I can imagine the smile on Potter's face when he first conceived that scene, seeing it as a metaphor for his showbiz struggles with the Siltzes of the world.Anyone who appreciates great writing will love this. Dennis Potter wrote a brilliant script about his own death. I doubt anyone will top his feat for a long time.

Stendahl's idea that fiction holds more truth than any written "history" is, or will be, aptly applied to Dennis Potter's _magnum opus_, "Cold Lazarus." Even recent merger news makes the "Total Universal Entertainment Corporation" seem more a reality, as does the recent "State of the World" report. We've much to learn from our artists, the fewer there are, day by day. All those who love literature should be grateful that such a one as Dennis Potter left us these gems for television, among the few there have ever been, or will be.... Look upon "Cold Lazarus" with a somber and reflective mind, for the future is by no means, "out there...."