i must have seen a different film!!

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

I've never thought much of Robert Pastorelli, though I am sorry for the way he ended but for me Pastorelli just didn't have any grip. He seemed at his (adequate) best in Murphy Brown but in every other role he just never seemed to be convincing, this series was no exception either.Nevertheless, it was a great dis-service to him to cast him in an almost word for word American production of the great British series 'Cracker'. It was an insult to the original and to the poor actors doomed to the series and makes me wish that the USA would either stop doing this sort of thing or get better at adapting 'stolen ideas' to better suit the new world. The story lines, situations, attitudes and social structure didn't translate well to America and the sort of reprehensible but brilliant lead which was perfect for Robbie Coltrane needed someone with more intensity than Robert Pastorelli. Coltrane is bigger than life (even when he's not playing Hagrid) and most anybody would pale in comparison as Fitz.

I was not familiar with Robert Pastorelli, who died of a drug overdose, shortly after the series ended. I know he starred on "Murphy Brown" and some other television series, but that was it. Looking back at his "Fritz" the character and the actor clicked, for the most part. Granted, some of thedialogue was straight from the U.K. series, but Pastorelli did some nice personal touches in the series too: 1.) Compare Robbie Coltrane's (WHO is the definitive Fritz) ability to take down a suicide jumper compared to Robbie P.'s "Some Day A Lemming Will Fly" in both series. The approach is more American with R.P. flapping his arms attempting his own version jump believing the suspect will save him and get them both off the ledge. Robbie C. gives a speech about the title's meaning, but Robbie P. adds a little world weary flair by the flapping. It should be noted that the American Fritz really did hate his life, while the U.K. version's vices (gambling, booze, and adultery) kept him alive. I'll never forget Robbie P.'s line to an arsonist about to blow a house up: "Go ahead. It's been a bad week." 2.) After knowing that he puts an innocent man behind bars in "Lemming", both Fritzs react differently. Coltrane reflects quietly; Pastorelli gets sloshed the day they wanted to have a date. Again, it was Pastorelli's view of Fritz that made that role in the U.S. his. He wasn't just copying Coltrane word-for-word and action-for-action always. 3.) Some dialogue is definitively up-to-that-date American: Robbie P. tells an antecodote that Robert Mitchum lived on juice and alcohol. Just like the U.K. version had its pop references so did this one. 4.)Also of note are the episodes when Pastorelli has a heart attack (or rather his Fritz does), which is not in the U.K. series, the U.S. version of Fritz talking to his dad, and the final episode where Robbie Coltrane stars as a Hollywood star. The point that I am hinting at is that yes, Coltrane, who is a very good actor, fit U.K.'s Fritz like a glove, and yes, I love his Fritz. Pastorelli's Fritz was an American sequel to the series. (Note that the U.K.'s final episode -- not including "Lucky White Ghost" -- was the plot for the first U.S. series.) Pastorelli seemed to draw from the hell he was in shortly before his death to make the character his own. If that ain't Method acting, what is? For even attempting to touch this beloved U.K. character with his own style should give the man some credit in the great beyond. His American Fritz never got fully developed, and that was the truth. Nonetheless, the U.S. series was a very good attempt, and if you can, try to see it as the work of Pastorelli and R. Lee Emery and others instead of a copycat. It deserves better than that label.(Personal note: If responding to this comment, no tabloid crap or jokes about R.P.'s life, okay? Tahnk you.

Robert Pastorelli tried. The problem with this Americanized version of a great British series was the story lines didn't translate well. The story lines are so British. They would have been better off taking the characters and writing completely new scripts. It might have worked better if the series took place in New York. The LA area just didn't seem to fit with the dark feel of the show, all that sunshine just didn't work. I watched all of the episodes, waiting for an original storyline, never happened.It was an admirable effort to bring a good show to American television. But poorly executed.

Like others, I'm spoiled by watching the brilliant original. This movie is a near line-by-line re-creation of a Cracker episode. But it is done without the scene-setting and great asides from the original. Interstingly, they took some lines Fitz says to Judith at the end of the original and has him say them to Nina. The sexual tension between Fitz and the Panhandle character is absent and awkwardly comes into play at the end. Might be worth seeing for an early Makiska Hargatay police work. Or Josh Hartnell. Both don't show up in the IMDb credits.Still, pretty much a waste of time if you've seen the original. The Fitz character lacks the believability of Robbie Coltrane.