Please don't spend money on this.

Expected more

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

I'm excited by any version of the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (much like Treasure Island, but that's for a different review), but this one caught my attention before the first title card ever rolled.James Nesbitt is a phenomenal character actor in this role, gleefully diving into the Hyde character and dolefully struggling to plant his feet in the world as Tom. Gina Bellman long ago earned her place in my heart as one of the most natural comedic actresses that I was lucky enough to watch, but she also performed her role as a ferocious mother and determined wife in the series.It stumbled a bit in the last episode, but was captivating and tense for almost its entire run. A very good showing.

This series is like a set of six sprints. First episode was OK but pacing itself. Nothing too extraordinary, just gathering steam. It really hits its stride during episodes two through four. So much so that right there it's clear whose going to win the race. Hence, at the tail end episodes five and six are still solid but not as wicked cool as the middle ones. I was nervous in the beginning of number six, looked like it was going to go way cliché, but it came back strong.A little sample of some of the coolest lines (and there are MANY):"Trust me, I'm a psychopath!" and "My Daddy wants to have a word with you."One of the things this series pulls off amazingly well is the use of flashbacks. It was clearly plotted out from the get-go (unlike LOST) and hence it all fits together perfectly. I haven't been this impressed by a whole series in a good long while.Awesome.

I was only willing to sample this series because of Murhpy's Law and James Nesbitt was playing the lead (i'm a huge fan, so maybe i'm biased here). I can honestly say i was blown away. It was certainly far better than i even hoped and way exceeded my expectations. This was one of those "less is more" approaches to special effects and terror. Its flashes and images we see at his worst moments as Hyde, but enough to make your skin crawl when you see him on screen. Nesbitt's face is FAR more expressive than i thought. Not quite a Jim Carey, but i was creeped out a few times with his facial expressions. Also, his performance reminded me a lot of Alex in A Clockwork Orange. Hyde would have made a perfect droog. Playing the role of the doctor seemed like it required more effort - he's not a dynamic character until later in the series... and i think its hard to really care about him until things get moving. The adaptation itself.. well, someone should win an award for it. Its very modern and involves good contemporary plot arcs of mature violence, social norms, coporatism, secret societies, and others woven together exceedingly well.

'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' is the kind of eternal horror story that fits well for any number of remakes. Its depiction of the dark aspects of the human character has not only the elements of mystery for a suspense story but also deeper insights that can be exploited on the artistic and psychological story side. Script-writers and directors doing a J&H story can find the premises of entertainment and art and pick the right dose.This BBC mini-series is taking an approach that is mixing science fiction and conspiracy theory. It does build well with the principal characters in evolution from one episode to another. The strong and surprising character is dr. Jackman's (Jekyll and Hyde character name in the movie) wife who is growing from the apparently supporting role at the start of the series to the key character saving the day in the final episodes. Gina Bellman is exquisite in this role, while James Nesbitt's Jackman seems to feel better in the positive role, while grimacing in a slightly non-convincing manner on the dark side of the character.Where the series fail is in developing a story that has logic and clarity. We never get a good understanding of what this huge organization watching on the Jekyll/Hyde descendants is really after - yes, we know the government conspiracies are evil, but this is not really enough. The final explanation is confusing, and I could not figure out why and how the two souls/one body Jekyll survives, although we have all seen one body dying eventually and convincingly (if it was a clone body that died, this was not clear either). A few side characters (the psychiatric nurse, the two female detectives) are side-lined after the first two series and their presence on screen in the last four ones is not needed and justified. The mysterious a la Lynch character of the mother is interesting but does not really fit in the logic of the story.Despite the two many holes the story builds and lives well through the six episodes, and there is enough good stuff in the mix to make it worth watching.