hyped garbage

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Joan Hickson as Miss Marple is simply the best. I certainly understand why Agatha Christie herself waned Hickson to play Miss Marple. (she once said to Hickson that she would be perfect for the role). Years later, and after Christies death, her wish came true.In this TV movie, and all the others Joan Hickson portraits Miss Marple in a wisdom, and quit way. She is intense and alert in the role, but also withdrawn and quiet. This is one of my all time favorite films based on the great Agatha Christies novels. The story builds up the suspense, and there are a great set of characters. The evil is hard to find, and Miss Marple really has a tough time figuring out whats going on. If you would like to see an older adaption of this kind of play, try out this one first. If you like top crime-stories, you won't be disappointed. They don't make them like this anymore.

While not quite as good as A Murder is Announced, which was not only delightful but almost surpassed the book, this is an excellent adaptation. And you know what, it is a huge improvement on the Geraldine McEwan version. Now I don't take pride in bad mouthing the Geraldine McEwan adaptations, two or three of them were surprisingly good, but others started off well but ruined by either a poor script, a confusing final solution or both. The Geraldine McEwan version suffered from a plodding pace, and both of the above problems, and I would consider second worst of the ITV adaptations, worst being Sittaford Mystery, which even on its own merits turned out dull and confusing. This adaptation of the book Nemesis is a huge improvement, it not only respects the book, despite a few liberties, but it pretty much rectifies the problems the ITV version had. Despite the added character of Lionel coming across as rather irritating, more to do with how he was written than how he was acted, and one or two moments of sluggish pacing, this is solid as an adaptation of a decent book. It is beautifully filmed, with nice photography and period detail, and the music as always is excellent. The performances are wonderful this time around, and make the most of an in general well-done script, with Joan Hickson brilliant as always as Miss Marple, and solid turns from Liz Fraser, Helen Cherry, Joanna Hole and Anna Cropper. Margaret Tyzack is outstanding though in a chilling and moving performance as Clothilde. Overall, well worth watching, better than the recent version in pretty much all departments. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Some have said that the Marple adaptations starring Joan Hickson as the titular spinster sleuth tend to 'plod along'. This is true of this 1987 adaptation of Nemesis as well. However the slow pace at which the mystery unravels is due more to the fact this adaptation sticks closely to the original novel - unlike the later adaptation starring Geraldine McEwan, which departs greatly from the novel. Christie fans will undoubtedly find this version more enjoyable.The film is, however, not without its faults. The adaptor has cut out some of the characters from the novel, and introduced instead Miss Marple's godson, Lionel, as her sidekick. Needless to say, this whittles down the suspect list and makes the culprit more obvious. The latter was not helped by some questionable filming approaches.The good news is the story itself flows quite coherently, although a lengthier explanation might have been appreciated by casual viewers. The acting is also quite stellar. I am not a great fan of Hickson's Marple, but I quite liked her in this episode.Finally, the fact that this story is set on a tour of stately homes and historic gardens means there is often fabulous architecture to be seen in the background.All in all, a good outing in the Marple series - I give it a 7.5 out of 10.

'Nemesis' was the last book to feature Miss Marple written by Agatha Christie (the official final case 'Sleeping Murder' was written in the forties) and I've always had a very soft spot for it. I loved the characters and they are lovingly brought to life in this excellent BBC adaptation with Joan Hickson, terrific as ever, as Miss Marple.On the whole it is very faithful to the book. A few characters are dropped, the first (new) murder is slightly different and a couple of new characters are introduced. Personally I felt that the added character of Lionel Peel was unnecessary and rather irritating. Tour guide Madge was irritating in a different way but often quite amusing. It's largely because of Lionel that I don't award 10 out of 10! The other characters are beautifully done especially Helen Cherry as a dignified Miss Temple and all of the three weird sisters but particularly Margaret Tyzack who gives a towering performance as Clothilde. She threatens to go over the top towards the end but just avoids it. The female bodyguards are good value too and the episode contains one of my favourite Hickson lines...'An Archdeacon?!' This is another relatively early BBC Marple that looks wonderful and is has a gloriously nostalgic feel to it. Highly recommended.