Such a frustrating disappointment

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

hyped garbage

Highly Overrated But Still Good

This series starts off very well, then slowly winds down to a relatively boring and predictable 'normality' after the first two episodes. One thing this series has going for itself is excellent acting throughout, but especially Mark Strong is utterly believable and chilling as Harry Starks. This is one of the best performances I have ever seen for a TV series, well done!I have not read the book, but I believe more could have been extracted from it, and a longer (and better) mini series could have emerged as a result. In any case, not a bad 4-episode novel adaptation, initially very original and innovative, but just don't expect too much overall.

this brilliant four part epic is a true masterpiece and a must see for anybody who likes gangland movies and TV series, the 1960's come alive here and you never question the era your in. but the best thing about the long firm is mark strong's portrayal of harry starks he's both charming and scary and one of the best performances iv'e seen in a British gangland tale, and him bieng homosexual is another great layer to this character that mark strong makes his own, the rest of the cast are great too, but this is mark strong's show and he owns it. the story is told from four peoples points of view, all recalling an event with harry starks that changed their life for ever. the writing is brilliant the directing top notch and the cast first rate, their is undeniably some inspiration from the krays here, and obviosly bieng set in the underworld expect some violence and swearing but its all done classy, thats what i love about the long firm its better than it thinks it is, a masterpiece and a must see

I would like to disagree with any previous comments on The Long Firm. I think this is an outstanding drama. The BBC should invest more money into dramas of this quality instead of spending money on D.I.Y shows and 'reality' TV shows.Mark Strong's portrayal of Harry Starks reminded me Ronnie Kray, Reggie Kray, Charlie Richardson all rolled into one. He was excellent as the 'Torture Boss'. He was menacing and unpredictable but also you sort of saw him as a anti-hero if you like. The program has taken large chunks of dialog from the book and had extra scenes and stuff written around it. All though I originally thought the show was excellent but after reading the book the book is out of this world a solid 10/10. I would recommend this book to everyone.I am hoping the following two books in the sequence 'He Kills Coppers' and 'True Crime' get made into series.

The Long Firm is good but unfortunately it seems to be a semi documentary based on a mixture of the Krays and the Richardsons who are just old hat now. It's a pity, but just like most rubbish British films featuring the 60s such as "Scandal", "Charlie" and "The Krays" that were really terrible films. The Long Firm it is full of stuff nicked from those turkeys and suffers badly by it's obvious likeness. I haven't read the book so I won't comment on whether the author realized his main character Harry is a ridiculous stereotype. It has all been done before but TLF does it better. The torture scenes(The Krays and Charlie), Phil Daniels popping pills and remorsing on throwing a woman out of the car(Jack the Hat in The Krays) the nightclub scenes (Scandal) it contains too many characters like Barbara Windsor, Ronnie Knight,Johnny Ray, Joe Meek, Brian Epstien like you were reading a 60s gossip column. So who is Harry Starks based on, who knows but his Mum and aunty May have been seen before just like all the other characters.The Long Firm screenplay could have been written by anybody who has watched The Biography Channel and seen Scorsese's "Goodfellas" and the movies mentioned previously. It is very well produced and directed and all the actors are great especially Mark Strong who excels and is destined for Hollywood.The Long Firm is far better than any of the Brit movies mentioned previously but it could have been a lot better if hadn't been so unoriginal and predictable.