It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

I had a look over some of the reviews and wondered why they were so hard on this show. After all, it's the type of characters in this show that started The First World War. Few shows actually show us this world. And the characters, given it's such an undeveloped area of period drama, are, for me, hard to beat, bordering on truly original, and brilliantly enacted. The original author is, after all, part of the literary canon for a reason This is comparable to Charles Dickens, but stands on its own merits. The Secret Agent a period piece like nothing I'd encountered before. There are no heroes, only flawed but passionate people, dangerously entwined with the lives of essentially honest people who are, for the most part, unaware of the dangers brewing beneath their floorboards. I really don't know how anyone could have not been totally refreshed by this cinematic experience. Like all good British productions there is a wealth of detail and realism that make this story a true transportation back to the period, with a ripping yarn to keep one glued. And there is a moral here too, relevant to any time.

The first episode does start out rather slow and it has a lighthearted feel to it. Seeing Toby Jones in this type of role for the first time takes a bit of time to get use to ,but He does come through and gives a great performance. A real stand out performance from Vicky McClure and the rest of the cast give a good performance too. By episode 2 it starts to get dark and much more enjoyable to watch.Episode 3 is really good ,it takes some really dark twists and holds your interest .The music really adds to the feel of it all, as does the great location scenes. I thought it well acted and produced, it leaves you wanting more.

This three part drama is centred on Mr. Verloc; a member of a group of anarchists living in London. For the most part they are an ineffectual bunch; they talk a lot but don't actually do anything. Verloc is actually a spy in the pay of Russia and Russia believes that Britain's response to the anarchists has been far too gentle. Hoping to force Britain to adopt a tougher position the Russian First Secretary pressures Verloc to take real action… he wants him to bomb the Greenwich Observatory. To this end Verloc works with fellow anarchist 'The Professor', who makes the bomb before heading out with his autistic brother-in-law on the mission that can only end in tragedy. Before the explosion the police, most notably Inspector Heat, think the anarchists are a bunch of harmless losers but afterwards they are determined to find out who was behind it and expose their backers.Having not read the book I can't say how this adaption compares but as a piece of television I found it rather enjoyable… if distinctly bleak. Toby Jones does a great job as Verloc; a distinctly unlikable protagonist who can't accept that he is to blame for the tragic event midway through the series. He is ably supported by Vicky McClure, who plays his wife, and excels in the final tragic episode. Stephen Graham impresses as Inspector Heat; the only authority figure who doesn't seem to be self-serving. The rest of the cast are pretty good too. Given the age of the original story this feels remarkably fresh; its themes of terrorist plots seem just as relevant today. The story is well told and thankfully the creators didn't decide to provide a happy ending. Overall this was a solid, if somewhat downbeat, story; it won't be for everybody but I rather enjoyed it.

(Contains spoiler of first episode.!!)Toby Jones!! Excellent mystery era! Nice looking women! Spies and bowler hats! Sounds great huh? Well not for the first episode.So you're introduced to the life of a man who is a spy. His wife, her mother. an autistic young man. and the spy's contact. You're told that he is being basically blackmailed by his boss to not just be a spy that delivers info, but to cause commotion by planting a bomb in a public place. If he does not, he will be a target for anyone who would want the spies gone. By the will of his boss, publicly showing that He is on Their payroll...That's it. That's about the extent of interesting things. after this moment there is a odd mix of unexplained emotional outbursts, dull conversations, bickering between contacts, weird random naked photography in the shop, the mother moves out and the autistic boy is basically the only logical person in it.I had to drink two cups of coffee and entertain myself on my phone just to even hear this episode out.It's easy to point the finger and say its simply beyond me, its too deep or something. But the thing is, these kind of movies (preferrably far from the spoon-feeding American touch) is my kind of thing. But this here....? Verly poorly constructed. Its like it copied famous series and scenes, but didn't quite understand and grasp the reasoning behind their successes.