Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

erwincallens When the first episode came out I was wondering and with me many others if the appearance of Rowan Atkinson as inspector Maigrait had a hilarious (or ridicule) effect. When I saw it effectively, on the contrary : he is the SHINING STAR of this production. Those who like real crime stories and those who like characters rather than superficial faces and also those who like atmosphere and old time settings and costumes, well this serie is made for them. For Simenon is known that he has a passion for psychological background of his personages, there is an echo of this in the film's (brief) conversations and scenes. I understand that some vieuwers, more experienced, are dissapointed with the story as I am also a little dissapointed with this . I know the serie with Cremer as Maigret. That serie is more a Maigret serie, a "serie". The Atkinson adaption is more like a film, longer and more expensive what makes it a superb time spent to watch it. The episodes are sparsely made (til now 4 episodes) which i think is inevitable but I hope there are more in the pipeline.

newjersian Mister Bin as Maigret is already funny. The pathetic attempts of creators of that TV flop to make it look like happening in France, bring even more fun. Whoever watched the old French series with Jean Richard as Maigret, can easily imagine what George Simenon kept in mind while writing about the meticulous Parisian police detective. Maigret would never wear a typical British bowler hat. Maigret would never hold his famous pipe not for actually smoking it, but only to satisfy the script and director's request. Simenon's fans know that Maigret was a man of a temperament, and he would never act as a melancholic English gentleman. That's why the entire series looks like a boring parody.

sanjsrik So, let's get to the most interesting part of the show. It's "set" in France, with ALL English actors NEVER speaking any French, butchering the language, and in some cases, their own names. They waddle around the sets as though they are "French" or what an Englishman would assume a Frenchman should act like. It's like watching the French scene from a Monty Python sketch except with no humor.I keep expecting Rowan Atkinson to start talking like the Blackadder. Instead, he plods through the scenes which drag slower than a dead body through mud. The only good thing to do with this "show" is to ignore it. Just let it go. It makes no sense. I wanted so much to leap through the screen and strangle any of the actors the minute they pretend to be "French" and just say French names very very very very very very badly.Just don't waste your time. Watch the Blackadder and be done with it. You won't come away with such a poor opinion of Rowan Atkinson for even trying this "serious" role. He could have done so much better.Nothing, and I mean, nothing in this godsforsaken awful series makes ANY sense. Maybe if they had Rowan Atkinson reading the books in funny voices it would have been at least watchable. This, well, this is just bad.I want my time back.

mac-33983 I will highly rate this film for several reasons.First, this is George Simenon, a 1st class writer. Second : Rowan Atkinson understood the role, the character and the script.This is a Filme Noire at it's best. The fact that it involves murder is of little consequence, this is about character portrayal, this is a look into the reasoning and understanding of the personas of people and their solitudes, their anguishes, their souls, their darker depths..In my personal opinion Rowan Atkinson nailed Maigret in a contemporary format. He was subtle and did not overplay. My image of Rowan has completely changed, this man can act, he feels, sees and behaves his role.....But the film was not just Rowan Atkinson, it was an entire cast, it was a Mise En Scene as it should be... This is exemplary of what can still be done today outside of the glamour of Hollywood..Living in France I have obviously seen the Maigret films and episodes and this film in no way undermines not fails the originals...Well done to the screen writer, director and cast for producing a down to earth and deeper portrayal of what has become customary, well done for taking a step aside and giving us something to watch that goes beyond the superficial...Although this will never become a classic, it is definitely worth adding to any repertoire...