Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

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

spicopate So State of Play is a movie, a remake from State Of Play, a miniseries (6 episodes of 1 hour) that aired in 2003 on the BBC (UK). As the movie is a remake, I will state the differences and why this movie is so bad, compared with the original. Main reason : the cast. Here, in the movie,you have Russel Crowe (playing Cal MacCaffrey - established journalist), big movie star with long hair that could be an add for a shampoo as a reviewer already said. You also have Ben Affleck (Stephen Collins), Cutie actor who is as credible as a politician as a tomato trying to look like a green bean. Another Cutie as a woman this time (playing Della Frye, a newbie journalist), the "Girl who has no use in the movie but looks good and that's enough". And the only good actress with an interesting role plays the Editor. And that's all. The whole movie rests on 4 actors. In the BBC miniseries, between the great John Simm (MacCaffrey, has played the Master on DrWho), David Morissey (Stephen Collins, playing in The Walking Dead), James Mc Avoy, Bill Nighy, Kelly McDonald (Della an accomplished journalist, see the difference with the movie?, now playing in the Boardwalk Empire), Polly Walker and so on... See what I mean ? The miniseries is an ensemble cast series, and that's what makes its greatness. As for dummy things in the movie : at the end, Russel Crowe (scuse me, Cal MacCaffrey) sits at his desk and writes his 10 pages article in two hours. I didn't know being a journalist was so easy ! In comparison, in the miniseries, Cal Mac Caffrey (John Simm) changes only the title of his article ... The movie was all about Russel and his hair, Ben and his good look, The Girl and her I don't know what. The miniseries was all about the characters and their depth, the well crafted story, the authenticity of its not world known actresses and actors... I know what I prefer.

egress63 It is not often that really good series based on politics, suspense and a bit of romance + comedy hit our idiot boxes. However, State of Play manages to do all this with such finesse that I was left spellbound. What starts of as a simple murder case becomes so huge that it really boggles the mind. And at all time, it does not seem one bit over-stretched or silly. Add to this three subplots and what you have is a series that is of immense viewing pleasure. All in a runtime of just 300 minutes.If you want your TV series to be intelligent, do yourself a favour and watch this series. Now.

philip-prise-1 I missed this on original transmission (what was I doing in 2003?) but had heard so much about it from Life on Mars fans that I finally got round to buying it on DVD recently. Oh how wished I'd seen it before now.Its tight, fast paced, beautifully directed and filmed. All of the primary and supporting cast are excellent but special credit must go to the ever outstanding John Simm plus Kelly MacDonald and David Morrisey. The thought of Brad Pitt playing John's role in the Hollywood remake makes me laugh and cry in equal measure and not in a healthy way!! What's particularly brilliant is all the characters are three dimensional and believable. As has been said no cocky maverick reporters, no kick-ass post feminist female reporter with a chip on her shoulder. Just a group of professionals who find themselves through Cal's personal connections on the biggest story of their lives. Credit for that lies in excellent writing from Paul Abbot.The story starts and concludes on the apparent suicide of the personal assistant of the Chairman of The Energy Select Commitee, Stephen Collins (Morrisey), whom it transpires were having an affair.By accident and due to an unrelated story his friend and leading Herald reporter Cal (Simm) discovers evidence that her death may not have been suicide. From there the story snowballs until the highest reaches of the Government are implicated in a series of griping twists each one leaving you slightly more stunned than the last.Some people have said the concluding episode is a let-down but I must disagree. It actually makes a great deal of sense in the context of the story because the one thing they can't find in the whole story is that clue that leads to her murder. None of the key players in the conspiracy are able to shed light on it.The revelation as to how she actually died is extremely well played. Its dropped in casually and its not until you realise what has disturbed Cal so much, that it dawns on you that casual drunken outburst is the biggest twist of them all.Its this revelation that makes the ending so powerful because it isn't happy. Cal has published the greatest story of his life, but its the one he least expected or dared imagine could be true in his worst nightmare. State of Play is ultimately a story of betrayal.State of Play would be worth watching just for the ever brilliant John Simm (Brad, you'll need to give the best performance of your life to be half as good), the fact its six of the best hours of television I've seen just sweetens the deal. Watch it, Buy it. SEE IT.

keysersoze13 Paul Abbott is a genius. His writing here is taut and intelligent, just like anything else he has done. This BBC production is truly flawless. From the writing to direction to the acting, it is outstanding. This is exhilarating and challenging TV that, though politically-charged, crucially develops interesting characters that you can care about. The plot is complex, as the best political thrillers are, and delivers a TV drama that hopefully shuts up those who say that us Brits can't make TV like the Yanks. Yes, American TV is great but the marathon seasons and multiple writers are exhausting and create bloated, sometimes frustrating TV. Look at Lost, it is as easy to hate as it is to love and becomes dull frequently in the flabby, direction-less mid-season hell. Not here though. Six streamlined parts that never let up the pace and never loosen their grip on the audience. 'State of Play' keeps you hooked and leaves you begging for more, as with all great pieces of entertainment. You'll be sucked into this world and won't want to leave.Credit must be equally divided between its makers, and the direction is every bit as thrilling as the writing, and ,accordingly, David Yates is moving on to bigger things with the Harry Potter franchise. The tremendous cast all deliver as you'd expect, with David Morrissey and John Simm excellent as the leads and a stunning supporting cast that includes Kelly MacDonald, Philip Glenister, Polly Walker, Patrick Brennan, Shauna MacDonald, Rebekah Staton, James McAvoy, Marc Warren and, of course, the ever-delightful Bill Nighy.More joy is found in the pulsating soundtrack, tight editing and cinematography.Overall, 'State of Play' is among the most thought-provoking and exhilarating thrillers you'll ever see and is quite possibly the best thing to have been on TV; British, American or otherwise.