Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Libramedi Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

TheLittleSongbird The first of two sequel series to 1990's 'House of Cards' (mandatory viewing for anybody who has not seen it yet), the other being 'The Final Cut', 'To Play the King' is every bit as good.Perhaps not quite the superlative piece of television or one of the best dramatisations of the 90s like 'House of Cards' was, but what made 'House of Cards' so good remains still in 1993's 'To Play the King'. A daunting task to follow and take on and it didn't seem like anybody involved was daunted by such an undertaking. Whether it's a good or faithful adaptation of the source material feels completely insignificant, deviations are numerous and some are major but the spirit and attention to character and mood detail are present.'To Play the King's' ending scenes don't quite have the explosive punch they could have done, not quite as moving or as shocking as with 'House of Cards', and perhaps a little too neatly wrapped up) while still remaining interesting.Visually, 'To Play the King' looks wonderful, full of elegance and atmosphere in the design and class and style in the way it's filmed. It's also beautifully scored by Jim Parker with a very memorable main theme, and the direction lets the atmosphere and drama breathe but still never undermines the momentum.Andrew Davies once again also deserves a lot of the credit. The script has dry cynicism, sharp wit, dark bite and class, with some deservedly iconic lines that have since become part of popular culture. The nation's mood is brilliantly captured and the political elements are handled so truthfully and don't feel shoe-horned (it's actually essential here) or heavy-handed. The storytelling is ceaselessly compelling, and just as deep and rich as before (perhaps even more so), throughout the whole four one hour episode duration, hooking one in and never letting go despite not being a series that deliberately and wisely doesn't move "fast".Once again the casting is perfect. Can imagine nobody else in the role of Francis than Ian Richardson, demonstrating why the role is his best-known one and bringing everything that made his acting in 'House of Cards' career-best work of a distinguished career.Diane Fletcher also like in 'House of Cards' impresses as a modern Lady Macbeth-like character that sees a side of her one wouldn't associate with her, and Michael Kitchen shows how well he excels in understated but commanding roles that he did even better with 'Foyle's War'. Colin Jeavons was simply born for his character and David Ryall shows a lot of enthusiasm.In summary, excellent and just as good. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU An absolute masterpiece in political philandering. Politics is poison. Politics is perversion. Politics is treacherous intercourse between any man and any other person, any woman and any other human with only one objective: to seize power, to retain power, to "make history" as if they could, not understanding that power is illusive and evasive, and history is not made by anything or anybody because history is and nothing else. What makes it is unknown of everybody. Big Ben here is only to dictate the time of the beginning of each episode, 9:22 a.m. The general idea is that a plain apparatchik of the conservative party manages to push aside the successor to Margaret Thatcher, the longest- serving peace time Prime Minister, who was too weak for the job, and he becomes nothing but the brute of the job who uses young women to get his inspiration, kills them as soon as they could become dangerous, and is in fact entirely manipulated by his own wife, a new Lady Macbeth who even manages to make him confront the new king and force him to abdicate. What's the best part of it is that it is thrilling to follow the actions of this apprentice sorcerer and to see how he manages any situation to his own advantage and yet is heading right into the wall because to succeed too long becomes dangerous for your own health in the British system where only the sovereign can last long because he or she is not supposed to play politics. It is thrilling because we know the only end can be his failure when the wall of success will become so hard that he will have to be eliminated for the simple survival of the political system.Yet you will learn only in the very last scene who the manipulator of it all is and what his or/and her intention is too. And it is true the series is intelligent enough and well enough done that you cannot know who that manipulator is though we see his/her black gloves at crucial moments but the episode systematically mislead you to believing it (he/she) is someone else.The series is also a very good criticism of British democracy based on the free press that is as free as a tornado in a narrow and deep gorge between two very high mountains. The press is in fact on a very short leash: make money with news and make the news if necessary to make money, like Citizen Kane used to say. Parliament is an amazing maze of corridors and staircases, a comfortable bar and a House of Commons with only one interesting session, Questions to the Prime Minister, every week or maybe more often. This Parliament is a farce in many ways, at best a circus for gladiators who have no right to kill one another but who can bruise their own and respective egos in all possible ways.It is so easy to make the public believe what you want them to believe when you can pull the strings that hold the press. And then you can always manage someone to get killed here and there, now and then, who is embarrassing or annoying the big masters.I am so glad I am not engulfed in such an ugly activity. And yet I am sorry everyday because of them because they terrorize my own life all the time with their own caprices and incompetence. After that you sure will loathe politics, or at best want to be one of the few who can control the game.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

gizmomogwai To Play the King is the follow-up to the British House of Cards miniseries, the basis for the current American Netflix show House of Cards. The last time we saw Francis Urquhart, he was on his way to becoming prime minister. That poses questions of where to go from there- he no longer has a prime minister to topple. There's only one spot above the prime minister in the British system, and that's the monarchy.A new king is crowned (in real life, we haven't seen a coronation since 1952), and the new monarch intends to get involved in political matters. A liberal with sympathy for minorities and the marginalized, he is soon construed as critical of the policies of Urquhart's Conservative government and wins the public's affections. Soon, Urquhart and the king are engaged in a Machiavellian struggle for power, the king seeking Urquhart's defeat at the polls, Urquhart seeking the king's abdication.In political philosophy, I'm actually closer to the king than Urquhart. However, this is complicated, as in an age of democracy I do think a person with an inherited ceremonial title shouldn't interfere in government. I'm Canadian, and we share Britain's monarch and system. It made me angry to see a king thinking he has a right to dictate what's done in his name, dining with Opposition leaders and speaking out against government. This goes against constitutional convention- yet the concerning thing is, there isn't really much, constitutionally speaking, stopping a monarch from doing such things. While in this matter, Urquhart may have more right, of course he is no saint.House of Cards (both versions) are grim, almost ridiculously so, in having a high-stature political official not just ordering killings, but doing them with his own hands. To Play the King hasn't forgotten Mattie Storin- on the contrary, she's still very much there in spirit. Urquhart is haunted by her death and the guilt, showing he's not totally inhuman. She also becomes an obsession of Urquhart's new lover, Sarah Harding. As with the original miniseries, To Play the King is a study of realpolitik, a dark and pessimistic view of power and human nature. It's an intriguing and engaging watch, just as with its predecessor.

EasternMafia This is great and fascinating. You should watch it! Not sure is it an action or a crime-thriller? Maybe adventure.Actually in this show I have learned what is parliament politics. The owner of this serial are British - it explains why it is so good. This is real - the ways in the politics... What to do, to survive. Actors are so fine in this movie. No complains. All scenes are great. King is King - his role is the best.I have open my brain to maximum when I was watching it.I give my full ten points for this movie.Best, D