I enjoyed this short series. I think a few things could have been done better, but the basic story was interesting and solid, and the acting across the board was excellent.
Basically,, Collateral is a typical British DI series with some minor geo-political aspects (that appear to be far overblown by folks giving negative reviews). What really makes the show standout from others is the performances of Cary Mulligan and the actress playing Sandrine Shaw, who I'm not familiar with. Of course, I've always really liked Cary Mulligan, but I really loved her Tennyson like character here, and would like to see here reprise it in a sequel or a new series. The other actress plays a very important character who is not quite what she seems at first meet, and probably has the most emotional of roles here.
The first episode basically gives us all the pieces, but I'd not really call this a whodoneit. More of a whydoneit. Outside of Cary's Kip and Sandrine Shaw, most of the characters here are like chess pieces getting move around. You get some story of their story here but in many ways are left with not much of substance in the long run. It is only a 4 hour series, but the sub-plots seemed to be setup more as performance pieces for a continuing series. But other wise just there to flesh out the story and plot. In other words, there are character arcs here that are given quite some weight during the four hours, but really only superficially connected to the main plot. Still, the acting is so good that you are left interested if certainly not entirely satisfied at the end.
Overall the series is definitely worth a watch, especially if you are a fan of Mulligan.
Basically,, Collateral is a typical British DI series with some minor geo-political aspects (that appear to be far overblown by folks giving negative reviews). What really makes the show standout from others is the performances of Cary Mulligan and the actress playing Sandrine Shaw, who I'm not familiar with. Of course, I've always really liked Cary Mulligan, but I really loved her Tennyson like character here, and would like to see here reprise it in a sequel or a new series. The other actress plays a very important character who is not quite what she seems at first meet, and probably has the most emotional of roles here.
The first episode basically gives us all the pieces, but I'd not really call this a whodoneit. More of a whydoneit. Outside of Cary's Kip and Sandrine Shaw, most of the characters here are like chess pieces getting move around. You get some story of their story here but in many ways are left with not much of substance in the long run. It is only a 4 hour series, but the sub-plots seemed to be setup more as performance pieces for a continuing series. But other wise just there to flesh out the story and plot. In other words, there are character arcs here that are given quite some weight during the four hours, but really only superficially connected to the main plot. Still, the acting is so good that you are left interested if certainly not entirely satisfied at the end.
Overall the series is definitely worth a watch, especially if you are a fan of Mulligan.