Airs: Mini-series on AMC Tuesdays @ 10pm
Review: 1st episode
Have you seen MI-5? If you liked 24, you’d love MI-5. The reason I mention it is because watching The Night Manager reminded me of MI-5. They are both British suspense shows, but other than that I don’t think they are that much alike. That’s right, I am going with the they-are-both-British for the comparison (though neither is like Monty Python or Doctor Who).
Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) is the night manager of an upscale Egyptian hotel. The mistress of one of the hotel’s higher profile guests, gives him proof of an arms deal. Pine passes along that information to MI-6 (see MI-6 vs MI-5 – more than just they-are-both-British). This gets the mistress killed, though somehow Pine remains outside of suspicion. Four years later, working as a night manager at a Switzerland hotel, Pine runs across one of the richest men in the world, Richard Roper, and the other end of that same arms deal. Pine reaches out to MI-6 at the end of the first installment. But based on every description of the show I’ve seen, they are going to ask him to infiltrate Roper’s organization.
Intriguing and suspenseful, The Night Manager, definitely has my attention for the remaining episodes. Though if I were to have a small quibble, it’s that I would expect Pine to be a bit more composed. I would guess that the night manager at an upscale hotel has probably seen just about everything and a good one would remain unflustered by just about everything. On the other hand, no matter what you’ve seen, you probably aren’t prepared for the murder and general life-threatening situations that spying on a dangerous man might bring. I definitely recommend it if you liked MI-5, or if you’ve never heard of MI-5 and just like spy/suspense thrillers.
WWYT Rating: 7.75
