Customer Reviews

The Grid

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Playing like an international version of "24" , "The Grid" focuses on an international plot where terrorists plan on releasing deadly sarin nerve gas. When the sarin gas is accidentally released in a London hotel killing all the guests, an alerted ad hoc team of American and British intelligence agents try and discover who is behind the attack and what they can do to prevent further attacks. At first it appears at first that the terrorists plan on releasing the deadly gas on subways in Europe and America but as the plot thickens it appears that the subway attack plans are nothing more than a diversion. Racing against the clock to try and discover the real plans for the terrorists and the sarin nerve gas.

Featuring a top notch cast with Dylan McDermott, Julianna Margulies, Bernard hill, James Remar and Tom Skerritt, this co-production between the BBC and Fox TV for TNT may lack the consistency of "24" but it's gripping nonetheless with its international locations and international cast. The tight direction of Mikael Salomon and solid writing by Kenneth Friedman ("Bad Girls", "Cadillac Man", "Heart Like a Wheel") this four part mini-series is the perfect tonic for those who like thrillers and need a break from all the reality programming on TV.

Image quality is exceptionally good with nice, accurate flesh tones, colors and sharp, clear images. Presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, the high definition transfer will compliment your HDTV or even the 27 inch in your bedroom. The 5.1 mix isn't quite as active as a theatrical feature but does make good use of the format to place sound effects and atmospheric sounds around the viewer.

We get three featurettes presented inside views on "The Grid". One of them "Decoding The Grid" was featured in movie theaters as a preview as part of the "20" preshow entertainment. We also get a glimpse behind the optical effects for the series. We see many sequences both pre and post-production for comparison sake. The digital composite effects are cleverly combined and rearranged to give the production a much larger scale than they could afford on the budget. "Racing Against Time" focuses on the pre-production and production issues the team ran into when it came to shooting on location. Tracey Alexander discusses how they had to rearrange and cut some of the key action sequences and consolidate much of the action to come in on budget.

We get a variety of commentary tracks. On the first two hours we get scene specific commentary from Dylan McDermott. For the third and fourth hour the Director and Executive Producer Tracey Alexander dominate the commentary track and for hour four we get scene specific sequences with commentary by Juliana Margulies and Dylan McDermott. While these scene specific commentary tracks aren't as satisfying as a full length commentary it also removes a lot of inane comments and dead space. What would probably have worked better would have been to alternate both actors throughout the commentary track. Nevertheless, considering this is a mini-series it's packed with very interesting commentary tracks throughout the disc.

A terrific mini-series with an international flavor and strong performances make "The Grid" a worthwhile action-adventure movie to watch. The exotic locations and scenery along with carefully used CGI effects gives this production a larger epic scale than the average TV series. Additionally, the DVD comes packed with deleted scenes and commentary tracks throughout the entire five hour plus series. The featurettes are actually more generous than some boxed sets. We get three exceptionally good and informative glimpses behind-the-scenes on location actually shooting the mini-series and in post-production.

Fans of techno-thrillers will eat up this six hour mini-series that not only marks the first major collaboration between the BBC and Turner Broadcasting, but also the first time that I have sat up and taken notice of Julianna Margulies.
Fox sent this DVD set along for a review and it wasn't until closer to its release date that I sat down with a good stack of popcorn with my roomies to sit down for the mammoth undertaking.
Over five hours later as we all retired for the evening we concluded that the show had been a good one and even the harshest of reviewers (a rommie of mine who delights in pointing out plotholes) had to admit to being totally engrossed in the drama.
Starting with a dramatic gas attack in a London hotel the action follows the reaction of both the British and American intelligence agencies, acting both separately and (in an uneasy alliance) jointly to combat terrorism in a post-9/11 world.
As covered in the documentary that accompanies this DVD, this shows's writers had to imagine how Al-Queida would evolve in the years following the beginning of production and its eventual 2004 broadcast. Top marks to them for weaving together a topical and involving drama.
With action that covers most of the globe and well drawn characters it is not hard to recommend this show. Fans of Tom Clancy will be pleased and the stunningly gorgeous Julianna Margulies has one more fan in the world in me.

This movie was incredible. I was so sucked in from the beginning and enjoyed it thouroughly. I was amazed at how it seemd so up to date with todays current global news. It shows both sides of terrorism - the ideas and reasoning behind much of it, and the wrongs and evils of it. Some people are afraid of this film and list it as a anti-Arab propaganda, but this couldn't be further from the truth. This movie portrays many Muslims as very good people who are against terrorism, and try to help fight it. I ordered this movie right away from Amazon as soon as I could because I liked it so much. One of the best and interesting movies I've ever seen. I wish every one could see this. My highest ratings. ******

This mini-series was one of several referred to in the new Season of MI-5 as one which other customers had bought so I invested in it.

As a drama mini-series there is much to commend it, a reasonable plot, some inter-agency skullduggery and backstabbing, an international cast, some great locations and reasonable dialogue as well as a realistic basis for a story. For the enthusiast this moves along at a good pace, there is action and intigue aplenty and just about everyone can relate to it.

Alas, I do not feel that it is overall a satisfactory mix. It is certainly a good thing to have an element of grittiness about the show. I think that it is admirable that the British are portrayed as the patsies of America and a people who, for being America's closest allies are somewhat cynical about American intentions. It is a good thing too that bureaucracy is seen as stiffling of initiatives and is often caught wrong-footed but overall there is a pevasive nagging of something more.

I am not sure if the issue is really one of just not wringing true. I also feel that there is too much politically correct angles when dealing with what is clearly a complex subject with many levels of meaning and where much is open to debate. The fact that the main villain of the piece is not seen as some sort of idealistic fundamentalist demagogue but as someone who has his own, well-financed agenda, may correspond with modern analysis of terrorists but when we are assailed every day on our teelevision screens with tales of insurrgent attacks, it almost appears that the thorny subject of fundamentalist terrorists does not want to be directly addressed.

I also take issue with the timescales involved. Each terrorist atrocity in real life requires months of patient investigation through dead ends and leads that go nowhere. The most sophisticated spying equipment in history still cannot lead us to Osama bin laden and yet we can track down these people within hours. I am not attacking the lack of realism for realism's sake...I am more concerned that we do not inculcate in the general population's mind that these complex problems are quickly solved when this is far from the case.

The best aspect of this mini-series is the establishment of credible characters with their complex lives and attachments and the constantly changing aspects of personalities. Much more human and much more able to be understood as three dimensional characters rather than stereoptypical beings where we do not need to understand what is going on.

Perhaps the three stars is a little harsh but I think a little more thought going into this show could have brought it into the great category, but nevertheless a good piece of entertainment.

This is awesome. It has been compared to '24' and 'Alias.' Having been an avid fan of Alias, I can attest to the similarities. Love the here and now, government involved story plot.

I was searching for shows/movies that Julianna Margulies had been involved with and came across this gem.

Love it. Can't say enough about it. Wish they would have kept the story lines going and the shows producing.

My wife and I sat down and watch together. We did not see the series on TV. Great series and on point concerning our national secuirty actvities following 9/11.

First, what's good, and there's a lot to like. The bad guys are Muslims, but the Muslims aren't the bad guys. Even fundamentalists aren't necessarily radicals. If preachy at times, the scriptwriters take pains to distinguish the terrorist nutjobs from labels they co-opt for their own purposes. More than just about any action movie I can think of, this makes for lots of shades of gray. I like that.

I also like the realistic action, on a more human scale than the "Mission Impossisble" sort. There are lots of different characters, each with their won story and motivations. The movie also features different agencies and different nations, all with motivations of their own. By about 20 minutes in, it seems that each loyalty pulls in its own direction, and no two people have quite the same loyalties. This makes for lots of interesting sub-plots, some of which paint even high-powered characters as people with lives and loves of their own.

Maybe that's where this movie starts to unravel. There's just too much going on, and not enough time to tie up all the loose ends. The plots and feints are good, but the last scene is a very odd choice. It makes the movie feel like a recycled TV pilot, for a show that never aired. This demands sequels. It sets up a fair bit of soap-opera potential, engaging the viewer with the characters, then leaving the viewer hoping for more. It allows future room for characters to come and go. That makes sense for a beginning TV series.

It just doesn't make for a feature movie worth seeing again.

//wiredweird

The Grid is very well done with an excellent cast covering a timely subject that unfortunately too many Americans have their heads in the sand about! They should see it and wake up!

A complementing DVD would be "Dirty War" a Brit film about terrorism in England by BBC/HBO. Dirty War is more gritty and really a stomach churner for anyone who sees it. Highly recommended to see! Do not miss it!

Tom

This movie came as a real surprise to me as I began my viewing with absolutely no expectations. In fact, I honestly felt I was going to watch the first 10 minutes (which is my threshhold limitation of reject or play) get bored and finish my ebay store items. I finish all 3 discs (265 minutes) and took only two essential personal breaks! This movie really picked up where Sayriana (that I really expected SOOOO much more from) dropped the ball!

On the back cover of the movie it states "A heart-pounding thriller" is an understatement. It is a well thought out, balanced movie that really makes you stop and think about how vulnerable we really are in the US. The director Mikael Salomon paid incredible attention in full developing the charactors and interweaving their relationship which seems to be amiss in most movies these days. Combine this with a large dose of realism and a well-developed plot, you have the making of a 5 star movie.

Featuring a top-notch cast including Dylan McDermott and Julianna Margulies; this mini-series plays out in CSI style with the hi-tech slickness of "24". I have found myself mostly disappointed with movies seen lately; I ranked this as one of the two movies Ihave seen in the "EXCELLENT" category in the last YEAR! Don't miss this one!

I think this is one of the few movies post 9/11 which takes more realistic view of terrorist activities and their repercussions. Picture quality is very good, direction is top class, and multiple location shooting adds the jazz. Story is tight. If you have some interest in world affairs; I am sure you will be glued to the screen throughout.