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Customer Reviews of Extremely Dangerous

Sean Bean Rocks the Screen as Usual
As a man falsely accused of something he did not do, Sean Bean, plays the divided man, the angst-ridden man to the fullest. This film was made in part for British TV, it far surpasses ALL American television show of any similar genre. If you have a problem understanding any Englishman or British series it is because you are not use to hearing their voices, and accents and basically do not know the cultural differences between our sister nation. This is what true suspense should be, and unlike American dramas of this nature someone does not die every two seconds with bad dialogue following. It has a darkness and stealth that only a British production can have, as in America dramas of the same kind it is always overkill. There is a unique plot development which is made over the 4 parts of this drama which are pieced together, which is why some other viewer thought this was slow. It was watched in the UK over 4 nights, and had character development, and a real storyline.

A gripping and amazing performance by Sean Bean, who it seems, cannot deliver anything else, and is worth every second of viewing to realize the end. He is made for this kind of role. Simply made for it, and not bad on the eyes either.

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Extremely unthrilling
I wasn't bothered by "Extremely Dangerous'" obvious borrowing of a central premise from "The Fugitive." It was the lack of suspense and surprises that got to me. I expected a thrill ride of a movie, but it never materialized over the long 3-hour 20-minute DVD.

Obviously, the script is the greatest weakness here. In terms of suspense or mystery, it is a total flop. None of the clues amount to much, you can see the supposed plot twists a mile away, and the villains are easy to spot.

The worst part was how scriptwriter Murray Smith got the protagonist out of scrapes -- much like an old-time serial, there is even a scene where he dives into the water and is surrounded, seemingly without escape. Then, fade out. Fade in to Sean Bean back at his apartment. How he managed to escape is never shown or explained!

What I assume was the lack of much of a budget seems evident by other odd choices. In one scene, a skyscraper is said to be burning to the ground, but instead of seeing any part of it, we're told about it (with the sound effect of sirens in the background). A low budget is not always a liability, if it spurs creativity, which was not the case here.

What might have made this bearable -- an interesting main performance -- is not forthcoming from Bean. He exhibits no range or subtlety. That leaves the interesting bits to supporting actors -- in particular, Nitin Ganatra as a Pakistani cab service operator. His scenes crackle, but little else in the movie does.

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An Enjoyable British Suspense Thriller (4.5 stars)
Extremely Dangerous is a 1999 British suspense thriller starring (and indeed created for) Sean Bean (Sharpe, Catherine Cookson's The Fifteen Streets, James Bond's Golden Eye). Bean plays Neil Byrne, a man convicted of the horrific slaying of his wife and child at their home in Manchester. Having spent a couple of years in prison, Byrne has been granted a transfer to a different prison. It is during the train journey to the new prison that Byrne manages to escape, jumping off the train. Now a fugitive, Byrne (who claims to be innocent) returns to Manchester, ostensibly to discover what really happened and who set him up (and why), and it is this process of discovery, together with the curve balls, pit falls, twists and turns that occur along the way, that comprise this 200-minute story.

The opening sequence (ie. the escape from the train en route to a prison) and the initial premise (ie. a man accused of slaying his wife and child) is very similar to that of the Harrison Ford film entitled The Fugitive. Whether or not the rest of the show is in essence a remake of The Fugitive or not, I cannot say, as it's been years since I saw the latter film.

With a mix of gangsters and government agents, in addition to the police, this is a suspense drama with a good storyline (of which I shall say no more, as I don't wish to give anything away). It requires close attention, as there is some subtlety in the method of presentation, with the viewer occasionally having to make connections that are not explicitly spelled out for him or her. Even with close attention paid, it is still a series which benefits from repeated viewings. The series is split into four 50-minute episodes. Initially, I watched it over four evenings, but I strongly suggest viewers watch it over no more than two evenings (at most) in order to keep the characters and plot straight.

Apart from Sean Bean, the show also stars Juliet Aubrey (Catherine Cookson's The Moth, Bertie and Elizabeth) as Annie, the daughter of one gangster and girlfriend of another. Though this is a drama, there is some welcome comic relief (of a very dry and ironic nature) provided by the Pakistani owner of a mini-cab agency (played by Nitin Ganatra) with whom Byrne finds employment. Personally, my favourite scenes are those between Bean and Ganatra.

All in all, this was an enjoyable mini-series, and it is certainly worth checking out if you're a fan of suspense drama in general or of Sean Bean in particular.