Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Cortechba Overrated

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Freedom060286 This series was disappointing for me. I saw Pillars of the Earth which was very good and so I was expecting something better.I didn't give this series a one-star rating because the costumes were very well-made and some of the cast like Miranda Richardson, Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Nora von Waldstätten performed very well.But there were too many rape scenes, and I didn't like the incest. Is it really necessary to show incest in so many TV series? The anti-Catholic theme (lesbian nuns, gay monks, evil prior, executing healers, old priest draining blood) was over-the-top. In reality, most at that time in history were very religious and their behaviour was influenced by the fear of eternal hell-fire.People were unrealistically naive and too easily fooled by Godwyn and his mother as they kept on murdering people, episode after episode. I was disappointed in the then age 14 Edward III being cast as an age 33 actor in the first episode. Later we do not see his beautiful wife, and first-born son, just his third child Joan. The old queen mother had no power after 1330, yet we see her and Joan trying to manipulate Edward into going to war with France. Edward III is cast as an indecisive, wimpish, dark-haired little man, but was in fact very confident, tall, broad-shouldered and fair-haired (a typical Plantagenet in appearance). Edward III has been one of my favourite people in history since I first read about him as child, so I was unhappy to see him portrayed this way. Was that battle in France supposed to be the Battle of Crécy? It happened nothing like what is shown! In fact, the French in far superior numbers attacked with crossbowmen and mounted knights, and were slaughtered by the longbows. Where is Edward's son the Black Prince? He was just a 16-year-old at Crécy, yet did very well in the midst of the heaviest fighting. There is plenty of interesting drama in real history during that time period, like the story of how Edward took Calais. But of course the producers decided to ignore that.

tramainepaul If you have not read the book, you may enjoy this movie. However, like most Jane Austen fans, if you are a Ken Follett fan, you require only two things in turning books into movies: 1) an attempt at accuracy with plots/characters, 2) changes that only ENHANCE the movie. Sadly, this does neither. The characters are changed. The plot is changed. I am wondering throughout series if why Ken Follett didn't sue them for using the name of the book as that was the only thing that remained unchanged. This movie is a poor man's Ken Follett novel. This is the tootsie roll that you eat last after you have eaten good Halloween candy. This is the person who thinks since dirt looks like cocoa powder, he can use dirt to make brownies. This my friend is dirt in brownies. I am a little sad and confused that they would even use the title of the book if they planned to use nothing else. Also, there seemed to be a campaign to make the movie as horrible as possible. However, I am still watching and addicted. My goals is to see how bad a job they did. I may write another review.

Jonathan Ferguson The plot deviates several times from the book, but in most cases, the miniseries plot is BETTER. I mean, why have Godwyn be a kind-of bad guy and then have Philemon be the guy who does a lot of his dirty work when you can just have Godwyn be totally evil? Cynthia Nixon's Petranilla character is also great & even though I can't stand her in Sex & the City she really shines in this. And having the one-armed monk be Edward II was a good idea and was what I thought was going to happen when I read the book.The softcore porn scenes throughout the miniseries are also a nice touch.My advice is: Read Pillars of the Earth but skip the miniseries & Watch World without End but skip the book.

northwindj I wanted to like this.I like historical novels and had heard this was a good one. From other reviews, of this series, I think I will purchase the book. I only saw the first part of this series. I forgave the costuming and over acting. THEN almost every female character was raped or molested.OK we get it. .. It was hard for females back then But this was horrid. The rape scenes seemed to be used as entertainment.The abuse seemed more glorified than an example of the horrors of life for women.I am so anger that I watched this rubbish. There is no reason for these rapes and no reason anyone should waste their time on this series. I am glad I only saw the first part.