Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

taylorjan-63962 Wonderful but I wouldn't agree with another review that it warrants us paying this outdated BBC licence fee. Compulsory for UK residents who own a TV. If you don't pay then it's a whopping fine or, believe this, jail! The book was fantastic and this TV adaptation is absolutely brilliant. I love the actors playing Strange and Norrell, especially Strange, such a comic character initially. There are some great special effects and witty moments. I recorded it when it was first aired 2015, and watched it recently. Loved it, but as for the BBC fee......it has to be scrapped.

FilmAlicia My review contains mild spoilers: "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell," Susannah Clarke's clever alternate history novel set in England during the Napoleonic wars, was no literary gimmick in the manner of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" or "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter." It was an impressive piece of fantasy literature which served as the basis for the outstanding 2015 BBC mini-series of the same name.If anything, the 900+ page story, adapted into a 7-part mini-series, seems like the prologue to a larger tale. I am reviewing the mini-series, and am hoping with many other viewers, and readers, that there will soon be a sequel.The central conflict in the story, from my perspective, concerns the pursuit of knowledge. Norrell and Strange have diametrically opposed attitudes to magical knowledge: While Norrell is inclined to keep secret, and hoard, magical knowledge, Strange thinks that knowledge should be dispensed freely to everyone who desires to use it, without sufficient awareness of the possibility that some might misuse it. The story's chief villain, the Gentleman, dispenses knowledge selectively, and, also controls how others employ it, magically manipulating them to prevent them from revealing what they know.Eddie Marsan is brilliant as Gilbert Norrell, conveying the character's fearfulness, timidity, and selfishness, while revealing occasional glimpses of a more childlike, winsome personality that make it impossible for us to completely hate him even when he continually does the wrong thing. Bertie Carvel exudes offbeat charm (and sex appeal) as Jonathan Strange, the more adventurous, impulsive, and generous of the two magicians, but also the one whose arrogance in the pursuit of magical knowledge recalls the story of Baron Frankenstein. As for the supporting characters, I particularly liked Enzo Cilenti (also sexy) as Childermass, Paul Kaye as Vinculus (though I couldn't really distinguish his character from the one he plays on "Game of Thrones") and Alice Englert, as Lady Pole. (Is Englert really Jane Campion's daughter? Wow!)Samuel West, as Sir Walter Pole was good, as he always seems to be, in yet another thankless role, and Ariyon Bakare, Charlotte Riley, and Vincent Franklin were all excellent as Stephen Black, Arabella Strange, and Drawlight. I must confess I was not wild about Marc Warren, as the Gentleman (with the Thistledown Hair). Although he was good at conveying the character's malevolence, I never really believed he was from a different world, as he didn't seem in the least uncanny. One reviewer described him as "like Sting dressed as a Q-tip for Halloween" – he reminded me of a bad Malcolm McDowell imitation, dressed in a mix of glam and grunge. Without giving away plot points, I think the story's conclusion left plenty of room for a sequel. Now that magic has returned to England, I can't wait to see what happens next!

polygnotus I give this one high marks in every category.The story was fun, intriguing, and intelligent. The screenplay was excellent and well adapted. And the performances were all pretty much flawless. Well done all.But equally rising to the challenge were the costume designers, set designers and cinematographer.It was a beautiful piece to watch and highly entertaining.Thanks BBC. More like this please.

Charles Herold (cherold) I read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell about a year ago, which helped a lot in terms of following the story. My girlfriend, who read the book many years ago, found it more confusing.The book is terrific, wonderfully combining history and fiction, and the author had a wonderful ear for writing of the time. The movie generally tells the story well, but it can be episodic and at times truncates elements in a way that makes them seem almost extraneous. The actors are quite good, particularly Marc Warren as "The Gentleman" and Ariyon Bakare as Stephen Black. While it's all pretty good, the series never quite grabbed me as the book had. There is something a little murky about it all, both in the lighting and in the story. I would have liked it more if it had shown the meticulousness you get in series like Downton Abbey, but the series never quite felt like history and I wish it had.I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it.