BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

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

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

qui_j Watched all 4 seasons on Acorn TV. Overall it's entertaining but like many of the productions from that part of the world, they are of a simplistic nature. That's not saying the series is not enjoyable but they just seem to not have a lot going for them socially. Other series go out of their way to develop the characters, this one keeps them pretty stagnant and predictable. The dialog borders on Victorian, and the small town feel is really palpable throughout the series. The writing and level of production of the last 2 series (3 and 4) seem to suffer from actors fatigue, and perhaps a touch of budget cutting. Scene changes became quite abrupt with little fade or transition. There's supposed to be a series 5 so hope there will be renewed enthusiasm on the part of the actors to put a little more work into delivering their lines and not just speaking them or waiting for cues. That just makes the production seem very amateurish, and the characters very 1 or 2 dimensional. Again, this is not to pan the series because it is enjoyable but more to add a critical voice for improvement.

rosemaryg-01589 The first two seasons were okay, but by season 3 the cast and story line had definitely improved, so much so that I'm really hoping there will be a Season 4. I hope my 10 rating will encourage that possibility. The main characters are of course excellent, but the minor contributors are equally as engaging. I guess I'm a sucker for all English, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand television - must be my Anglo-Saxon heritage coming through! My son lives in New Zealand so I really enjoyed the NZ scenery and "dialect". I'll watch anything that brings me a little closer to him. I've just signed up for Acorn TV on my Roku and will be binge-watching all mysteries for quite some time, especially when we continue to have sub-zero temperatures in the great state of Minnesota!

fossicle I enjoyed the first season of Brokenwood. No, it does not have big name actors, a big budget, heavy sex and swearing but it keeps your interest and is entertaining.If you want all the hype, hoopla and jabberwocky of US based shows this is not for you.I agree that some of the acting in the first episode was below par but it picked up in future episodes.Some of it is hokey and there is also quite a bit of subtle humour from DI Mike Shepherd which can easily pass by the viewer. No, he is not suave, sophisticated and debonair but I like the character.The episodes are up and down so you must be a patient viewer. In season 1 I enjoyed 2 of the 4 episodes. The first and last episodes in my opinion were below par. I also liked the quirky country music in the background. It is a bit different from the norm.I watched it on DVD so I could use the captions to help understand some of the kiwi accent (eg the "chicks" in the mail). Try it out and see if you like the show. Don't try to compare it to some of the pommie shows just take it on its own merits.POSTSCRIPT I am now into the third season of this series and each season is better than its predecessor. I have now upped my rating of the show to a 8.25 from a 7. The only real criticism I have about season 3 is the new background music they used. It is not as good as the music in the first two seasons.

pensman For some reason this series get compared to Midsomer Murders when it is closer to Murder She Wrote in that the killings are not in multiple towns as they are in Midsomer but in one town, Brokenwood which is more like Cabot Cove,a small town full of murderers. The series uses the same establishing shot of Brokenwood in every episode: a small downtown surrounded by farms, woods, and grape vines. The main character is DI Mike Shepherd, Neill Rea, who likes country music, his twenty year old car, and always looks rumpled. He is aided by detective Kristin Sims, Fern Sutherland. There are four minor supporting characters, the most notable is Pana Herna Taylor as Jared Morehu. who I am guessing is supposed to represent local color. And Nic Sampson plays Constable Breen, the "gofer" officer. As an American I have some challenges in trying to discern what is being said as the three leads have what I assume to be New Zealand accents. I can usually parse out about 90% of what Mike says; 60% of Kristin; but only about 30% of Jared. Subtitles would be nice even though they are speaking "English." Oddly enough the guest stars—the suspects—are easier to understand. The plots are OK but you really watch if you like the characters, which I do. I tend to guess this is being produced on the cheap as if a character isn't important to the plot they don't get lines. You may see police officers milling around a crime scene but it is only the leads who have lines. The medical office is "manned" by one doctor and her response are terse at best. Maybe the money went for the soundtrack. I gather a second series has been approved.