With a screenplay by TV heavyweight Paula Milne, and a cast including Simon Russell Beale (of radio Smiley fame) and Andrew Scott (from SHERLOCK), this thriller should have had all the ingredients of being a first-class piece of work, with its Cold War theme intertwined with personal relationships. However Pete Travis' production turns out to be tremendously derivative; the gray settings, rain-washed sidewalks and drab city views recall the TV version of TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (1979), Russell Beale simply rehearses his performance as Smiley, with the added spice of a London accent, while Scott adopts an implausible Russian accent. In the leading role Charlie Cox is colorless; he glances mournfully at the camera in several close-ups, but seems to do little else. Structurally speaking, the thriller is well-constructed, with an apparently innocuous beginning leading to an unexpected denouement, but I still got the feeling that the BBC has done this type of work many times before - and much better.
Review of Legacy
