Here we have the "Line of Duty Comic Relief Special" that was released for Red Nose Day 2020 I think, so at this point in 2024 it is not super new anymore, but also far from old, although, if you get here a little later, it may have crossed the five-year mark already. You can read the title of the show that this is linked to in the title of this short film and that is of "Line of Duty". I have not seen that one, so I am just reviewing this short without prior knowledge about the characters and also without prior knowledge about the actors too because I don't think I am familiar with any of those. Could be my loss. Not gonna rule it out. I would not say that the quality of the outcome here made me really curious about the show, especially because it was really just one character having mentionable material to shine while the other sit there and stare in disbelief at the one guy's incompetence, but it was good and entertaining and funny enough for a positive recommendation overall.
Here we have a definite contender for the world's most incompetent lawyer. There are quite a few moments that stayed in the mind, like when he says something that now he would like to present evidence that shows his client is not guilty and while everybody is waiting for him to do so, he says he doesn't have any unfortunately. Or the glove moment, certainly a reference to another legendary investigation. Or when he says that one of the investigators stopped the video at a certain point in time because what follows afterwards shows that his client is innocent when the reality is that what happens afterwards makes very much clear that his client is guilty. Or when the lawyer makes a comment that he sees that the watch and shows the killer is wearing on the video is indeed his client's. Towards the end, there was then really a moment and inclusion that almost showed that the man is innocent, but it turns out the opposite too there apparently and even the client surrenders in the face of his lawyer's gigantic foolishness. I must admit I understood that, but I did not fully understand there why the man was considered innocent (I guess the time stamps) and why it then was proven fake.
But is the lawyer really such a fool? What happens at the very end then shows us that maybe there is more to him than we expected and that it was all an elaborate scheme to make sure DC Taylor looks as guilty as possible. If he is really the head of such a big criminal organization, then DC Taylor was apparently not high enough on the food chain to know his lawyer's actual identity. Anyway, with the final twist there and the revelation that the tape was still running, it's back to foolishness again for the only character worth remembering from this short film we have here, even if I thought that Jason Isaacs played his DC Taylor role nicely too and so did BAFTA nominee Adrian Dunbar, who did not have a lot to work with, but his face expressions of disbelief were solid there and he also pulled the alpha background from his character off nicely as he portrays the man running the investigation. The other two there with whom the film starts were fairly forgettable. Overall, this was a nice little sketch that you can watch quickly and maybe should, no matter if you know or like the show or if it is completely unknown to you as it was the case for me. It is not a must-see though unless you really dig the show, so you are also not missing out on too much here if you decide to skip it. For me it's a thumbs-down though. The beginning is a bit slow, but when the lawyer enters the room, it starts gaining steam. Go see it.
Here we have a definite contender for the world's most incompetent lawyer. There are quite a few moments that stayed in the mind, like when he says something that now he would like to present evidence that shows his client is not guilty and while everybody is waiting for him to do so, he says he doesn't have any unfortunately. Or the glove moment, certainly a reference to another legendary investigation. Or when he says that one of the investigators stopped the video at a certain point in time because what follows afterwards shows that his client is innocent when the reality is that what happens afterwards makes very much clear that his client is guilty. Or when the lawyer makes a comment that he sees that the watch and shows the killer is wearing on the video is indeed his client's. Towards the end, there was then really a moment and inclusion that almost showed that the man is innocent, but it turns out the opposite too there apparently and even the client surrenders in the face of his lawyer's gigantic foolishness. I must admit I understood that, but I did not fully understand there why the man was considered innocent (I guess the time stamps) and why it then was proven fake.
But is the lawyer really such a fool? What happens at the very end then shows us that maybe there is more to him than we expected and that it was all an elaborate scheme to make sure DC Taylor looks as guilty as possible. If he is really the head of such a big criminal organization, then DC Taylor was apparently not high enough on the food chain to know his lawyer's actual identity. Anyway, with the final twist there and the revelation that the tape was still running, it's back to foolishness again for the only character worth remembering from this short film we have here, even if I thought that Jason Isaacs played his DC Taylor role nicely too and so did BAFTA nominee Adrian Dunbar, who did not have a lot to work with, but his face expressions of disbelief were solid there and he also pulled the alpha background from his character off nicely as he portrays the man running the investigation. The other two there with whom the film starts were fairly forgettable. Overall, this was a nice little sketch that you can watch quickly and maybe should, no matter if you know or like the show or if it is completely unknown to you as it was the case for me. It is not a must-see though unless you really dig the show, so you are also not missing out on too much here if you decide to skip it. For me it's a thumbs-down though. The beginning is a bit slow, but when the lawyer enters the room, it starts gaining steam. Go see it.
