Hard Sun (2018) User Reviews

Some flaws but pretty good generally

[nhkerr · 7/10 · 14 March 2018]

I have never understood why people are so quick to jump to the 1/10 score. The 1970 Film 'Trog', arguably one of the worst films ever made, gets an average of 3.6 so, even if you are hyper critical of some of the shortcomings of this series, it is clearly not 1/10.

Without giving another plot synopsis, the story is a London police drama underpinned by the knowledge of the protagonists, of the inevitable extinction of life on earth in 5 years.

I tend to be quite critical of procedurals that have outlandish and unbelievable plot elements. With this one though, as long as you buy the main premise (and that requires a certain suspension of disbelief), the extremity of the situation takes the focus off most details that could trip up the more nit-picky mind. So I for one was generally swept along.

What helps this is the pace and intensity of the programme. It is undoubtedly a high-adrenaline drama, with few gaps to take a breath. The music criticised by some commenters have for being too noisy (really?!) was well matched to the unrelenting tempo of the plot.

The casting and acting were both suitable to the drama, with a really convincing performance from Agnyess Deyn. Stylised it certainly was, but it was stylised well, so I really cant see that as a criticism.

There were a few niggles. I don't think the editing was brilliant. The various serial killer sub-plots were very variable in detail and the one in the last episode seemed almost throw-away. I got the feeling that they had had to scrunch the series down to 6 episodes having originally filmed for more.

Also how silence about such a life ending event could be maintained at all, and the ease with which the newspaper release in the first episode was quashed, strain the credulity a bit.

Anyway that's my tuppence worth. There's no accounting for taste, but I wish people would avoid rushing to unnecessarily harsh scoring. It ruins the system as a guide.

Apocolyptic Police Drama

[eve_dolluk · 8/10 · 7 January 2018]

The premise for the show is set up very early on, there is a problem with the sun and the experts give us 5 yrs to live.

Two detectives played by Agyness Deyn and Jim Sturgess come across this information on a flash drive.

The premise for the show is an interesting one, when faced with futility how do these two detectives continue with their jobs while also knowing that many crimes they are solving, they are partly responsible for !!

Its an interesting question that has been encapsulated by this show and I think its the first time I have seen such an idea in television. The pyscholgoical ideologies that are set up for the show are great although I felt that they could have been taken further. I understand why the writers didn't take the show deeper as it would have made it very dark indeed.

Its comes in 6 episodes that are fast paced and for the most part well acted especially by the two leads. There are flaws to the show, they seemed to want to include as many liberal or politically correct influences as possible and while I am pretty liberal it did get a bit annoying and distracting. Other than that this was a great bit of BBC television drama.

8/10 Well done Auntie

Good Drama, But Little Sci Fi

[samuel-lewis12 · 8/10 · 8 February 2018]

Okay, so when this TV show was annouced as a new sci series i was thrilled to see the BBC do some sci fi other than Doctor Who, back in 2008 we had Doctor Who, Merlin, Survivors, Life on Mars & Torchwood and it's great to see the BBC dive back into this genre. However this series had little sci fi featured but still had very good and gruesome stories featured in each episode, loved the bits with MI5 but thought this show got a bit too dark in places. Loved the cliffhanger for this series and hope to see it recommissioned, come on they renewed Doctor Foster and that didn't even need a series 2! Great to see how this show changed from a crime drama to a sci fi series within 6 episodes featuring a black hole in episode 6! A black hole in a crime drama!

Interesting Premise but badly executed

[jack_child · 16 November 2020]

The first episode was good and I was excited, thinking that I had found a decent series. However, as the series progressed, character development ground to a halt and scenarios silly/unrealistic. The female lead is charismatic and plays the part well - but all the other characters are so flat and dull. The relationship between the female lead and her son could have been really interesting and layered - yet the writers completely missed the mark with it. There were so many times throughout the series where the characters escape danger - when realistically they would have just been killed or captured. Also, there is little exploration of the 'impending doom' that forms the backbone of the story which is a shame. Overall, the plot holes, flat characters and other irregularities detract from the series to such an extent that it becomes frustrating to watch.

the angels of our better nature...

[declandoyle · 6/10 · 21 January 2018]

Half way through the 6 episodes. uneven but quite gripping. anyone who has read the last policeman will see & appreciate the obvious parallels. at times a bit too graphically violent but perhaps a sign of the times the producer director is trying to highlight. reportedly renewed for a 2nd season already so.....

A Lot Better THan Many Critics Would Have You Believe

[IanIndependent · 7/10 · 19 March 2020]

I'm not sure why this series was so derided and so little watched when it first appeared. It is a lot better and a lot less predictable then many of the police procedure, formula, drama of recent times

Being honest I think Jim Sturgess was probably mist cast in one of the lead roles. He is very good as the hard boiled, cocky, copper but doesn't come across too well as the often (over) emotional family man. However that could be a fault with the script or direction rather than the actor because some of emotional histrionic portrayed by the Sturgess character are way too much and the script does seem to have a few flaws with the motivations and contradictions in a few of the characters.

Having said that that stories were interesting, The gayness Deyn character is a bit of a change and kept me interested once I got used to her and I think would have remained interesting for a few more series.

I do think it is a pity they are not making at least series two or three especially if the sci-fi of the 'Hard Sun' would have come more into play. I think in 10 years time when it is getting regular play on repeat channels this will become a cult not just because of some of it's faults that will be pointed out but because it was an enjoyable quote compulsive drama.

Original pre-apocalyptic crime series

[blackwaterjulia · 9/10 · 23 September 2018]

The British are great at writing crime, this serie is another proof of that. While crime is not usually my favorite genre, I do like Luther and that series comes from the hand of Neil Cross. Since this mini-serie is written by him too I decided to give it a go, and I wasn't disappointed.

Agyness Deyn, who plays the role of Elaine Renko, was originally a model before she got into acting. When I read that I almost couldn't believe it, because she puts down a very convincing performance, that seems to come natural to her. Her character is a tough cookie and it's definitely not one you'd like to pick a fight with. As we get further into the series we do see more depth added to her character, which makes her all the more interesting.

The other lead role is played by Jim Sturgess. He portrays the character of Charlie Hicks, a cop with a rogue edge but otherwise a good man. Or at least, he thinks he is, but the story itself leaves the viewer to make up their own mind about that.

And that is not the only issue on which the viewer gets to fill in the blanks. A lot is left unanswered, but not in an annoying way. Or at least to me it wasn't irritating, but some people may not like it. I however, think it was done in a good way and with a satisfying ending.

The writer, Neil Cross, has said he was interested in doing a fiver year story arc, but to the best of my knowledge the series hasn't be renewed. It's a shame, because it's rare to see doomsday genres combined with crime, and it's even more rare to see it being done with this level of quality.

Bad Cop, Bad Cop

[tmiller-76900 · 7/10 · 19 October 2022]

More of a cop drama with a sci-fi subplot far, far in the background than true science fiction. The main characters don't even care about the sci-fi element beyond the first episode. They were busy protecting their own families, fighting with each other, and working on a couple serial killer cases. I was convinced that the big reveal would be that the impending doomsday scenario was either a miscalculation or part of a drill. It seemed nearly forgotten by the 3rd episode, let alone the 6th.

I have a couple minor quibbles: 1. Everyone just took the government's word that Hard Sun was a hoax. Really? I'd imagine observatories around the world would look into it and the British government would be unable to contain the truth.

2. A priest refuses to betray the sanctity of a confession. Ok, believable. Then the priest refuses to tell the name of a man who kidnapped him and attempted to murder him. That shouldn't be protected by the confessional.

3. Is there anyone in the world that Elaine's son won't murder or Charlie won't sleep with? I was beginning to ask myself that question.

4. We'll never know what Hard Sun was. Doesn't really matter, information about Hard Sun was just a plot device, sort of an Arma-MacGuffin.

High charged Saturday night viewing.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 7 January 2018]

The end of the world is nigh, and the criminals are still at it, even when the world comes to an end we are still need cops and spooks to put the bad guys away. Fortunately this serial was better then the premise suggested, what sounded daft was actually very good viewing, an unlikely pairing of Agyness Deyn and Jim Sturgess worked incredibly well together, two actors I absolutely love, so wonderfully talented, Sturgess for his recent work on Close to the Enemy. I'm just glad to see a drama serial on the box on a Saturday night, Taboo showed that it can work, we don't have to be made to switch off with only reality TV on. Bravo BBC again.

So good.....but ugh

[Havishamesque · 7/10 · 31 July 2018]

It is not often that one character makes a show almost unwatchable (aside, of course, from bloody Chloe in Lucifer), but the horrible MI5 agent in this show is so far beyond repugnant and repulsive that it almost makes an otherwise great show unreadable.

Otherwise, this show is great. Great premise, great acting. The only downside is that Elaine seems to get beaten up in every episode....and Daniel just needs to be institutionalized, already.

Well worth the time. I just binged the first season and can't wait for season two (fingers crossed).

Shaggy Dog Story

[Jefbecco-1 · 4/10 · 20 April 2018]

Definition of a shaggy dog story:In its original sense, a shaggy dog story or yarn is an extremely long-winded anecdote characterized by extensive narration of typically irrelevant incidents and terminated by an anticlimax or a pointless punchline. (Wikipedia)

Yes I have to say that "Hard Sun" is a shaggy dog story. Episode 1 is intriguing. Something is happening with the sun and we don't have much time left. Five years. MI-5 agents are running wild knocking off people left and right and our two detectives are out there by themselves. Good start.

Unfortunately it sputters out at that point because there are multiple episodes and the show's creator ,Neil Cross, has gone on record that he has sketched out a five year story arc. So the six episodes mean that we aren't even going to get to the end of the world. Instead the five following episodes consist of disturbing and dark murders while our protagonists run around and lie to each other about everything.

It looks good, but it never delivers. At the end of episode 6 our two detectives have Lady MI-5 at gunpoint and then the sun rises. Something is wrong with the sun! Run credits. Okay so all those episodes and not much of anything happened. Essentially it's a pre-apocalyptic soap opera meets the "X-Files" and a bit of "Luther" thrown in for good measure.

Personally I think that the problems with "Hard Sun" is the same problems that so many television shows now share. Many of the shows take what is a good idea for a movie and stretch it out into a multiple episode television series. The result is you get episodes in which not much of anything happens. A whole lot of sound and fury signifying nothing (thank you Mr. Shakespeare). In the case of "Hard Sun" one can literally go from episode 1 to episode 6 and not miss much of anything. The recap at the start of episode 6 will cover everything that you need to know.

In other words it plays out like a soap opera. The better ones will pull you in promising a pay-off, but will never really deliver. How can they? They need you to keep watching since they hope to be renewed.

"Hard Sun" would have worked better as a movie or a six part limited run series that actually ends with episode six. I give the show four stars because it has good production values and the acting isn't too bad - if a bit overblown at times.

it would be a pity not to have a second season

[kriszti-83949 · 9/10 · 4 May 2018]

I hope there will be a second season because there are several questions left open. I really liked the characters and I liked especially that within the main story there are several smaller stories around the main characters. I can only recommend this series and I hope for a sequel.

Woeful fight scenes

[davi-shaw · 6/10 · 14 January 2018]

Great idea, dreadful fight choreography. The CGI at the end was embarrassing. Still, entertaining enough despite the many plot holes.

The music is awful !

[ianmcrv · 5/10 · 8 January 2018]

I would give it higher marks but whoever arranged the music does not know what they're doing. If you play: Dramatic music, Dramatic music, Dramatic music, Dramatic music. It loses its effect and just becomes annoying noise to the point where your head is about to explode and when at last for just a few seconds you turn the blasted noise off it is a tremendous relief and you think 'Thank goodness for that!'

I mean, guy walks up to flat (dramatic music, heartbeat music) knocks on the door (dramatic music, heartbeat music), woman opens door (dramatic music, heartbeat music), 'Hiya' he says, 'Hello' she says. ?

Some of the other music is just a horrid wailing sound! It really was a challenge for me to just not turn it off and I'm not sure I'll be able to sit through many episodes if it continues like this as it really does my head in.

Auntie can do better.

[tomlinsonbob · 13 January 2018]

Hard Sun looked promising for starters, but by the time a couple of victims had expired in gruesome circumstances, it became clear that gratuitous violence was endemic, making up, one assumes for a plot that didn't stack up. Once Hard Sun was out of the bag, there was no way it could have been hushed up so conveniently as a hoax. What was the rest of the world doing? And what about all those goons doing the chasing. Didn't they have families? Female lead good in an offbeat way, but the male lead and the black baddie weren't even up to pantomime standard, as one famous critic remarked in different circumstances, "They exploited the whole gamut of emotions from A right through to B". Billed as something quite new to the BBC, the only sense in which that rings true is how abysmally bad was this production. Worst thing is, I helped fund it.

Taut drama, laughable background peril

[majic-5 · 6/10 · 18 September 2018]

I was a big fan of the BBC's "MI-5," am a long-time reader of sci-fi, and a fan of cosmology. The first five minutes of "Hard Sun" had elements of all three, so I was hooked. I loved the choice that the series mad to have the McGuffin, a set of classified files, serve as a background and foreground driver of the series. But when the final episode revealed the specifics of the McGuffin, I cringed. Unless a show is pure sci-fi, I insist that the science be plausible, even if a bit speculative. What the final episode asserted is literally, wildly impossible, and no consulting astrophysicist (if there were one) would have given his/her blessing to this gimmick.

pretty good, great speculative premise

[mathomas-28053 · 7/10 · 2 August 2023]

I personally didn't like this as much as I liked "Luther," also written by Neil Cross. A little too violent for me. I like the more intellectual, less violent, shows. This would have made a better 2-hour movie than 6-hour miniseries. There's too much padding. The sub-plot about her son, for example, could have been left out. It adds nothing.

The premise, that the world will be ending in five years, is a great one. Lots of sci-fi authors are speculating about that at the moment. There's a novel called "2140" about it. There's the excellent movie "Don't Look Up!" that speculates about it. The best one, for me, is the novel "The Last Policeman." If you want to know how this series probably would have ended, read that.

In a way it's too bad that Cross was not allowed to follow his premise to the conclusion. At least one more season would have done it. But it was not to be. Not enough people watched this one. Maybe they just don't want to think about the world ending.

Don't understand the bad reviews....

[wildblueyonder · 8/10 · 27 March 2018]

Granted, it isn't a whole lotta sci-fi... but it does do what good sci-fi does best which is explore humanity.

Really liked it, probably a bit too much cliche in there to go above 8 though.

Great idea, tired plot

[ehorton9-159-661445 · 6/10 · 10 March 2018]

This show is a fantastic idea represented in an long series of cliched, over-wrought tropes and worn out plot devices. Worth a watch, but it gets wearisome.

Really good

[jma6286 · 9/10 · 11 January 2018]

Really enjoyed the first episode, found out the rest of the series on bbc I-player had to watch was not disappointed to say the least good cover story and finish can't wait for season 2

Good TV watching

[mst · 7/10 · 13 May 2018]

Came across the first episode on Bravo last week. Looking forward to tonight second episode.

Such A Shame - Style Over Substance

[sodiumtt · 5/10 · 7 January 2018]

Great idea and great production but the script and the directing really let's the show down. The female lead is great and acts her role well but the male lead is ropey at best. He has a terrible mockney accent abs his character is a tad ludicrous but that's mainly down to the bad script. The director has seemingly tried to make up for the lack of gravitas portrayed by the characters by having overly violent but badly choreographed fight scenes. I love a good fight scene but these are unbelievable and sloppy, in fact the entire show is undermined by unbelievable characters, bad accents and situations that just wouldn't happen.

So far, so good...

[st_stoimenov · 8/10 · 7 January 2018]

My hope is that if one makes the effort to look past the action (a spectacular choreography, by the way) and this genre-specific plot clichés, one's going to find a fresh and an interesting take on the age old dilemma that entertains the question whether people as a whole (as a society; as a global collective, if you wish) ought - let alone deserve - to be made aware of all the details and parameters of an impending extinction-level event.

Or, in other words - will we succumb to our most primal and atavistic impulses and instincts? Or maybe human spirituality's evolution has had finally caught up with the technological one? Are we all remaining to be simply cavemen (and "cavewomen", lets not be sexist ;) with cell phones and lap tops, or at last we've crossed over some kind of a mental - or a spiritual - threshold, thus becoming something... more? The thing is, we won't be sure which is it until we actually find ourselves on the precipice of some catastrophic, cataclysmic event. Once we had been reduced to creatures that act solely on their instincts and nothing else, then it will become clear whether the human nature has had evolved beyond that of cavemen (and cavewomen - I would hate to find this review dismissed on grounds of sexism and misogyny, hehe).

I think that the series have the real potential to gain "a must-watch" status. It all depends on whether the show's creators have dedicated more screen time and a stronger accent to the question has the humanity's mentality's evolution reached the point where we had finally become mentally fit enough to survive a global cataclysm.

If not, at least the show's entertaining, if nothing else.

Promises much...delivers frustration and not much else.

[tonyhancock28 · 1/10 · 18 January 2018]

The Beeb jump on the 'end of the world' bandwagon with ridiculous results. Firstly, I can well imagine it all being hushed up but there is no explanation as to how this has been miraculously achieved...it's just not believable. Secondly. the film does not actually deal with the promised subject matter, instead, it just hovers in the background and is used as a vehicle for some murders. The world is coming to an end in 5 years yet all they want to do is run about and solve some crimes. Is it trying to be different? is it trying to do the apocalypse story in a new and interesting way? Probably, but it fails on almost every mini 'soap-esk' story line in conjures up as ultimately, you just don't care for the characters. The end of the world is nigh, so lets just carry on with our pointless jobs until the end then?

the best of 18 yet

[lauriem25 · 9/10 · 27 January 2018]

Has everything, high drama, crime and underhand state intervention. Big plus great acting, great script and good show management. great viewing and highly gripping.