SnoopyStyle
The premise of this mini-series is the world is harnessing the oil from a carnivorous slow-moving plant for fuel. They have these plants that blind people before eating them contained in farms. Then comes the solar flares that blinds everybody who stares at them. Apparently everything wants to blind us. There are some survivors who didn't get blinded played by Joely Richardson, Dougray Scott, Jason Priestley, and Eddie Izzard.The premise has two sci-fi creations. That's usually one too many. And that's before Eddie Izzard survive a plane crash by piling a bunch of floatation vests in the washroom. How he walks away is pure make believe. And what about the rest of the world? I'm sure there are whole sections of the world that was sleeping through the event. The problematic setups do pile on. If you're willing to forget all the problems with the setup, then the movie is acceptable apocalyptic TV fare. But that's asking too much for me.
philaulman
I thought this adaptation was in large, good. I was only 5 when the original was on TV, so couldn't remember much about the story, save the giant man-eating plants and some blind people.I thought the actors did the best they could with a less-than-brilliant script. Dougray Scott was good as the main protagonist as was Eddie Izzard in his antagonist role.The real surprise in this version though was Joely Richardson. Although a talented actress, she must have been suffering an off-day, as her acting was dreadful. Could've been the script, but then again, most of the other actors managed okay. Top marks for the BBC though for managing to secure Brian Cox and "A Redgrave".All in all, good fun but with a few weak bits.
siderite
I started with all possible good intentions: it was a BBC production and I am a fan of Doctor Who and even Torchwood; I have seen the original Day of the Triffids and I liked it (even if I thought the premise to be pretty hard to believe) and I was prepared to enjoy it as a holiday release, with not much substance in it.This being said, I really enjoyed the start, even if clearly beset with budget issues. I replaced the set in my mind and went on. The premise was a bit ridiculous, but that was in the book, so OK. Then Joely Richardson entered the scene and it all went bad. I have seen her in other movies and she was a decent actress. So either my memory plays tricks on me or the director messed it up. Badly! All her lines were out of place, her behavior like taken from a blond girl joke and her acting appalling. Eddie Izzard did a decent role as the psychopath trying to take over London, the rest of the stars just played average and mostly pointless roles, roles which could have been played by any other actor.The ending was a chaos of irrational behavior, bad acting, predictability and pointless narration supposed to "open our eyes". The ending really messed things up, both from the standpoint of character development and end feeling.Bottom line: decent effort, but ultimately a failed one.
dianewaterhouse
There are some absolutely stupid parts in this adaptation which make it almost unwatchable. Other reviews have already gone into this so I won't repeat. What doesn't seem to have been given much credit though is the acting. All of the actors involved were outstanding with the material they had been given. It's remarkable in itself that Eddie Izzard could even keep a straight face with some of the scenes/lines he was given (yes he managed it when walking out of a crashed plane covered in soot without a scratch, at seeing that scene I was laughing and I'm sure he will too when watching it back) I have to say he always seems to play an excellent bad guy! Dougray Scott and Joely Richardson were both great, again making the best of a bad script.In short, worth watching only for the brilliant acting
AD
