Ivan Fedorych
I am surprised that everybody's giving high points for "Statskiy Sovetnik". I guess, gentlemen, you are afraid to use the word BORING for this movie. The book of Boris Akunin has a very interesting plot, i've read it almost in one breath. And in the movie I watched only long dialogs and simplified action scenes. Here are more things that I did not like:Mikhalkov plays his role in such a manner that you can guess, that Pozarski is the major enemy - Menshikov is not convincing, I liked the actor in "Turkish gambit" much better - I think the director did not show the viewer the psychological portraits, the inner world of his heroes. This is the worse feature of this movie. You can see only raw acting. - I noticed that Mikhalkov is paranoid about imperialistic idea of GREAT Russia, and he influenced the work of Yankowski who didn't make an action- spy movie (which i expected), but a long monologue about Fate of Russia.
cskachampion
I watched this movie with my family in a movie theater in Saint-Petersburg. I chose this movie by accident because other movies would start in an hour or so and we didn't have any time.Anyway :) having no expectations at all, I really enjoyed the movie. Honestly, i have to say it is one of the best Russian movies I have ever watched. The story is great (Boris Akunin), casting is great, sound effects are good, decorations are great and actors play very well. You can easily see that a lot of money, effort and talent is put to this movie. It kinda shows the new rise of Russian cinematography and that makes me particularly proud of this movie.This movie is a sort of continuum of the movie Tureckij Gambit (Both are part of Boris Akunin's book series). The two movies are not linked together however, except having the same hero (Fandorin).I recommend this movie to everyone. Way to go Russia ! (y)
TinySparrow
When I've read my first book about Fandorin, I thought "Only Menshikov can play this". That is why since the moment I first heard that Menshikov WILL play Fandorin I was waiting for "Statskiy Sovetnik" to be released and was eager to watch it. And - finally! - my dream came true.In the beginning I was a bit annoyed by the difference between the movie and the book, though I'm not the person who cares about such things. Then the movie captivated me and I became interested. The actors' work was brilliant, I especially would like to mention Nikita Mikhalkov, whose portrayal of Pozharsky was absolutely flawless. Konstantin Khabenskiy and Oksana Fandera were very convincing too. The action was rather exciting - at least for me, because for some people long dialogues (or even monologues) can be quite boring. Not for me - I enjoyed every moment. All in all, when I left the cinema, I was pleased with the movie. But some time later, recollecting the details, I found myself puzzled with the thought of Menshikov's performance. He looked good, he was an ideal Fandorin for me - at least his appearance was suitable - but I got an embarrassing feeling that I saw a ghost, a shadow of Erast Petrovich. It was lifeless, emotionless and insensible. What a disappointment! Fandorin is reserved and self-respecting, NOT nonchalant, haughty and bored of life.In conclusion I can only say that this is my personal opinion and maybe I simply cannot see the main point of Menshikov's work... But I'm still upset with this Fandorin. I only hope that if there is another movie with Oleg Menshikov playing Erast Fandorin, THAT performance of this undoubtedly talented actor will be different - meaning more lively.
pard-3
One of the most brilliant modern books (Boris Akunin) get bad movie. Yes, the movie literally follow the book, but nothing else.Annoing acting. There is no suspense. No visual effects. No Fandorin (the biggest disappointment)! And, as result, no movie. I had feeling, that the film is too long.The best of all is Emilia Spivak (Esfir): her acting is way above everybody else's. I liked Oleg Tabakov (Prince Dolgoroukoy) and Aleksei Gorbunov (Rahmet) too, but all other actors only do very hard work, not playing.Only 4 of 10 :-(
AD
