The Prisoner has been resurrected to our screens after nearly 50 years since the original TV series which starred Patrick McGoohan. This new 6 part mini series boasts a cast of a listers which includes Sir Ian McKellen, Vincent Regan, James Caviezel, Ruth Wilson, Lennie James and fresh from Twilight: New Moon and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, Jamie Campbell Bower and is directed by Nick Hurran.
This entire series was shot in Namibia for 18 weeks and the scenery is simply fabulous. I cant claim to have seen the original but think of The Prisoner as a mix between Lost and The Truman Show except in this case, no one has a name but a number.
The Prisoner focuses on Jim Caviezel’s character, ‘6’ who awakens one day to find himself in this strange world where there The Village is the beginning and end of the world which seemingly has no way out. He has multiple memories of a world we all know which everyone claims are mad thoughts that 6 has no evidence of ever happening. Ian McKellen, ‘Two’ is the leader of The Village and blocks all of 6’s attempts to escape.
The series is compelling with a great cast and great dialogue but it is rather slow paced and although the direction and beautiful scenery never get tiresome, the slow moving storyline is hard to get past. Caviezel plays a great part never really knowing what is going on with the fabulous Ian McKellen giving a performance that we’ve become completely accustomed to. Both Lennie James, Hayley Atwell, Vincent Regan and Ruth Wilson are also perfectly cast but again, the pace of each episode is far too slow.
It was great to see Jim Caviezel back on screen as I think he’s such a great and underrated actor. If you like movies like Gattaca, Equilibrium, The Truman Show or even TV series, Lost, then The Prisoner is definitely another mysterious story to watch and be enjoyed.
The Prisoner is released on DVD & Blu Ray 3rd May and is coming to ITV soon so keep your eyes peeled.
