13/48
Helen embarks on a passionate affair with a man who has no idea of her secret identity. Caught in the crosshairs when her lover falls victim to London’s dangerous underworld, Helen’s employers call on Sam to protect her. Bingo, the owner of the guitar shop where Sam buys his guns, is played by Rat Scabies, a member of The Damned. Appeared on The Graham Norton Show: Cher/Keira Knightley/Michael Fassbender/Josh Brolin/Jalen Ngonda (2024). New York Fairy Tale Written by Jem Finer, Shane MacGowan with The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl. STARS: ***** Brilliant **** Very Good *** Fair ** Mediocre * Terrible “Helen Webb” (Keira Knightley) lives with her husband, Defense Secretary Wallace (Andrew Buchan), and their two children. All seems idyllic, until her former commanding officer Reed (Sarah Lancashire) re-enters her life and informs her that her secret lover Jason (Andrew Koji) has been killed, along with two others, forcing her to resurrect her former secret life as a spy, on a quest for revenge. Reed reconnects her with Sam (Ben Whishaw), a hitman and her former handler, and together they navigate a complex web of political espionage and assassination. The spy thriller has faded in popularity over the years, but it still has the potential to work in new and different formats. Black Doves came out of nowhere, with massive hype, and became the latest major Netflix production to top the charts, aiming to revive the genre in the modern day. The result is a real mixed bag, one that holds your attention with its eight pleasantly succinct episodes, but fails to paper over the rough edges of the storyline. Overall, it’s a fairly standard spy story, with some fairly standard swashbuckling tropes, that anyone familiar with old spy adventures will recognise and even fondly embrace. The big problem is the uneven tone. The script veers erratically between tongue-in-cheek action comedy and dark, ponderous spy thriller, leaving you too tossed around to really absorb it. However, it makes up for it with some stylish and flashy action sequences, with Whishaw and Knightley making a convincing pair of mismatched professionals, with Lancashire’s strong support as the icy, aloof M-type commander. The spy thriller remains a thriller of limitless possibilities, and Black Doves, despite its flaws, is a solid addition to the must-see, with an interesting mystery at its centre, solid performances and action to match. ***