The Prisoner
  • Network: AMC
  • Series Premiere Date: Nov 15, 2009
User Score
3.6

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 82 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 82
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 82
  3. Negative: 48 out of 82

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User Reviews

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  1. DanielV
    Nov 20, 2009
    2
    Dreadfully boring. Unlike the original, in the sense that all intrigue and charm has been removed.
  2. JimC
    Nov 18, 2009
    2
    Should even have been called by the same title. A very poor story.
  3. MarleneM
    Nov 18, 2009
    3
    Ian McKellen is always watchable but that's just about the only good I can say about this remake. The original series still has its crown and I will have forgotten this remake as soon as I switch it off.
  4. LaurenceH
    Nov 18, 2009
    2
    An opportunity to produce a modern-day classic out of the fertile ground of the original series has been completel wasted by the writers and editors of this series.
  5. JaneWillDoIt
    Nov 21, 2009
    0
    Quite possibly the worst remake ever made. None of the intelligence, wit, or sparkle from the 1968 one were present in this trite remake. Everything is slip-shod : the writing is a pretentious joke ; the directing is amateurish ; the pacing is as slow as molasses. I fell asleep during the third hour ( but dragged myself through the rest ). Patrick McGoohan would never demean himself by Quite possibly the worst remake ever made. None of the intelligence, wit, or sparkle from the 1968 one were present in this trite remake. Everything is slip-shod : the writing is a pretentious joke ; the directing is amateurish ; the pacing is as slow as molasses. I fell asleep during the third hour ( but dragged myself through the rest ). Patrick McGoohan would never demean himself by presenting such tripe as this.… Expand
  6. viewerviewing
    Nov 22, 2009
    2
    The commercials were nice. The PalmPre girl. The Geico gecko. I don't know what all of that other stuff was. Something about a man running round aimlessly.
  7. JoeP
    Dec 30, 2009
    2
    When you sit down for 6 hours of something like this, you obviously do so knowing you're going to get something different. But with ENDLESS slow-motion shooting by the director used to AMPLIFY profound moments --- you would think he first read the script to see if THERE WERE ANY profound moments! Compelling portrait of command and control vs privacy and individuality?... no. When you sit down for 6 hours of something like this, you obviously do so knowing you're going to get something different. But with ENDLESS slow-motion shooting by the director used to AMPLIFY profound moments --- you would think he first read the script to see if THERE WERE ANY profound moments! Compelling portrait of command and control vs privacy and individuality?... no. Juxtaposition of simple life vs. complex noise and technology?.. no. Love story?.. no. Good vs evil?.. no. Boring, British crap.… Expand
  8. AlvinP
    Dec 6, 2009
    0
    I tried to watch this. I really did! But after the 1st show and part of the 2nd, I couldn't take it any more. There just wa not enough there to keep me interested. Might have worked out as a 2 hr movie maybe. And thats a rea BIG maybe. I love movies like this but this one was awfull.
  9. AaronR
    Nov 18, 2009
    2
    Ian McKellan can be thanked for my not rating this lower. The plot was complete disjointed and, in the end, didn't make any sense. I think they could have gone in a great direction, but the editing really hurt the show. In addition, this did not need to be six hours long. I think three would have been good, and extra characters could have been cut (the brother story line? I Ian McKellan can be thanked for my not rating this lower. The plot was complete disjointed and, in the end, didn't make any sense. I think they could have gone in a great direction, but the editing really hurt the show. In addition, this did not need to be six hours long. I think three would have been good, and extra characters could have been cut (the brother story line? I don't know what that was about). In the end, it just helped reaffirm that James Caviezel doesn't need to act, ever, as his shifts from stone acting to watery blubbering to soap opera seriousness just left me with a migraine.… Expand
  10. ChrisJ.
    Nov 19, 2009
    2
    Pseudo-intellectual garbage with no meaning whatsoever. I only gave it a 2 because they had to build the village
  11. CraigW.
    Nov 19, 2009
    3
    Watching this was going to the dentist .
  12. BrendaB
    Nov 22, 2009
    0
    Really a major, major disappointment. This could and should have been good. Instead it was stupid and incredibly confusing. Quite unnecessarily.
  13. BobG
    Nov 24, 2009
    3
    Brilliant acting by Ian can not make up for absolutely awful camera work and a confusing, pointless plot. What, did that guy just get sucked in by a balloon?
  14. OneWhoKnows
    Aug 25, 2010
    0
    Absolute crap. Number 6 is rolling over in his grave.
    This has nothing to do with the original groundbreaking series. Please burn this film forever!

    Sorry Patrick!!
  15. YellowOxide
    Dec 10, 2012
    0
    This is so bad it is hard to even bother write this, but the people who were thinking they were doing something better than the original really lost the plot, in more ways than one!

    I'm not going to waste time on detailed commentary except to say that they turned what is a paranoid exploration of the cold war period into some ersatz fantasy world for people just hate ambiguity. Not    This is so bad it is hard to even bother write this, but the people who were thinking they were doing something better than the original really lost the plot, in more ways than one!

    I'm not going to waste time on detailed commentary except to say that they turned what is a paranoid exploration of the cold war period into some ersatz fantasy world for people just hate ambiguity.

    Not even 1 for trying.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

95
#95 Best TV Season of 2009
45
#45 Most Discussed TV Season of 2009

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
45

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 21
  3. Negative: 6 out of 21
  1. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    40
    For the characters and for the viewers, the miniseries is a plodding excursion on the road to nowhere.
    Read full review
  2. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    30
    This Prisoner remake contains some striking visuals and intermittently effective performances, especially from the typically magnetic McKellan, but it’s also frequently too choppy and elliptical to build up much suspense or dramatic impact.
    Read full review
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    50
    It's self-absorbed to the point of incoherence.
    Read full review
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