The State Within

A cleverly crafted, ingenious thriller with only scant moments of implausibility. Most of it has the unmistakable imprint of a smart premise beautifully executed.

A rip-roaring thriller... that pulls off the rare trick of being both massively intelligent and unbearably intense.

It is an extremely challenging bit of filmmaking, since almost nothing is initially what it seems and you have to pay very close attention to the complex storytelling.

By the time the many story threads link up... "The State Within" has an unstoppable momentum that’s as good as the best of "24."

An engrossing thriller... a welcome return to the juicy, complex miniseries of old.

"The State Within" is what we'd get if the producers of "24" wanted to make us think instead of accept ever-widening leaps of logic.

If 24 is a roller coaster, The State Within is more of a cerebral maze of treachery. One's more fun, though the other has its dark pleasures.

Excellent acting compensates for the confusing, far-fetched moments.

Quick confusion in grasping the conspiracy web is understandable, but that doesn’t mean this series’ many hours... aren’t sufficiently tense and jarring to warrant your time. But if you’re even a mildly cynical A-section reader and/or devourer of suspense novels, and especially if you’ve enjoyed the many fine British multipart political thrillers that have graced our airwaves, like To Play the King and A Very British Coup and State of Play, then The State Within will seem either too familiar or too diffuse.

You won't be bored, as you strain to keep track of everything, and Isaacs, with his piercing eyes and reserve, is a great lead.

"The State Within"... is something less than perfect, but if you have a taste for high-level skulduggery and do not mind being totally confused much of the time, it's an enjoyable enough ride — fun, sometimes exciting, basically intelligent, occasionally preposterous.

Ponderous... convoluted.

Its convoluted story and rising body count strain credibility in a project that doesn't coalesce until its final installment, and not fully even then.