User reviews

The film and its cast were a tough act to follow. The series tries to be as stylish but somehow misses the mark on occasion. It feels a little more low rent than the movie and say other similar series such as The Gentleman. However most of the characters are solid and the performances on the whole are good. With a bit of time you can get over some of its flaws, it doesn't seem to know what period in time it's set in for one. But the story picks up and the characters become more interesting and it ends up a decent romp.

Give it time and it finds its way and your patience is rewarded with a solid gangster story.

Just watched the first episode, despite some of the negative reviews it's not as bad as it sounds.

The two leads do an ok version of movie characters.

At times, it felt like an episode of Eastenders.

Was waiting for Phil Mitchell to show up.

It's not claiming to be The Godfather, it's something to watch, we are too critical at times every show must be like this and that.

If you liked the film, don't mind Eastenders fused with Rise of the Foot soldier directed by an aldi Guy Ritchie it's a watch. Considering what we get served up by American producers it's OK.

We seem to forget we are in an age of no fresh ideas for tv and film.

I found the original movie to be fantastic. A great script, and great characters.

When I discovered that a tv series had been commissioned as a prequel I was very curious.

I was not disappointed at all. The effort can be seen how the writers have morphed the movie characters some 15 years earlier and how their backgrounds and experiences created the people in a villa in Spain in 2000.

For those that haven't seen the original movie "Sexy Beast" it's really a must to fully appreciate this drama series.

The TV series shows two life long friends Gal who is a quick thinker and a leader in the making and Don who is an extremely tough and ruthless fighter who has had an awful childhood which has made him socially awkward.

Doing petty crimes together they are invited to join. London underworld crime king Teddy Bass.

Teddy is a ruthless psychopath who is gay, he is so feared that no one ever challenges him and his sophisticated tastes and high intelligence enable him to mix in London's high class society.

Gal is engaged to a nice but safe London girl but he catches the eye of a feisty up and coming porn star who demands respect and takes no nonsense from men.

I very much enjoyed the attention to detail and effort made to fill the gaps from the movie and hope they commission a second series.

There are a few critics who complain about the casting but for me they are all believable younger versions of the movie.

A good London crime drama which is realistic and true to the movie.

Recommend.

There's one glaring problem with this right from the start and that's none of the main characters are played by people from Essex. I don't always think that actors must only come from the place their characters are based, but I do have a problem with actors playing roles with accents they simply can't do. The 3 main leads are not only not from Essex, they aren't even English. Again, this doesn't need to be a problem, but in this case it is. It's not that they can't do a "perfect" accent, I wouldn't expect them to, but they can't even do a half-arsed job of it. First thing I noticed was the accents, they're clearly not from Essex, not even close. Think more Dick Van Dyke or Ewan McGregor than Jack Lowden. I don't think I'll be able to continue with this as the accents are so bad.

If you've not started this yet, and not watched the film, I'd suggest watch the film. When I heard they were making a show I thought leave it out. I watched the trailer for the show and thought OK, I'll give it go. I must say it's pretty damn good, it's so much fun and a right laugh. I love the characters, and as other reviewers have said Gal and Don are excellent. In the film you get 'the full fat' version of Don, in this he's a kind of skinny latte version, but giggle so much knowing what he becomes. Tamsin Greig who plays Cecilia is another stand out, her character is wonderful, I love her and she loves dropping the C Bomb. Personally all the characters are fun and it's a show, like Slow Horses that doesn't take itself too seriously. I'm thoroughly enjoying this show, especially as there's not much on barring True Detective and Masters of the Air that I watch. As for the low reviews, they can judge of course, the best critic is yourself, it doesn't float their boat, but please don't let that put you off. If you love British humour, the C Bomb dropping every episode and the so so violent scenes, I trust this will float your boat. A solid 8/10 from me or your money back.

If you're going to create a TV show that's meant to be a prequel to the iconic movie, you really shouldn't be trying to steal half of its lines.

Paying a little bit of "fan service" is fine, but when you have Teddy Bass (whose portrayal in this is frankly terrible) using his "Gentleman, you're all ****s" line, and then that uninteresting older woman, that's what? Don's boss? Use the exact same line he said to Aitch in the movie, it was just too much, and they're only two examples.

The acting is pretty poor. The casting even worse. The guy that's meant to playing Aitch looks more like Teddy Bass than the guy who's actually playing him.

The only reason I'm not giving this show 1 star is because Emun Elliott looks like he could have done an okay job of playing Don if given the chance. Paul Kaye's Stan could've also been a good character too.

Want to watch some Sexy Beast? Just watch the movie and save yourself the time watching this dross.

I love the original and I thoroughly enjoyed this. Seeing the young characters and picking up on how they became the characters in film is a joy to watch. Every actor is excellent, however it to a while to fully appreciate Gal but it happened. It's funny, brutal and why the negatives I honestly don't know. Take it for what it is, it's not the film doesn't try to be, just enjoy it. The sound track is superb, the cars, Don's sister is amazing. I've seen a lot lot worse, Teddy Bass is on par with Lovejoy himself and you see him how he really is, not just a bit part. Once your a few episodes in you won't be disappointed.

'eavans above. An absolute twavesty is what it is. Laiwy geezers giving it all that wiv their posh-boy wannabe wide-boy jibber jabber. Tamsin tryin being 'ard as nails wiv her Pat Butcher hair and Sid James cigarette. It's all gone very Pete Tong.

Ray Winstone would eat this lot wiv his corn-flakes, and Ben Kingsley would (*) 'em out before lunch.

It's got all those ingredients from the original, a 20+ year old cult classic, being given to people who've heard of the original but not seen it. Then imagine the Great British Bake Off, but for TV production, with Guy Ritchie and Vinnie Jones as the judges.

Tasty.

Unlike this dog's upchucked dinner.

I'm really enjoying this series. It's interesting enough for me to wish I could see it all in one go.

The storyline is good and Tamsin Greig is a revelation, playing a totally different character to her usual type.

Deedee is at the heart and soul of this prequel and lights up the screen whenever she appears.

Teddy played by Stephen Moyer is a real nasty piece of work, but believable.

One particular scene with him in at a nightclub was horrific and I personally don't think that it was necessary. The character is menacing enough and I think that was overkill.

On the whole the series is so good I'm now in the process of watching the original movie the series is based on.

You can't really compare the two. Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley are 2 huge character actors and nobody could be as good as they were.

However I would definitely recommend this series.

Sexy Beast is the latest in the "people are sick of film remakes/reboots/requels, let's just make every film into a tv series" uninspired money-spinning ideas of production companies.

The film stands on its own as a classic British gangster-flick, with excellent actors and excellent performances.

So this "prequel" series always had a lot to live up to.

Unfortunately, it feels like someone is making a parody or low-budget fan film. The actors try their best to imitate both Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley but fail miserably to provide anything other than laughable imitations.

Ben Kingsley created an incredibly menacing character in Don Logan, but his counterpart in the series is so comically bad that it's impossible to find him at all threatening. It's difficult to do anything but cringe at Emun Elliott's impersonation.

The same goes for Glaswegian James McArdle, who while attempting to imitate Ray Winstone's performance, comes across as a slow-talking mockney with a brain injury due to his sleepy performance.

Eventually I had to turn it off, because the performances were so laughable and nauseating that I eventually couldn't take it seriously nor focus on the story.

Stick with the film, and leave it there, this failed money-spinning experiment is not worth your time.

I am absolutely loving this series, a fun roller coaster ride backed up with some good music. I read some of the bad reviews, they clearly don't get it, the era, the part of London it's set in. One alleged "writer " gave it one star and then I looked at some of his other reviews and he gave the dreadful Mr &Mrs Smith an eight! No credibility.

The acting is great, Tamsin Greig who is a comedian is great as an East End Moll. Her brother Don, is also brilliantly acted, because you hate him, and you're supposed to.

The main character Gal is great, he's charming and the person playing him James McCardle is perfect in the role.

Ignore the losers, this is series worth watching!

After having watched the finale, I can say definitively that this show has cemented itself as (easily) one of the best series of the decade thus far. I don't want to spoil anything other than to say that we'd better get at LEAST a 2nd season (or as many as showrunner Michael Caleo has planned), because the show's future is positively dripping with promise.

Anyone who hasn't given this show a chance yet -especially fans of the 2001 film- absolutely should. Ignore the negative reviews (which seem to have gotten buried beneath positives over the past few weeks/episodes - a testament to the quality of the writing, acting, & direction) and give it a watch. Even if you're not immediately grabbed by the first episode, your patience will be rewarded, as each successive episode is better than the preceding. I can't imagine anyone who invests their time in all 8 episodes being disappointed.

Please - watch it ASAP - don't sleep on it; the more interest shown NOW, the better the chances of avoiding cancellation. It's too good of a show to lose, and you really don't know what you're missing. Even critics seem to have warmed to it and/or changed their minds (I discovered just before feeling compelled to write this review, while trying to find out what band performed the punk cover of "Strangers in the Night" that played during the end credits; said band being Square the Circle, for anyone else interested).

I can't think of another recent series I can recommend as highly. Top tier entertainment; it's an absolute masterpiece. Enjoy.

I eagerly awaited the release of the Sexy Beast series, which is a prequel to the original movie of the same name, released in 2000.

I am a big fan of the original Sexy Beast movie, with outstanding performances from Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley, along with the supporting actors.

This new series, to me, was disappointing throughout.

The acting is so over the top, too stereotypical, and to be honest I felt they were all trying too hard to act out their characters. This is a shame as there a number of talented actors included, who I have witnessed deliver far better in other movies and series.

Personally I felt let down, there was an opportunity to deliver a series on par with the original movie, but it never happened.

I did watch every episode, and gave the series more than a good chance to impress me, but sadly it never did.

I thoroghly enjoyed the original film with Ben Kingsley and Ray Winstone.

Not for you if you're squeamish or recoil at bad language. How could a tv series match that? Well i admit I was surprised. I actually think it helped to have seen the film. It helped to understand the characters. Anyway ignore the negative reviews. This is simply excellent. Character driven throughout. The characters feel real even the psychopaths. Intelligent. Exciting. Brilliant particularly the two leads. Full of personal and moral dilemmas. If you just watch the first episode you might not appreciate just how good this is. Stick with it.

Not sure where all the hate is coming from. This is a great show to watch. I love these guys. So much fun.

I lover Gal & Don...especially Don...he is fantastic. I really like how everyone is connected somehow with each other. It feels like they are growing closer by the episode.

It took a little bit of time to get used to the accent, but I am totally hooked now. I am very curious to where the story will go.

Cecilia is so brilliant...I am super afraid of her. I have watched the first episodes so far. Today number 5 is out and I am so excited to watch it and I cannot wait for the rest of the episodes.

There is of course some strong violence...so beware....but I can only say: This show is a must to watch!!!

I'm pretty sure the Sexy Beast film was rated 18?

I only say that because I can only assume that whoever created this mess has never seen the film, is aged 13 & 3 quarters & has used the internet to read the best quotes from the film!

Honestly, this is laughably bad!

There's a reason there wasn't a sequel to the film. It was pretty much perfect with a career best, film stealing performance from Ben Kingsley.

The young Don Logan in this is just about the only redeeming thing but the material he has to work with is terrible & contrived.

& how does Tamsin Greig, a genuine comedy talent, end up playing the most ridiculous, humourless gangster you'll ever see?!!

A 3 rating just because Emun Mohammadi shows some promise but let down by an awful script.

What happens when you take the movie Sexy Beast and inject it with the humour of Lock Stock and the violence of Scum, you get Sexy Beast the TV series, it's an absolute rip roar of a show, story is on point, location is on point and the cast is absolutely on point!

Emun Elliott's performance as Don Logan is as scary as ever and James McArdle is literally channelling Ray Winstone, a stellar performance considering the size of the shoes he's filling, the rest of the cast are fantastic as well, Sarah Greene as Deedee has really brought another dimension to her character and Stephen Moyer is perfect as Teddy Bass not to mention the new addition with Tamsin Greig as Don's sister, I never thought there could be a character more menacing than Don but the apple does not fall far from the tree here.

This is one of those shows that's clearly flying under the radar and I'm not sure what's going on with the ratings but it's an easy 8 out 10 for me, well worth a watch!

It's easier to list the ways in which this 2024 reboot fails rather than succeeds when compared with the original 2000 movie. Apart from mildly familiar characters, it's like watching EastEnders. And I am not a fan of EastEnders. Where's the tight editing? Where's the music? Where are the tension-building shots? I don't mean the obvious copies. It's not just shots that are lifted, it's dialogue.

Notwithstanding a promising cast, this TV prequel of a great movie falls down because it doesn't have enough ideas of its own. Its attempts to give the characters backstories is mostly successful but there's far too much copy and paste - not just from the original movie but also worn out crime drama tropes. Even the soundtrack is hackneyed. The writing is clumsy in places but then there's the odd laugh-out-loud one-liner.

With the occasional exception, production values lean cheap and soapy, unlike Glazer's original masterpiece. The makers clearly lacked the commitment to make their own show and have aimed at a "safe" imitation only to miss their target.

I stuck with it because I like the characters. But you really ought to treat yourself to the 2000 movie. After episode 8, I thought: "is that it?"

I began watching this show and later checked on the rating and was really amazed it being 5.8. Im finding the show very intriguing; from the character development as to what makes them tick, so to speak. This is definately on par with most average gangster shows. I mean its not the Sopranoes or Breaking Bad classic rating, but definately better that 5.8. I am confused as to why the hate for this show. I especially found Danny extremely interesting as well as his sister. The way everything caves in on the star is also very entertaining in a suspence nature. Also the whole dynamic of the bad guy is portrayed with an interesting twist. Idk, its not that bad really. In my opinion.

People are uneasy with the hardcore qualities of this interesting prequel? Did they actually SEE Glazer's "Sexy Beast" with Ben Kingsley? The acting here is NOT bad, it is fine, maybe too intense for some. What, Kingley's acting was "bad" because he was too violent? He was a psychopathic (not "sociopathic," there's a difference) monster. Here you have more monsters, including the over-the-top viciousness of this Don Logan and others. I don't bother with so-called "horror" movies - there are plenty of horrors here among us. Unlike many PBS Brit series, that cater to the fantasies of "polite" folks ( You know, the 'Downton Abbey' folks), this is very consistent with the actual ferocity of Brit crime. Brits and US Brit TV fans don't want to see this. But the fact is, the defunct Brit "empire" was always extremely violent in its sense of entitlement to world domination. In these latter days they live with and need to deal with the bottom dregs of greed, crime, drugs, sociopathy and violence. I won't say I "enjoy" it, but I have to give credit where it's due.

This is very "hardcore," including the acting, directing and cinematography. This is a perfect example of why you should stream high quality talent instead of gazing at crap TV.

It seems to me that these days any show that needs you to think gets a bad rating.

This show is incredible. Great characters, great acting, great plot, it's very intelligent.

Centre of the show is a calm, cool, intelligent nice guy whose a thief. His best friend is a loose cannon whose controlled by a dominant woman.

You've got ruthless killers on both sides of a feud and you have no idea how things are going to pan out. Does our central character get pulled into the feud or, with his intelligence, avoid the conflict.

It's only three episodes in but I just can't wait for the next one.

Anybody calling this show average or worse lacks intelligence in my opinion.

Not quite sure why all the negative reviews, this is really quite fun. The main characters are well cast and do provide a good prequel to the Winston and Kingsley double act from the movie.

What this misses to get great marks is that it's not really a prequel in terms of characters. As regards storyline it fits nicely into the movie but the characterisation of, or should I say relationship between Don and Gal does not really set up the movie.

Ben Kingsley was amazing in his menace as a gangster in the original, a real oozing menace in everything he did. Don here gets the mannerisms and does have a good suggestion of menace in the future. Likewise Gal really does match well with Ray Winstone. However together the two don't match in the same way - it's hard to see how Gal can become so scared of Don in the film when here he seems to be on a par with him. Can't quite see the arc that goes from best friends to one being absolutely scared stiff of the other.

All that being said this is really good fun.

The show grew on me as the episodes and story got flowing. A few things made no sense and the double cross is always on in this saga. IF you haven't seen the movie, you don't need to understand the plot here. The movie is solid setup to the movie characters. It's all classic gangster stuff. If you don't like fights, hot women, shootings, and crazy characters, this isn't the show for you. The violence is there, not gratuitous but it's a daily part of their world. Some amazing acting here. It's really a story about using others for your own needs.

It sets up the movie moments. Tamsin Grieg is brilliant as the controlling sister. Best part of the series is her manipulation. Sarah Greene, meh...just not voluptuous, sexy nor pretty enough to be the porn star. They dress her up but she doesn't have body to pull off the role. Sarah, sure she can act but not believable. It would have been better if she and Eliza Bennet has switched roles. Eliza is solid as the girlfriend lost in the clouds and can't see that Gal's a pretty bad boy. Eliza look more the DeeDee of the movie.

Stephen Moyer is another good ruthless guy who is out to make his move to the top using Gal and Don.

Our anti-hero Gal (James McArdle) just preens throughout...tough to cheer for his success. Way too much smiling and hair. Emun is brilliant as pycho Don. You know where all the capers are heading to set up the movie. It's a solid show to enjoy. I wouldn't even mind a 2nd of this.