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GRIDSnagging.org In association with Amazon.co.ukOnline Shop | Property Guides | Kitchen & Home | Garden Tools | Power Tools | Consumer Electronics Get the Snagging Checklist Here! GRID from: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment  List Price: £24.99 Amazon.co.uk's Price: £12.98 You Save: £12.01 (48%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1Audience Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Binding: DVD EAN: 5039036020343 Format: PAL Label: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Languages: Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Number Of Items: 2 Publisher: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Region Code: 2 Release Date: January 01, 2008 Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Related Items:
Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Second Rate Spooks!I rented The Grid because it was compared to several of my favourite series; Spooks, 24 and Alias. I was somewhat misled. The Grid is nowhere near as good as any of those programmes. The concept is an interesting one (the world's intelligence services take on terrorists fighting in the name of Islam) but there's nothing novel or even interesting in the execution of the idea. The characters are sterotyped to death. There's a rough-and-ready London copper, a 'good under the skin' Muslim doctor, a 'feisty and headstrong' American female agent, a '9-11 victim' who also happens to be a US agent, and an 'only in it for the money' Saudi sheikh. The plot globe-trots around all these characters and more, watching as a terroist cell develops and the security services play catch up. There's no compelling sense of danger or excitement, no really key character who provides a focus for the overall story arc. It's just a lot of shouting and running with uninspired dialogue and cardboard cut-out characters. Having said all that, it does make an attempt to look at the world's political situation with a little more depth than the average drama, so I give it some credit for that. BUT -- here's the key -- we couldn't be bothered to watch it all the way to the end! So if I'd bought it, I would have been pretty miffed. Worth renting then, if it sounds like you might enjoy it, but probably not one to keep forever. Rating: - BBC going down marketI have a liking for this genre of movie, so I bought `The State Within' and a friend bought me this one. Both were made by the BBC and therefore I expected a high quality drama and story. The actual movie has quite an exciting story - of course, it is unrealistic but full of western stereotypes: assertive but compassionate and vulnerable western women, compliant Muslims at home in the West, misled Muslim being fooled by evil terrorists - it's all there - even the emotional relationships and the end - followed by a moral. That is probably why the story is enjoyable - it is the old cowboy story in a more sophisticated format. It should have been enjoyable as a no-brainer except for the incessant soundtrack which was even more dominating than that in `The Enemy Within'. Every moment in the film background music (or noise really) pounds away. None of it is relevant to the story. Music and sound effects have always been a part of films but should complement it not take it over. Some of the dialogue cannot be heard - music is there ALL the time when someone scans a document, when a car door opens, when two people talk, in fact when anything and often nothing happens. The music is loud and largely inappropriate. If this is the BBC's way of popularising their product please go backwards to the `old' Auntie. I would be interested if anyone else found the sound tracks of these two films as distracting an annoying as I did. Try `The Dirty War' - a much better film and more realistic. PS I hope our real Counter-terrorist people are not really like this! Rating: - jeux sans frontieresThis mini-series was one of several referred to in the new Season of MI-5 as one which other customers had bought so I invested in it. As a drama mini-series there is much to commend it, a reasonable plot, some inter-agency skullduggery and backstabbing, an international cast, some great locations and reasonable dialogue as well as a realistic basis for a story. For the enthusiast this moves along at a good pace, there is action and intigue aplenty and just about everyone can relate to it. Alas, I do not feel that it is overall a satisfactory mix. It is certainly a good thing to have an element of grittiness about the show. I think that it is admirable that the British are portrayed as the patsies of America and a people who, for being America's closest allies are somewhat cynical about American intentions. It is a good thing too that bureaucracy is seen as stiffling of initiatives and is often caught wrong-footed but overall there is a pevasive nagging of something more. I am not sure if the issue is really one of just not wringing true. I also feel that there is too much politically correct angles when dealing with what is clearly a complex subject with many levels of meaning and where much is open to debate. The fact that the main villain of the piece is not seen as some sort of idealistic fundamentalist demagogue but as someone who has his own, well-financed agenda, may correspond with modern analysis of terrorists but when we are assailed every day on our teelevision screens with tales of insurrgent attacks, it almost appears that the thorny subject of fundamentalist terrorists does not want to be directly addressed. I also take issue with the timescales involved. Each terrorist atrocity in real life requires months of patient investigation through dead ends and leads that go nowhere. The most sophisticated spying equipment in history still cannot lead us to Osama bin laden and yet we can track down these people within hours. I am not attacking the lack of realism for realism's sake...I am more concerned that we do not inculcate in the general population's mind that these complex problems are quickly solved when this is far from the case. The best aspect of this mini-series is the establishment of credible characters with their complex lives and attachments and the constantly changing aspects of personalities. Much more human and much more able to be understood as three dimensional characters rather than stereoptypical beings where we do not need to understand what is going on. Perhaps the three stars is a little harsh but I think a little more thought going into this show could have brought it into the great category, but nevertheless a good piece of entertainment. Rating:  - Terrifying...When I first saw this drama - or should that be docu-drama? - I thought it was just another hyped, over-the-top American series that glamourised the war on terror, exaggerated the threat and left America and the West smelling of roses. It seemed improbable and unrealistic. Recently, I watched it again, this time in a totally different light - given what has happened recently in London. Now, every single element of what happens in 'The Grid' seems plausible and all to realistic, from the release of sarin in a London hotel, to al-Qa'ida's plan to attack the London and New York underground systems. The procedure and course of the investigation seems authentic, encompassing among others a Muslim CIA officer who struggles to strike a balance between his faith and his country, an MI5 officer who at one point admits he "hasn't a clue" as to how to proceed, and - towards the beginning - a suspected terrorist whom armed police shoot with a taser stun gun as they try to arrest him in London. It makes use of extensive research, and is not afraid to depict the squabbles and disagreements between the different agencies - which sometimes lead to tragic failures in intelligence (in this instance, the boming of an oil conference in Lagos). 'The Grid' deals intelligently and authentically with the war on terror and the threat we now face, and does not shy away from making the connection between this threat and the actions of Western governments in the past. The debate about Islamist extremism is dealt with subtly, but impressively, and this programme serves not so much as a drama, but as a warning of what could happen. The ending may not be quite as strong as the rest, but the notion that the threat will never go away is all too apparent. I learnt a lot from this drama, and in light of the London attacks, realised just how chillingly authentic 'The Grid' actually is. I recommend it, but with a coda: this is real-life stuff, and was made prior to the recent attacks. As such, it doesn't deal sensitively with attacks in London or suicide bombings, but instead focuses on the intelligence services work and dedication to preempt and investigate the terrorist threat, as it spreads from London to New York to Cairo to Judan to Swizterland, and across the globe. What is doubly good is that 'The Grid' also examines the actions and motivations of the terrorists, including British-born suicide bombers and an Egyptian doctor who is slowly turned to extremism. For an intriguing and terrifying look at the background to this war, and how our intelligence services are on the front line, this is a must-see. Forgive the US sentimentality, and you are left with a stunning portrayal of a very modern war. Rating: - Entertaining techno thriller mini-seriesFans of techno-thrillers will eat up this six hour mini-series that not only marks the first major collaboration between the BBC and Turner Broadcasting, but also the first time that I have sat up and taken notice of Julianna Margulies. Fox sent this DVD set along for a review and it wasn't until closer to its release date that I sat down with a good stack of popcorn with my roomies to sit down for the mammoth undertaking. Over five hours later as we all retired for the evening we concluded that the show had been a good one and even the harshest of reviewers (a rommie of mine who delights in pointing out plotholes) had to admit to being totally engrossed in the drama. Starting with a dramatic gas attack in a London hotel the action follows the reaction of both the British and American intelligence agencies, acting both separately and (in an uneasy alliance) jointly to combat terrorism in a post-9/11 world. As covered in the documentary that accompanies this DVD, this shows's writers had to imagine how Al-Queida would evolve in the years following the beginning of production and its eventual 2004 broadcast. Top marks to them for weaving together a topical and involving drama. With action that covers most of the globe and well drawn characters it is not hard to recommend this show. Fans of Tom Clancy will be pleased and the stunningly gorgeous Julianna Margulies has one more fan in the world in me.  Try searching the Internet for "GRID" or Ebay for "GRID". You might also be interested in the following great products:
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