The Clocks (2011)

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I would go so far as to class The Clocks as superb, it's such a wonderfully clever and intricate mystery, loaded with great characters and red herrings, it's bound to have the viewer tied up in knots. It's the closest Poirot gets to investigating espionage, the mystery is first rate, and gives a broad range of opinions from people terrified by the threat of war. The opening is brilliant, it's so dramatic and intriguing, it really does set the tone.It's a beautifully styled episode, it's so classy looking, the costumes, sets etc, all first rate. There's one scene where Poirot is stood by the coast, with the sea full of ships, I thought that looked fantastic.Great performances, Anna Massey and Tom Burke both fantastic in particular, Frances Barber also makes a small role into something great, hugely charismatic.The pacing on this story is excellent, it moves by very quickly, with no dull moments.I really enjoy reading The Clocks, and think they did a fine job dramatising it, great episode, 9/10

Poirot is approached by Lieutenant Colin Race for help with a case. Race has found himself mixed-up in an unusual murder mystery. The story goes like this: Walking down a street, Race is nearly knocked over by a hysterical young woman named Shelia Webb as she runs from the front door of a house. Inside the house are a dead body and the owner of the house, a blind woman who knows nothing of the girl or the dead man. The police cannot identify the body and no one can explain how Webb, a typist for hire, came to be in the house with the dead man. Added to the mystery are four clocks in the room where the dead man was found, all set to 4:13. The blind woman knows nothing of the clocks and no one can explain what they mean. Oh, there's also some missing military documents that Race has been investigating thrown into the mix. Poirot has is hands full with this one.I've ranted recently about several of the newer Poirot episodes. Some are twisted and changed from Christie's original work to the point they are unrecognizable. Some are filmed in a modern style more suited for something like CSI than a classic detective story set in the 1930s. I'm happy to report that neither is true with The Clocks. The story, while it varies on some aspects of Christie's The Clocks, holds true on most of the main plot points. It's easily recognizable to anyone familiar with the book. And the movie is told is style more fitting Poriot and Christie. It looks more like the earlier episodes I enjoy so much.The Clocks was always one of my favorite Christie books and this adaptation did not disappoint. I congratulate director Charlie Palmer and the screenwriters for taking a fairly complicated story with multiple characters and suspects and putting it together so well. There are plenty of red herrings that work perfectly. It has all the hallmarks of a classic, well made, and well told mystery. The acting is top notch. By now, my enjoyment of Suchet's work goes without saying. The supporting cast, including Tom Burke as Race and Jaime Winstone as Shelia Webb, is very strong. There's even some good comic relief provided by the frustrated Inspector Hardcastle, played brilliantly by Phil Daniels. The sets and locations are once again flawless. I'm amazed at all the varied locations the producers were able to find for filming. Just beautiful. Finally, the music is a real bonus. It fits nicely with the unfolding story. Overall, an easy 8/10 from me.

I remember reading The Clocks many years ago and all I actually recalled about was that I didn't particularly care for it. In general, I think Christie's "espionage" stories including all of those with Col. (or Lt.) Race are inferior to the rest of her mysteries. The storyline for this one is pretty disjointed and unbelievable. What saves it are the wonderful production values, which are remarkable, and the cast. Suchet is the quintessential Poirot. I will endlessly remark that I much prefer the early Poroit shows with the Japp, Hastings and Lemon characters, as they were, for me considerably more engaging and charming. And more fun to watch. In this show, Phil Daniels was good as the Japp- like character and it was nice seeing Anna Massey. I first noticed Massey in a Midsummer Murders episode and later read Christopher Plummer's autobiography and he mentions Massey. This led me to her autobiography which is fascinating in the insights she shares on the acting profession (however, her father, Raymond Massey, was certainly an aloof and disinterested father). Massey was such a talent that she makes even a relatively small role memorable. For me, there are no "bad" shows in this long running series but this one is a lesser effort.

A very faithful adaptation of the Clocks,with brilliant interpretations by Anna Massey as a very menacing,if sweet blind woman,Phil Daniels as a cockney cop in the Philip Jackson mold and Lesley Sharp as a snobbish and haughty secretary,is as usual wonderfully directed and written.The story is rich of hilarious characters(the Cat lady,the middle-aged couple à la George & Mildred) ,and it adds to the novel a spy subplot not too surprising and perhaps a bit old-fashioned,as if a spy melodrama from the 40s (say,The Spy in Black) would have been sewed together with a very modern and highly original whodunit.But the prologue in the Dover Castle underground HQ is so beautifully shot that it saves the too predictable solution of this minor part of the mystery (the mole discovered in the second half of the movie is so suspicious and conspicuous that even Hastings would have guessed the truth on first glance !).Nothing to complain instead with the major mystery,adapted and explained with a deft touch.(The clocks scene with the discovery of the murdered man is a joy in itself,a real masterpiece).Not the best outing of the season(the laurels go to the marvelous Tragedy) and not diabolically clever as the Mark Gatiss adaptations,but a sound,highly amusing adaptation of one of Dame Agatha's minor works