Jed Mercurio’s series spins crime, a good and inconceivable conspiracies, deep state, terrorism and more. Bodyguard, a political thriller series, is a solidly series. It races through 6 episodes full speed ahead with turns and surprises.
Bodyguard tells the fictional story of David Budd, a heroic but volatile war veteran now working as a Specialist Protection Officer for the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch of London’s Metropolitan Police Service. When he is assigned to protect the ambitious and powerful Home Secretary Julia Montague, whose politics stand for everything he despises, Budd finds himself torn between his duty and his beliefs.
​I think the British are usually successful in thriller genre. And I've seen that they are really successful with this series. The series made an excellent beginning with the opening scene. I can say that, the first 20 minutes of Bodyguard are arguably one of the best thriller scenes. From that moment onwards, I knew I had to watch all of episodes as quickly. At some moments the tension was so high that I could feel the excitement.
Action scenes were very successful, directors and cinematographer did well. The scenario is not unnecessarily extended, the series has a realistic fiction in general, and you get excited while watching. The action is so good so that you can't talk about some scenes being stagnant because there is a team that reflects emotions very well. What’s really impressive about this series are the breathtaking action-packed scenes. It’s here where it really deserves. As with most dramas, it skews dark, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for the world it is portraying. There’s also a timeliness to it that feels important in the current political climate. It’s good to raise issues, whether they are resolved or not, and get people thinking about what freedom is worth. Putting a face on opposing viewpoints is also beneficial.
There are two things that make Bodyguard stand out from a lot of the other similar series in this genre and the first is the way it good manages thriller. The first twenty minutes of the first episode is a really good example of this. The second one is acting. The entire cast is giving very good performances, in what are at times really difficult roles. The acting, particularly from Richard Madden, is outstanding. Best known for his role as Robb Stark in Game Of Thrones, Richard Madden has an incredibly difficult job of playing someone whose world is starting to fall apart. (I couldn't get enough of watching him in the Game Of Thrones.) David Budd is a profoundly interesting character. He’s complicated, smart, one step ahead of everyone, determined and strong. He’s also a traumatized person when he served in Afghanistan. Richard Madden did a good job.
What I like most is that it grips you from the first episode and keeps you interested until the very end and they don't do some cheap crime-drama out with the ending either. In general everything was satisfactory. The story wraps up so well that it’s hard to think where it could progress from here. As a whole it is effectively created but unfortunately in the final episode some lapses in logic bring the quality ever so slightly down. Except this the only thing I find bad is the scenes where David and Julia lie in bed together. I mean, how cliché could be? Didn't seem to need that.
I highly recommend Bodyguard. It’s a perfect thriller series. As direction, acting, and production design, Bodyguard is very good. Only six episodes, but each of them is well worth your time. You can also be happy to hear British accent. You can even watch Sergeant David Budd to say, "Ma'am!". Because it came to me funny in a positive.