Prey - The Prey - DVD

Film: A few days ago, the world was still fine for police officer Marcus Farrow (John Simm). But now he emerges badly injured from a crashed prisoner transport that was supposed to take him to jail. Because Marcus is under suspicion of murder. Of all people, he is supposed to have brutally killed his ex-wife and his young son. Marcus knows that this accident is his only chance to prove his innocence. And so he flees, with the dogged, mentally unstable detective Susan Reinhart (Rosie Cavaliero) breathing down his neck. But where is he to find exculpatory evidence. Does the body of former mob boss Omer Hassan, found three days ago, have anything to do with this plot? And might even his longtime partner Devlin (Craig Parkinson) be involved in the case? Who can Marcus trust anymore? And does he have enough time to find the real culprit on his own?

Prey - The Prey is, of course, strongly reminiscent of the adventures of Richard Kimble, who first starred in the TV series and later in the cinematic adventure with Harrison Ford On the Run. Marcus Farrow, like Kimble once did, must also solve the murder of his wife while being hunted by the police. But while there are obvious parallels, the suspense of the TV three-parter doesn't suffer one bit. Nick Murphy has directed a gripping thriller, which scores with surprising twists, some successful action interludes and interesting characters. Especially the unstable investigator, who is still so attached to her ex that she literally stalks him and his new wife, is a very interesting character, as she is unpredictable.

John Simm, known from the great series Life on Mars is perfectly cast as a cop in search of the truth. Torn between anger and despair, Marcus must constantly adapt to the ever-changing situation and digest new shock news. Simm manages to convey this very well, even if the script doesn't exactly make it easy for him at times. For as exciting as the story is, the script repeatedly falls into classic clichés when it comes to dialogue and character sketches, but Simm and his colleagues are able to successfully play against them in most cases.

Really only the finale is disappointing. The resolution is predictable from the end of the second episode at the latest. Nevertheless, one expects as a viewer after the really very good tension build-up also a gripping finale, which has to offer perhaps also still a few surprises. Unfortunately, that's not the case here. The makers simply made it too easy for themselves and you are a bit disappointed in view of the conventional construction of the resolution. But the positive overall impression that the mini-series can leave behind is only marginally tarnished by this. Therefore, for friends of On the run and British crime fare absolutely worth watching!

Picture + Sound: The visual realization of the six thrillers captures the gloomy atmosphere of the stories very well. The coherent colour scheme is a particular contributor to this. That there are now and then minor point deductions in the detail representation, can therefore be easily tolerated. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is rather restrained in many scenes. Dialogue, atmospheric ambient sounds and music dominate the proceedings here. But every now and then, powerful surround effects in more action-heavy scenes make for an audible utilization of the multichannel soundstage. This is enough overall for a more than satisfied: good!

Extras: Bonus material has not to offer the DVD.

Conclusion: Prey - The Prey is a suspenseful mini-series that, while strongly reminiscent of On the Run, offers enough overall suspense to keep you riveted and well entertained for over two hours, despite a certain level of recognition. The DVD of the three-part series is technically well done, only lacking in bonus material. Nevertheless, the bottom line is a very clear: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp