Welcome to The Village, a mysterious town with a dark secret. It’s the only place to go, the only place to live, and if you run from it it’s the last place you’ll see before you die. Get ready to enter the cryptic and enigmatic world of The Prisoner.
Based on the 1968 British TV series of the same name, The Prisoner explores one man’s unfailing drive to discover the truth about where he is. Waking up in an unknown mountainous location, Michael (Jim Caviezel) finds himself confused and disoriented. Flashes of past events in his life zoom through his mind. But how the hell did he get here? Where is here?
His eventual arrival at The Village causes even more confusion: people are numbers, not names; he’s referred to as “6,” which he has never been called before; and a man by the name of “2” (Sir Ian McKellan) appears to be calling to shots.
Despite “2”’s attempts at convincing Michael/“6” that The Village is the only town there is, Michael is determined to not only prove him wrong, but will do whatever it takes to escape.
Will Michael discover the truth? Who is “2” and what is his goal? Where is The Village located? Why are all the people numbers and not named? Obey and conform? Or resist and find freedom? There’s lots to ponder and unravel over the course of the this six episode mini-series that will have you moving from one episode to the next.
I liked it. Aside from it being a remake of the 1968 series, it has similar elements to The Truman Show: one city, no ability to escape, one man calling the shots. But in The Village, it’s no TV show; this is something entirely different. Something much more sinister and dark.
Along with the mini-series, you also get plenty of intriguing special features, which include:
Beautiful Prison: The World of The Prisoner
A 6-Hour Film Shot in 92 Days: The Diary of The Prisoner
The Prisoner Comic-Con Panel: The Cast’s Reflections on Reinventing the Legendary Series
The Man Behind “2”: Jamie Campbell Bower Interviews Fellow Cast Member Sit Ian McKellan
Fans of Lost, FlashForward, The Twilight Zone, Stephen King stories, and the original 1968 series will feel right at home with The Prisoner. Definitely worth a look.
Sorry, but anyone who likes the original programme will certainly not ‘feel right at home’ with this mess. Whatever it may call itself, it is not ‘The Prisoner’ that I know and love. It gets the major things all wrong, not least the fact that ‘Number 2’ (representing faceless government and bureaucracy) should not been shown to have a private life and feelings!
You may well like it, but the majority view is that this is very poor, and quite rightly so. This is not a programme that needed to be remade and certainly not as badly as this. It’s possibly the worst remake since Psycho!