The Tunnel

The premise sounds vaguely familiar... But The Tunnel still delivers on its nasty twists. [17 Jun 2016, p.63]

The action is well-directed, and the cat-and-mouse games well-written, but the Truth Terrorist is never glamorized. This individual, along with their journalist mouthpiece, might play to some of the baser, uglier aspects of humanity, but The Tunnel dilutes that bile with its multilingual setting and multicultural cast.

For those who come to The Tunnel fresh, the story is still intriguing and amusingly outré, but there’s less of a sense of urgency in the direction, which makes some of the more outlandish plot twists more difficult to gloss over. ... Ms. Poésy is fine as the clipped Frenchwoman who might have Asperger’s syndrome, but Mr. Dillane carries the show as the rumpled British Everyman.

The first episode is serviceable but offers little that would persuade viewers who’ve already seen another adaptation to commit to this one, because, frankly, there’s not much new to see.

The Tunnel is crisply staged, well-acted, but only mildly diverting. It's hard to shake the sensation that we've been here too many times before, and often to greater effect.