Critic Reviews

Broad in scope and rarely letting go of its in-built tension, The Undeclared War feels like a fresh take on political drama.

This series exceeds expectations, guiding viewers by the hand through the complex world of cybersecurity - and then refusing to relinquish its grip until the final episode.

[An invisible cyberwar with Russia is] a terrifying prospect, and one that he [creator Peter Kosminsky] has brought pretty effectively to the screen without succumbing to the temptation to make the main characters swashbuckling or glamorous.

This isn't an actor's series, really—aside from Mr. Pegg, the cast is a delivery system for the plotline. But Mr. Rylance brings a bit of the blood to a smartly clinical, cynical, and all-too-believable story.

The Undeclared War sports good lead performances, some creative storytelling and a plot that steadily builds tension. And we don’t have to look at that much code, which is a plus.

Timely if sluggish and ultimately unfocused, The Undeclared War amounts to a dramatized stress-test of GCHQ in the face of triple-tier malware, CC TV hacking, and deep-fake media.

It’s interesting stuff. But first you need to swallow the ludicrous idea that the only person capable of staving off World War Three has been in the job for two hours.

More of an intellectual thriller that tries to get pulses racing by watching code upload. [29 Aug - 11 Sep 2022, p.7]

The series kicks into gear around halfway through as we learn the mole’s identity, backstory and motivation. This is engrossing in a way that the cyber stuff isn’t.

It’s perfectly functional as a series, I’m just not sure I have the patience.