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I love this movie so much

Don't listen to the negative reviews

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This classic, groundbreaking and exciting series started in 1991. Periodically, new episodes appeared, always exciting with good crime stories. In the center, the ongoing, insisting and tough female investigator, Jane Tennison. Excellent played by Helen Mirren. The series really made Helen Mirren's talent clear to a whole world. In this final series, we get as always a very moving story, exciting and nervous. But to an even greater degree than before, we also see the personal challenges of the main role holder. She has a difficult life. But, in essence, it appears the price one has to pay to sacrifice for a tough and long career. Jane Tennison is a person who has lived her life through the job, and managed to get a career as a woman in a male-dominated profession. The resistance has been well documented, we have seen in many previous episodes. Here in the end, maybe we get what her the price she had paid by personal stresses. This makes this series so much more than pure crime. It is also an in-depth drama, with so many layers. This is a must-see for anyone who likes crime and outstanding role performance.

The first three 'Prime Suspect' series were absolutely brilliant. 'Prime Suspect IV' changed the format from two episodes compromising of one case for each of the previous three series to three different cases and actually did it very well.After changing the formula with 'Prime Suspect IV' with three episodes and three separate cases, the fifth to seventh series returned to the original two episodes revolving around one case (to me the format that worked more, not that the change of format in 'Prime Suspect IV' didn't work well but with the complexities and rich development of the stories in the other series the having them as two parters was necessary and allowed more development of the stories and characters).'Prime Suspect' bows out with 'The Final Act' and what a final act it is. 'Prime Suspect' deserved to go out with a bang, and it does, and it compares very favourably with the previous series.Every single one of the previous 'Prime Suspect' series were incredibly well made. 'Prime Suspect VII: The Final Act' is not excepted. It is stylishly and cleverly filmed, with slick editing and atmospheric lighting, and there is a consistently wonderful atmosphere throughout. It is very gritty, dark and effectively claustrophobic. It is very hard to forget the music score too, plus mood-wise it's one of the more action and atmosphere-enhancing music scores of all the 'Prime Suspect' series along with 'The Last Witness'.Once again the writing is of superb calibre, some of the best there is of any mystery/detective drama, being superbly constructed and intelligent, plus it is hard to not be impressed by the cunning subtlety of the conflicts.Story-telling is very compelling and twisty, with an atmosphere that is gritty and harrowing but also intricate and honest. It is a complex story that keeps one guessing right up to the end while also being easy to follow. Plus the suspense of a lot of it is nerve-shredding. The deliberate pacing did not harm it at all, in fact it was executed incredibly well and was necessary considering the amount going on. There is an ever so slight lull in the middle pace-wise, but nowhere near enough to harm the story.The final act in particular is nail-biting and heart-wrenching, the whole of 'The Final Act' is worth it for the chemistry between Tennison and Laura Greenwood's character and the climactic interrogation alone.Jane Tennison continues to be an interesting character, the character and the depiction of the police force was very ahead of the time back in the 90s and holds much fascination now even if not so novel. There is the sense too that the character has evolved significantly, a feeling that one didn't get before.Helen Mirren's performance is as ever of sheer magnificence and she gets particularly exceptional support from Tom Bell (last seen in 'Prime Suspect III') and Laura Greenwood. Having seen his one in a lifetime performance in 'Brassed Off', Stephen Tompkinson excels at playing conflicted, or actually more in this case borderline creepy, characters (although he's better known for other things that are the opposite of that) and he goes for it.All in all, a more than satisfying send-off, couldn't be better. By the end my nails were sore from all the biting and there were tears running down my face, may sound hyperbolic but 'The Final Act' had that effect on me. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Dame Helen Mirren ends perhaps her most famous role besides that of Queens. Jane Tennison DCI is one of the most original female characters that television has produced in recent years. She is almost unforgettable. When Dame Helen Mirren first started, few people knew who she was and now everybody knows in the world that she is one of the finest acting talents from Britain. I knew she was in 1986 when I saw her play a maid in a Titanic film. As Jane Tennison, Helen Mirren embodies the role with such complexity that it seems so easy and natural. Jane approaches retirement with one last case but you know that Jane has lived for this job. They have this marriage between them. In the final installment of this legendary series, Helen and Jane bow out gracefully in the end. Jane battles alcoholism, loneliness, and her father's pending death. She reunites and befriends AA member, Bill Otley, played by Tom Bell shortly before his death. I felt the parents of the missing girl were quite believable in their roles. Jane's pending retirement is beset by loss, wonder, and disappointment. In the end, she bounces back, makes a shattering discoveries about the case, and you wonder what would happen to Jane Tennison that you want more. Maybe she is lecturing on crime techniques at a university or other British police officers. One can only hope that this is not the last we see of Dame Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison.

In a remarkable performance Helen Mirren plays the alcoholic detective Jane Tennison with depth and understanding rare in television. Mirren once the vivacious girl who was opposite James Mason in Norman Lindsay's "Age of Consent" today is not frightened of getting down and dirty in her roles. She goes full bore warts and all. Supported by a strong cast of British character players we can overlook some minor plot weaknesses when the overall quality of this series is streets ahead of the usual crap cop shows on the box. If only most TV was this good. Not often do we see actors bare their souls like Mirren outside of the cinema screen. Others in the cast worthy of mention are Stephen Tompkinson as Sean Philips, and Gary Lewis as Tony Sturdy.