IslandGuru Who payed the critics

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The_Invisible_Dog Anyone who had a TV set in England in the 1980s will know Minder. A beloved series to many, a guilty pleasure to many more and a load of old codswallop to a few others. But hey, that's just horses for courses. The show ran like a backbone through British TV in the 80's. To watch it now is nostalgic and in some ways quite cosy viewing, but there is so much more to it than that. First and foremost it is gloriously entertaining. Especially the first few series - hardly a duff episode, if any. The humour and delivery are consistent throughout, always with a variety of interesting characters who are all a bit like someone you know or knew. The plots in general are reliably similar - i.e. Arthur (the wheeler/dealer businessman) ropes in Terry (the good hearted, odd job man/minder) to help out in his latest scheme, masquerading the job to Terry as something far less dodgy than it actually is. Thus, Terry lands unknowingly in hot water, fisticuffs ensue (as does the occasional bunk up with some dolly bird) but Terry usually comes up trumps and ends up saving both the day and Arthur - who more often than not ends up with egg on his face. A classic sit-com set up - but always so very enjoyable. George Cole is a comic master. He cut his teeth in Ealing Comedy films, appearing in them since he was a youngster with the legendary Alistair Sim as his mentor of sorts. He even played the young Ebenezer in the classic 1951 'Scrooge'. In Minder, his Arthur Daley is one of the most memorable UK TV characters of all time. Dennis Waterman is more the straight man if you like and brings with him all the rough diamond charm established in previous programs such as the brilliant 'The Sweeney'. Minder allows him far more room and air time to show warmth and stretch his comedy legs while losing none of the 'ard man who can be a bit tasty with his fists as and when required. The show also features a whole host of UK classic and character actors, too numerous to mention. It's a real treat watching Minder, not knowing who will turn up, how or when. In fact that is one of the great things about Minder, it feels like a huge family of UK TV greats portraying with solidity, quality and often a tongue in cheek, a whole world of London that is sadly pretty much now gone. Decades since it first aired, it is amazing already as a time capsule. For eg - in one episode i saw recently, Arthur drove his mustard XJ6 jaguar into a posh, residential square in Chelsea and swept straight into a parking space! There were no other cars parked, no yellow lines, no parking restriction signs, no speed bumps, no cctv etc. Oh how things have changed! Not only that but he then offered to buy a bloke's Chelsea flat for £10,000! You couldn't buy a garage for that now, i kid you not. So it serves now as a caper through a very real London of the time. Warm and light of heart, tough, gritty and almost bleak in places but always funny. To anyone who wants to know what it was like in London in the 1980s, this would be an essential piece of your TV jigsaw. A comfortable addition to 'Only Fools and Horses'. In fact, put 'The Sweeney' and films such as 'The Long, Good Friday' and 'Babylon' into the pot and you are getting there nicely, my son.

andrew jones I remember watching the last few series of Minder in the 90's as they came out. I really enjoyed them and so I've been stocking up on the early episodes that are repeated on a regular basis on sky.Here we have wheeler dealer Arthur Daley played by the great Veteran actor George Cole and his diminutive Minder played Dennis Waterman. The show was started with the idea of it being more about Waterman's character and Arthur daley would be more secondary.... Yeah like that was ever going to happen! A bit like racing a bullet train on a bicycle and then being surprised with the outcome.George Cole makes the show for me,his portrayal of Arthur is superb. The facial expressions the "Mockney" he uses and the spot on timing are brilliant. Waterman was good but he was never going to hold his ground or steal George Cole's thunder here, ironically Waterman was the one boxing out of his weight.Arthur Daley is several rungs up the ladder from "Del boy" in only fools and horses. He owns properties, has a car lot, drives a nice Jag or Daimler and has a minder. This said, on his manner he was still only thought of as small time. He didn't discriminate at all,he was quite happy to do business with anyone just as long as there was a "nice little earner" in it.I sometimes felt like the Terry McCann character was selectively stupid for the most part. He was clever enough to save the day or come to the rescue when one of Arthurs grubby deals back fired, but time and time again he was always stupid enough to get involved in the first place. It was clear that producers or writers still thought Waterman was the star because in a huge amount of episodes women just want to jump into bed with him at the drop of a hat! (yeah right) Also his hard man image strains the boundaries at times. Perhaps these plot holes were added to boost Waterman's inflated ego??? Also his appearance makes him the least convincing ex-boxer in the entire world.Lots of great secondary characters make each episode worth watching even if your not keen on Arthurs latest deal. Notable performances from Glyn Edwards as long suffering Dave, owner or part owner of the Wincherster club. Not only does he have to put up with Arthurs bar bill slate being longer than the great wall of China,he is often sucked into his dodgy deals as well. Patrick Malahide as DS Chisholm who can never quite nail Daley for anything and has probably ruined his career trying.The early episodes are the ones to go for but don't look to harshly on the later 90's episodes there are still some gems to be had,even if it was just more about comic situations,such as Arthur having to spend the night in a scruffy old canal boat or being trapped in his own lock-up. Enjoy!

Corky1984 George Cole and Dennis Waterman team up in an ITV classic. The show combines subtle humour with genuinely entertaining scripts and a whole host of brilliant supporting characters. The show lets stories develop over an hour rather than rushing through them and puts today's so-called comedy dramas in the shade. The early episodes were more serious and hard-edged, but the comedy was apparent even then. As the show progressed Cole took over as the centre of attention, playing cockney geezer Arthur Daley, a TV masterpiece. Waterman's easy going style made for a great double act. Barman Dave is another great character, his members only Winchester pub being the local haunt of all the low level crooks on the manor! The language used in Minder is very funny at times, I love the Cockney slang they use, like 'er indoors' for wife, and 'sobs' for pounds! Of course Cole is the star of Minder, his trademark brown overcoat and trilby hat always raising a smile even before he's made one of his dodgy promises! The show coped very well with Waterman's departure at the end of the 80s, the new chap brought in to replace him fitting in well. ITV nowadays consists mainly of cheap and tacky gameshows and reality programmes, all of them terrible. Minder was an original and in many ways unique show. It should appeal to fans of the Sweeney and those who enjoyed Only Fools and Horses. Minder is actually better than Only Fools, not getting mired down in sentimentality. It's a shame no terrestrial station will repeat it, it'd thrash most of today's programmes.

dovestones Minder is without doubt one of the greatest TV shows produced in Britian with a topnotch double act providing its heartbeat. Cole and Waterman work so well off each other that only repeated viewing can allow you to fully appreciate their chemistry. Cole's Arthur Daley is easily the best "Wheeler Dealer" ever created, anywhere on television. Although Del Boy in "Only Fools..." is carved from the same mould he shows signs of weakness through family commitments and links to friendship, where as Daley is 100% in it for himself, drooling at the mouth at the merest sight of money or personal profit. Waterman as Terry is perfectly legit in the role as he sympathetic hardman and the fact that he doesn't get lost under the giant shadow of Cole's tour de force is a testiment to Watermans skills as an actor.I'd advise anyone who isn't familiar with the show to hunt for the early episodes and enjoy what was a very gritty and real drama, where Terry is clearly the main man whilst, at that point, Arthur is secondary in the writers minds (Not that it deminishes his screen presence, just leaves you wanting more). Another important component to its success was its grand array of support players, from Dave the barman at everyones favourite watering hole, the Winchester, to dodgy geezers like Des the mechanic and the hilarious, bumbling Police who could never catch Arthur in the act. The show did lose some of its hard edge as it veered off towards a comedic element but it always remained true to the characters, and as such the characters became the central theme. Instead of getting embroiled in incidents, they BECAME the incidents. I can't say enough good words about this programme. I have every episode on tape and watch them all the time. The only thing that you can say is that they DEFINITELY don't make 'em as good as this anymore.