Watch Charles II - The Power And The Passion

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Jamiinsc

Nah..

Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2020

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Not memorable

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APeper

Enjoyable Series on Charles II

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2018

I quite enjoyed this little mini-series about the life and loves of Charles II. It's not entirely historically accurate and it can be overly sexualized but it was still fun. Rufus Sewell does a great job bringing Charles II alive and making the viewer sympathetic to him. In my opinion, Charles II isn't easy to love from a more modern perspective but Rufus did an amazing job making me understand him. Charles II was, in many ways, a head of his time with religious tolerance and it was nice to see that included in this series when it could have chosen to just focus on the salacious. Don't get me wrong, this series covers most of the more salacious aspects of his reign but it also includes some more serious issues that were faces during his time. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoyed the Tudors. It doesn't get everything right by any means but I think you'll find yourself wanting to pick up a good biography on Charles II after watching this series because you'll want to learn more.

22 people found this helpful

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TDHokey

Good grief! I had to stop watching 15 minutes ...

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2018

Good grief! I had to stop watching 15 minutes in! The camera work is ATROCIOUS!!! I wonder if this would have been any good if the director hadn't gotten the camera crew drunk. Wobbly, up, down, close up, back up...and all within a 30 second time frame. And not just once...this is how the entire 15 minutes I watched was shot. Thankfully I didn't spend any money on this other than my Prime account.

15 people found this helpful

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Bix

20 Years of History in 30 Seconds

Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2020

I am vexed about this film. The erroneous dates not with standing!
Many of the scenes are accurate and well played. The Parliament scenes were accurate and realistic as far as they went (not far).
Charles II was not a simple nor dull man. He was also a kind and affable man.
Charles spent years fighting to regain his thrown. First, he raises a half-arsed Scottish army that turns tail and runs back to Mother Scotland leaving Charles to hide in trees and amongst absurd disguises. In his hiding he lived poorly and often was obliged to share meager vittles with common people in all sorts of common situations. I.e., this was probably the only King of England who KNEW what it was like to be destitute and suffer alone. E.g., in wounds and ailments, Charles was treated as a peasant.
These essential events have been omitted for reason I cannot guess. The hiding and scrounging for food on the run in England was what made Charles a man's man. Dear lord, this was a King, when faced with the great London fire of 1666, ran into the streets, unguarded, and fought the flames with his own hands. He was a black as Hades and worse for the wear in the end.
This was NOT a "regal' king. Dear lord, we have ample historic source in the diaries of Samuel Peyps (pronounced "Peeps"). Why omit this golden historic bounty?
Because Hollywood film consultants are morons or ignored?

5 people found this helpful

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AlexandraLeaving

Great for Fans of Historical Drama and Rufus Sewell

Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2018

This is an engaging mini-series that is filled with drama, intense imagery, passion and is at least based in historical events. Great for Sewell fans, as he's in front of the camera much of the time, which captures his trademark magical and expressive eyes in various almost portrait-like shots. His beauty is even more pronounced against a bleak background and next to his unattractive mate (the queen) and his lover (the countess). The king describes the queen, quite accurately, as a bat. The countess character resembles a histrionic piranha and is hard to buy into as an object of anyone's desire, let alone the king's. I won't expand on who else she's in bed with, because that would constitute a spoiler. But honestly, I don't know what the makeup artists were doing to make this woman look the way she does on screen, or maybe it was just bad casting. It's not that every female character needs to be empirically beautiful. It's just that this character is supposed to be a sort of seductress, and she's anything but that. Sewell does a terrific job playing noble characters. Aside from my aesthetic concerns, this is visually interesting with a great storyline. Worth watching.

9 people found this helpful

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Frank Baransky

Over-the-top Costuming, Lots of (mediocre) Sex, and an Annoying Musical Score

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2019

I enjoy historical drama and and like to see how the producer creates a convincing portrait of the era through costumes, setting and music. Costumes and settings in this series are outstanding. The musical score however can't seem to decide exactly where this story unfolds: at times we hear 16th century tavern music, at times gypsy music, other times modern soap opera rising and falling crescendos. Instead of adding to the realism, it's a distraction. And the sex is at best perfunctory. By the second episode you're dreading having to be the voyeur yet again of the mediocre "passion" of the title. Happily, the libido loses steam as the series progresses. Sewell does an excellent job as Charles jousting with a cantankerous rabidly anti-Catholic Parliament while dealing with his carousel of mistresses. How much of all this is historical fact of course is questionable. Not on a par with other BBC productions, so hold on to the fast-forward button and do your own editing if you want to enjoy the costumes, settings and actors----and save an hour by skipping those tired bedroom scenes.

2 people found this helpful

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scarletthread96@gmail.com

Good, BUT, --- Grim, --- No Humor Whatsoever... Was Life Then REALLY So Incredibly Depressing???

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2019

No one even ever cracks a smile in this terribly intense drama!!! And, that's unrealistic because the reign of Charles II (The Restoration) was the time when people were sick to death of the self righteous primness of Oliver Cromwell and delighted that King Charles was bringing back more merry times; theaters were very popular and the taste of the population was for outrageous comedy. Charles was unknown as "The Merry Monarch". He was also followed everywhere by his pack of yapping spaniels (King Charles Spaniels). And, why did they cast such a plain actress as Lady Castlemaine??? I admit she did a fine job, but her looks were (sorry) not much!!!

4 people found this helpful

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ErinM.

Charles. ..a Lover AND Fighter!

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2018

This miniseries caught me by surprise, both because I've never heard if it, and because it was so enjoyable.

It was a nice summary of the reign of Charles II...with all his mistresses thrown in (ha!). From my observation, it was generally historically accurate, the costumes and scenery were nice and the story flowed well. Some great British actors/actresses, too.

Quite interesting to know that the next King may be one of Charles' direct descendants via Princess Di's sons.

8 people found this helpful

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Charles II - The Power And The Passion

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Charles II - The Power And The Passion

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