Extremely Dangerous is a Fugitive-type thriller starring Sean Bean (Patriot Games, Goldeneye). Bean plays a former secret service agent, convicted for the brutal murder of his wife and child, who escapes police custody and goes on the run in the Greater Manchester area. Byrne then goes undercover and takes down an organized crime syndicate and the corrupt authorities that set him up.I like Bean because he can do almost everything from big-budget blockbusters to Shakespearean stage work and parochial TV. Fans will like this one, but it is difficult to recommend that casual viewers to go out of their way to see this. Extremely Dangerous is well-over a decade old now and will not blow you away with its modest budget. There are lots of scenes needed tighter editing, and the whole thing seems to a drag a bit over four episodes. The northern accents may also be a problem for non-Brits.Saying that, there's a lot to really enjoy about Extremely Dangerous. The plot is strong and pretty plausible, the score was memorable, and the action was free of shaky-cam (since this only really came into fashion after 1999). Sean Bean's character moves through situations like a pro and does some really cool things: jumps from a intercity train as it slows on a bend; pickpockets a man in a clothes shop; steals a car from a long-stay car park; infiltrates lots of guarded buildings; beats up lots of thugs; and gets to point a gun at his ex-boss.

I often wished they had inserted "American English" subtitles. I think I missed quite a few important details which resulted in confusion. Despite this, there was enough intrigue and action to satisfy. I was also impressed with all of the resources Sean Bean had at his disposal for a man that escaped from a prison transport.I was very impressed with the Pakastani cab company owner. At least there was no confusion to understanding him. The flashbacks of the murdered wife and daughter and Sean Bean's responses to the memories were excellent. I never really caught the original connection between Sean's character and Annie....former lovers, wishful thinking on her part????

Comparisons to the Fugitive are obvious so I won't go into that here. This gritty UK production benefits from an excellent tortured performance from Sean Bean. *Minor Spoiler*. We know he's an undercover officer early on because NCIS (National Criminal Intelligence Service) have a meeting to disown him. What we don't know is did he murder his family? This basic question provides the viewer with a bumpy ride. Is he a tortured soul or a deranged maniac? What helps in the confusion is that the supporting players steadfastly believe that he did kill his family and the viewer is left unsure until the last act.This is an unnerving bedfellow because we don't know if we want to route for Neil Byrne or not.Some scenes work especially well such as when Neil is watching children in a school playground and is approached by a Policeman; Sean delivers his dialogue as though he's in a dream recounting a floating memory, but what memory? A loving family man who will never see his own child again or some deranged fantasy of killing an innocent?The chase scenes and action set pieces were very well put together. I found that the street fight and the fight in the cab office were choreographed to deliver the strong sense of animal energy rather than flamboyant 'clean' martial artistry or comic book violence. The supporting characters lend emotion and intrigue to move the plot along; I agree with the comments on the dry black humour from Nitin Chandra Ganatra as the cab office owner, very funny and in just the right measure, Juliet Hubrey displayed a powerful sexy persona with a tenuous grip on the head of the crime family, Alex Norton is excellent as usual as the no nonsense cop (a role he took with him to Taggart). On a downside the NCIS head of section isn't fleshed out very well and his character forms part of an unbelievable plot device later on.Although the ending provides a satisfactory conclusion to the story I feel that the tension built up on the journey beforehand deserved something more spectacular.

Of course, I picked it up because Sean Bean is in it, but I really enjoyed this movie (believe it was a TV mini-series). You have to pay close attention to follow all the twists and turns, but it pays off. I appreciate movies which require a brain while watching. Too much entertainment appeals to the mindless, blow 'em up and slop in some soap opera lines. But here the story moved along steadily, kept me on the edge of my seat a few times...and held my interest the whole time. I watched it a couple times to catch more details. I especially like movies that give up more 'ahhh' bits each time you watch them. No dropped bits, characters who disappear or dangling 'what's that about?' parts. I'll be adding this one to my own library. Sean Bean eye candy and good story telling! Every character was well casted and acted. The best kinda movie - when you can find them! Nanette