We watched the 1981 version of this first, we'd got both DVD's fairly close to each other, so thought it would make an interesting comparison.The 81 one has slow moments and is 'of it's age' production value wise but is by far the best adaptation.The 2009 one starts OK keeping roughly to the plot (We'll ignore the plane crash which is a to be honest a bit of a stretch credibility wise) but by part two it's quite happily wandering around desperately trying to find ways to destroy it's self and it manages it!.There's a review above which give's a good description of the holes/stretches of credibility so i'll not here.A wasted opportunity.

Britain, present day. Oil from a genetically altered walking carnivorous plant saves the world from the harmful use of fossil fuels. We take advantage of them, however, and when the majority of our planet's population is instantly blinded, these Triffids escape and we now have to deal with both them and this sudden(perhaps too much so?) collapse of society. This focuses on Dr. Masen(Scott) who studies them(just as his parents did until his mother died and he lost contact with his father), the reporter Jo(Richardson) and the mysterious and pragmatic Torrence(a nicely menacing Izzard). We see how the military, the religious institutions and regular people react to this turn of events, and how some sighted are willing to give up everything to save those who are not, while others frown upon that. I have not read the book, nor watched another version of this... I hear that it is smarter than this lets it be. This does still comment on things and have compelling themes, such as cynicism, balance with nature and naiveté. It takes off right away and keeps to a good pace, and is consistently interesting and entertaining. The acting and the cast are great. FX are marvelous. The production values are very nice, it's filmed well with effective use of hand-held camera and sharply cut. There is tension and suspense, and the chaos is convincingly rendered. One complaint I hear that I can understand(I get that this is also not the same as the original, but I don't know what the changes are) is that it is too flashy, too Hollywood. British apocalypse fiction is more about the day after than the event, unlike the American ones. And this is listed as action(among other genres), and it really shouldn't be. The decision was undoubtedly because it's easier to sell, and it's unfortunate. Still, if this sounds appealing to you, the time investment of three hours may feel worth it. It does to me. There is a bit of bloody violence and disturbing content in this. I recommend this to those looking for a "end of the world" story that has you thinking somewhat. 7/10

Many of the reviews have already talked about lazy direction and glaring mistakes... IE: Joley Richardsons Character meeting the other heroes and proclaiming "I thought I was the only one" within 2 minutes of the shows big event... And yeah! Thats a fair pick up......But realistically, would you really have sat there for 4 hours to watch the two main characters scramble about trying to find another person who could see among a world full of the blind? Of Course you wouldn't! So we have "Artistic License". Eddie Izzard surviving the plane crash... About as real as Katie Price's Boobs... But hey! Its menat to be TV!!! There is room for a bit of "No Way" Stuff...The show has some good moments of tension - though it does bear heavy on the "Eco Friendly" line for a while. And where the original story had the Triffids drop from space, here they are natives to Zaire where our capitalist society messes with them and so the film acts as a warning against GM as well... That for me was a spoil point - I am an eco warrior but even I get sick of it being rammed down peoples throats! Do not be fooled by a big name cast list either - Many of the characters are indeed very throw away.As for the end... If you have read the original books, heard the Radio Play or seen the original series, the end will not really be much of a surprise...Ignore the very Hollywood reviews, and watch with a typically open minded attitude. Over all the film is a reasonable adaption and well worth a watch. Some good action moments even if the Triffids are obviously rubbery (Adds to the shows Charm for me!) An Excellent watch if a little Flawed... But so was Avatar and many Holloywood Winners so be sensible and lok at it for what it is.NB: IF I hear one more person moan about Eddie Izzards Character preserving his own wretched life instead of asking what was going on - I WILL SCREAM! We do not know what we would do if we found out we had mere minutes before death... So stop being bloody pedantic!

The people who made this adaptation assumed the following:That the average British punter watching this is so thick, that if you cracked open his or her skull with a claw hammer, ate their brain, and crapped it back into their head their IQ would be increased billions of times. Take this piece of script for example:"The Triffids have escaped!" "What are the Triffids?" "They are bad and they escaped!" "The Triffids ESCAPED!?" "YES The Triffids ESCAPED!" "TRIFFIDS ESCAPED!" "TRIFFIDS ESCAPED!" "That means the Triffids have got out!" "Yes, the Triffids have got out. The Triffids are BAD, and now they've GOT OUT!"Of course, I can't quite convey it as stupidly in writing. Dumbing down doesn't begin to describe the depth and magnitude of this level of cultural ruin. The TV adaptation of the early 80s was infinitely better in every way. Not just the script and direction. Even the camera work, the special effects, were vastly better. Our only hope is to cull those in our population who think this sort of guff is worth the license fee, and bring back the death penalty specifically for the sort of muff-botherers who make this drivel. Scrap the BBC if it can make excrement like this, sacrificing Radio 4 may be hard, but it would be worth it so that this sort of thing would no longer come into the world. We need to see the scriptwriters, directors, producers and funders publicly tortured and executed on TV instead, it would be a great moral improvement on this level of depravity.