Critical Condition: Manhunt

Manhunt | TVNZ OnDemand, from Sunday

☆☆☆☆ “This sober, responsible production that has even managed to avoid the temptation of hyping it as Martin Clunes’s first foray into straight drama and aggrandising him or the production at their expense. Clunes does fine work as an utterly ordinary detective finding himself in charge of an utterly extraordinary investigation. His fleetness and lightness of touch remain, but are pressed into the service of credibility rather than comedy.” — The Guardian.

☆☆☆☆ “Martin Clunes is a revelation in this quietly thrilling serial killer drama … Manhunt didn’t have the emotional heft or powerhouse performances of its ITV true crime stablemate Little Boy Blue, which won a Bafta last year for its dramatisation of the aftermath of the murder of schoolboy Rhys Jones. This was lower key and more procedural.” — The Telegraph.

☆☆☆☆ “This wasn’t about car chases or dawn raids, but the reality of humdrum procedure and hours of scouring CCTV …  It takes a very good actor to make a real, do-it-by-the-book detective, who isn’t a hard drinker and doesn’t shoot from the hip, come alive on screen. I still think it’s too soon, but it is in responsible hands.” — The Times.

☆☆☆☆ “At times, Manhunt feels like an exploitative theme-park ride through one of the biggest tabloid stories of the millennium. It is competently if unimaginatively made, but should TV play Midsomer Murders with real lives?” — Independent.

☆☆☆☆ “Manhunt is actually anything but sensationalist … This is a true procedural, but it doesn’t plod and it isn’t boring. Instead, we see how CCTV footage is spliced together to capture pictures of the killer’s van, how mobile phone polling leads them to the victim’s belongings, dumped by the killer.” — Stuff.