I loved the first three "Jack Irish" movies, they just went from strength to strength.
They formed a body of work that can stand comparison with the best in the crime/mystery genre such as "Morse", "Lewis", "Wallander", "Jesse Stone", and "Vera."
All share key ingredients that are even more important than a cutting-edge plot, the critical one being that the lead character must have feeling. It doesn't matter how tough or worldly-wise they are, these people know your pain. All the best ones understand human failings even if they don't always forgive them. Wit serves their characters well - not so much cynicism, but a knowing, world-weary wit.
The first three "Jack Irish" movies had those qualities in spades, plus unique, beautifully realised characters right down the cast list.
But I'm not so sure about the latest 6-part series. I think the extended format works against the tighter format of the movie length episodes. Where the filmmakers edited to fit 90-minutes, they now extend to fill 4-hours plus.
There are still clever touches and some very funny lines, and you can't fault the performances, but there are definitely some well-worn themes: a trail that leads to crooked politicians; ruthless multinationals; terrorists, and that old favourite of just about every series, the cult church with dark motives. Despite sub-plots going off in all directions, the principle that 'no one is introduced for nothing' is applied with a vengeance - no one is random, everything is connected.
Familiar elements added spice to the first three movies, but here things are perilously close to being over-spiced. Jack's buddies get a major workout with a lot more business to get through.
A factor is possibly the creation of more content for a voracious medium, but I can't help feeling that the six episodes would have made two more succinct movies along the lines of "Bad Debts", "Black Tide" and "Dead Point".
It will be interesting to see where "Jack Irish" goes from here.
