Drachenläufer (2007)

Drachenläufer: Directed by Marc Forster. With Khalid Abdalla, Atossa Leoni, Shaun Toub, Sayed Jafar Masihullah Gharibzada. After spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble.

“Season 11 started promisingly with u0026quot;The Jobu0026quot; and u0026quot;The Witnessu0026quot;, which were two of the better episodes of a mostly disappointing season, where there were a couple of great episodes, a couple of good ones and the rest ranging from average to poor.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt sadly went downhill with u0026quot;Til Death Do Us Partu0026quot;. u0026quot;Til Death Do Us Partu0026quot; had a couple of good parts, but to me overall itu0026#39;s one of the worst Season 11 episodes and one of the low points of the show too. A shame because while there are better seasons than others and none of the seasons are completely consistent in quality, when an episode was really good or more (which it often was) u0026#39;Criminal Mindsu0026#39; is one of my favourites.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe best thing about u0026quot;Til Death Do Us Partu0026quot; was the end with the team, especially Rossiu0026#39;s hilarious anecdote regarding his third wife. This was the closest the episode came to having the little character moments that this reviewer always looks out for and thoroughly enjoys when watching u0026#39;Criminal Mindsu0026#39;, and one wishes there was more. The song by Gia Mantegna was also a lovely touch, and brought some poignancy. The episode is well made, hauntingly and melancholically scored and the acting from the regular leads is fine, with the team dynamic feeling well balanced and not feeling like too much of somebody or too little.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUnfortunately, there are some big let-downs to u0026quot;Til Death Do Us Partu0026quot;. It does suffer from having too much of the unsub and too little of the BAU, and what did make it a problem is that the unsub was not very interesting and never struck me as somebody to hate or feel sorry for regardless of the crimes and Lewisu0026#39; relative sympathy for them. The three main characters part of the unsubu0026#39;s story were played in a stilted and inexperienced-looking manner, Ashley Fink is both over-the-top and dull and it really hurts her characteru0026#39;s impact.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNo better news about the story either. There is nowhere near enough of what makes u0026#39;Criminal Mindsu0026#39; so great, particularly the profiling, while the case is dull, so easy to figure out that it becomes painfully predictable and by the numbers with no tension or suspense and even goes overboard in ridiculousness. The denouement completely rings false and the role the BAU play in it comes over as patronising. Had very mixed feelings on the start with Morgan, liked that it referred to Morganu0026#39;s sporty past but it just felt like blatant and misplaced product placement somewhat at the same time.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDialogue only really shines at the end with the team, elsewhere it isnu0026#39;t tight enough and lacks flow. Joe Mantegnau0026#39;s direction has been much more inspired before, and while the regular cast are fine the character of Tara Lewis doesnu0026#39;t really gel and Aisha Tyler looks stiff and shows her limitations as an actress here (her and the character have been worse as the season progresses but still).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, signalled the decline of Season 11, a slump that apart from the odd high point never fully recovered. 3/10 Bethany Cox”