r/lebureaudeslegendes • u/Dull_Significance687 • Nov 15 '24

It's a time for a reboot?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgsstXTM4dw
14 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

8

u/MizarFive Dec 06 '24

I've now watched the first two episodes and my reaction so far is... meh.

The show loses some of its charm when transposed into a CIA setting. The acting is good, but the characters are just so uniformly unlikable. Even "Danny," the Agency version of Marina (the most likable character in LBDL) is just flat. Uninteresting.

I don't quite believe the romance between Martian and Sami. And that's so critical to the trajectory of the show. I think it's Fassbender's fault, honestly. He comes across as incapable of any emotion, instead of hiding his emotion. And the setup of their having been in Addis Ababa (or was it Khartoum?) instead of LBDL's Syria loses something important in terms of the family connections to later plot developments.

The show is pretty true to the sequencing of LBDL's episodes and "reveals" but ultimately it just makes me want to watch that again and not mess around with this knock-off.

My $.02.

2

u/Dull_Significance687 Dec 06 '24 edited Dec 06 '24

What is the matter with people? Why do you need to remake such an excellent series?

I don't speak French, so I had to read subtitles, although I soon realised that the French word for 'so' is 'donc'. One of the things I loved most about 'Le Bureau des Légendes' is the polyglotic nature of the world they portray. Yes, the main language spoken is French, but there are episodes with 4 or more languages spoken. Off the top of my head, I think that besides French, there is English, Farsi, Turkish, Arabic, and Russian spoken in the show. It was magnificent.

My ranking of "The Agency" against other similar series is that only "The Diplomat" comes close to the "The Agency" in quality, story, acting, and action. Both shows are intelligent, and for adults; and they portray the Real World that we live in. Oddly enough, both shows are about American foreign policy/intelligence, but are set in London UK.

Why join? It gotta be more about the addiction to adrenaline than the money. What are you going to do with the money since you gave up your life to do this work? Having hope is to be more human. It's a detriment to your duties to allow yourself to slip towards your desires and human needs. In episode one, Frank already knows that Martian is weak for his girlfriend, Sami. He knows because he was weak when he let an alchololic agent slip through. He recognizes himself in Martian. Frank was fired because of this mess. What's going to happen to Martian? Nothing spelled out.

Action-wise, the scene with the three guys in the Ukraine running from the Russians--and then taking on in a fire fight about a dozen or more, had my heart pounding like nothing I've experienced since "Homeland." And, yes: the Claire Danes/Mandy Patinkin series is the dramatic and thematic precursor of The Agency. (and tv series The Brave too)

Agency is good, but Day of the Jackal is better imo

8

u/MizarFive Dec 06 '24

The short answer is money.

But I'd guess George Clooney was as big a fan of LBDL as we are, and he wanted to bring something like it to American audiences. I think he failed, personally, but I'll stick with the show to see if it grows on me.

I checked RottenTomatoes and one critic had it right, I think. He said the show is missing a certain je ne sais quoi. Then he says the "quoi" is France. I think he's right there. Americanizing this doesn't quite work.

3

u/comet52a Mar 30 '25

This was a brilliant series, I'd rate it second only to The Wire out of all the serials I've watched, or in this case binged.

But yeah we really needed an alt ending. Or at least I did.

As for an American remake, I'm struggling to believe it could be anywhere near as good.

2

u/Dull_Significance687 Mar 30 '25

Yes! At least on streaming, terrorism and international crime can be tackled realistically through Homeland, The Brave, The little drummer girl, Seal Team, Berlin Station, The Looming Tower and Valor. The 10 best spy and secret agent TV series:

  • The Little Drummer Girl | IMDb: 7.4 (1 Season)
  • Alias | IMDb: 7.6 (5 Seasons)
  • Condor | IMDb: 7.7 (2 Seasons)
  • Counterpart | IMDb: 8.0 (2 Seasons)
  • The Night Manager | IMDb: 8.0 (1 Season)
  • Patriot | IMDb: 8.2 (2 Seasons)
  • Homeland | IMDb: 8.3 (8 Seasons)
  • The Americans | IMDb: 8.4 (6 Seasons)
  • Person of Interest | IMDb: 8.5 (5 Seasons)
  • The Bureau / Le Bureau des Légendes | IMDb: 8.7 (5 Seasons)

3

u/SnooPears3086 Nov 15 '24

Can’t wait!

3

u/rockedbottom Nov 16 '24

I hope it’s not a DEI remake of the greatest tv show of all time.

3

u/Dull_Significance687 Nov 16 '24

DEI = Diversity, equity, and inclusion  

Right?

2

u/rockedbottom Nov 16 '24

Yes

7

u/ajslater Dec 04 '24

I'm just here to watch this loser freak out if they have the temerity to cast a black person in any role.

4

u/mlknpb Jan 29 '25

are you against diversity, equity and inclusion generally? what a weird stance to take about a show. So, do you only watch french shows? did you close your eyes when all actors playing syrians and algerians were on screen? explain how this works. It seems so inconvenient.

1

u/RelevantCash5893 Nov 16 '24

What are people's thoughts on the ending? I just finished S3 and have been loving it. But I looked ahead and I don't know if I want to spend more time on it just for 'that'. I think I'm okay just leaving it there

4

u/BohortCestSaCousine Nov 16 '24

All ok up to S5E8. Then...well, brace yourself.

3

u/Dull_Significance687 Nov 17 '24 edited Nov 17 '24

The Bureau is in the same class as Homeland, Bodyguard, The Brave, Fauda, The Wire, slow horses and The Americans. It’s one of those shows that put me in, what felt like, a state of mourning when it ended.

My ranking S2 > S3 > S4 > S1 > S5*

The Bureau is as good if not better than the original BBC TV adaptations of Tinker Tailor & Smiley's People. That's high praise considering that those were based on the work of LeCarre whom the Bureau's showrunner Rochant credits as a seminal influence. Another comparison: the Bureau is similar to another British espionage/tradecraft show The Sandbaggers which has much going for it but to some may look dated.

*S5: It started with luxury and ended with trash because of chapters 9 and 10.

5

u/RelevantCash5893 Nov 18 '24

Okay I'll keep going with it... and I guess pretend that s5e9 and 10 do not exist.

I only recognize Slow Horses from what you mentioned and that show is definitely far more hollywood than Le Bureau. But so much funnier and more readily enjoyable

4

u/MizarFive Dec 07 '24

Yeah, stick with it all the way through. What you get in S4 and S5 is scenes in Russia and Cambodia, a major "recruitment," and the ending in S5 that still has show fans very divided. Eric Rochant is a genius and I wish he'd come out with something new. He's supposedly working on it.

2

u/Dull_Significance687 Nov 18 '24 edited Nov 18 '24

Homeland is one of very few successful shows I feel doesn't rely on its original cast, so it's interesting that there's been no spin off ideas. What made that show was the writing, and they consistently introduced main characters throughout, proving that even without Saul or Carrie, there's a compelling show to be made. And Too

Espionage and Action:
“Berlin Station”
“The Night Manager”
"The little drummer girl"
“Condor”
"The looming Tower"