BoardChiri
Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
BelSports
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Brainsbell
The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.
Billy Girdler
It's too bad that it didn't run longer. I've not seen the original UK cracker, so I probably will have less qualms than those that have. I love this show. I own the DVD collection and while some episodes aren't great or even good most of them are excellent. Episodes like IF, Faustian Fitz and others are extremely well done. Each episode sort of has twist and some of them are expected and some aren't. I say great acting, great writing(in most cases) and overall a great show buy this on DVD if you can find it it's cheap and definitely worth every cent. This show is definitely a precursor to shows like Medium, the Closer, House and many other specialized mystery shows. I am willing to bet however the UK version is way better, but I have not yet seen it. Buy it.
rdean-6
Like others, I'm spoiled by watching the brilliant original. This movie is a near line-by-line re-creation of a Cracker episode. But it is done without the scene-setting and great asides from the original. Interstingly, they took some lines Fitz says to Judith at the end of the original and has him say them to Nina. The sexual tension between Fitz and the Panhandle character is absent and awkwardly comes into play at the end. Might be worth seeing for an early Makiska Hargatay police work. Or Josh Hartnell. Both don't show up in the IMDb credits.Still, pretty much a waste of time if you've seen the original. The Fitz character lacks the believability of Robbie Coltrane.
George Parker
"Cracker" (1997), a shoddy knock-off of Jimmy McGovern's popular Brit series of the same name, is a waste of time. A simple minded, dumbed down commercial product, this TV flick fails on all levels. The characters all look like scale actors and were poorly cast. The screen play is uninspired rote. The premise is nebulous. The acting is marginal. The script is soap opera quality. The direction...well, I'm not sure there was any. Even the DVD was crap and not only had no CC's or subtitles but didn't even have a menu...just the two 45 minute episodes. Passable, forgettable junk. (C-)Note - It's worth mentioning that I was spoiled by viewing the entire Brit "Cracker" series on DVD and consider it one of the best psychodramatic TV series ever made. Hence, my objectivity may be compromised.
Stephen Bailey
I was a big fan of the original "Cracker" & this americanised version simply doesn't work. The actors all put in good performances, but they can only work with what writers give them, and, therein lie the problems. Strangely, I find myself blaming Jimmy McGovern. He is an EXCELLENT writer & most of us brits still remember Robert Carlyle's electrifying performance as the psychotic 'Albie'. Let's face it, McGovern helped make him a star. However, that was writing for the British market - and Jimmy is British. This dire attempt at success in the US is about as convincing as my new York accent. I can only think of one reason for watching "Fitz" and that is; just imagine Robbie Coltrane playing Robert Pastorelli playing Fitz? Now that WOULD be hilarious.
