The Final Cut (1995)
7/10
Made it Margaret, top of the world!
13 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
The final part of the House Of Cards mini-series trilogy isn't as good as the previous two, but still fairly entertaining and worth a watch. The production was as sharp as its BBC budget would allow, the acting was believable even if the darker plot wasn't entirely.

UK Prime Minister Francis Urquhart is clinging on to power by any means but he has various cracks (no pun intended with all the nudity on display in here) appearing amongst his colleagues and friends, and also his violent past in war torn Cyprus 50 years previously is gradually catching up with him. It's more improbable than what has gone before but slimy Ian Richardson as the biggest swinger in town carries all before him, I think he talks to us more than to the other characters! Judging by the amount of sex, swearing and violence in these episodes rather less discipline is on display but it's not too distracting. Why do people seem to think it's more realistic if the characters are coarse and swearing all the time while they're watching a procession of 2D images on a flat screen on the other side of the room? My favourite bit from any of the 12 episodes was in the last one, where FU deliciously tells Booza Pitt he didn't have to resign… The predictable ending had him managing to hang on in office longer than Margaret Thatcher, was sudden and was a slight let down, but the steam had all escaped by then anyway.

Overall as a whole it's an excellent time-passer, with many engrossing sections, not too many dull stretches and although it tails off a bit I would still recommend all three series.
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