Well, what have we here? Keira Knightly and the voice of Paddington, Ben Whishaw, as spies/killers/flawed humans.

Blend in some high level politicians, China and some bad guys aaaaand you have…Black Doves.

Oh yeah, and Sarah Lancashire swaps the Happy Valley for big smoke of London. Sounds pretty par for the course these days in terms of story, so is it any good?

Hell, yes it is. It feels like a brilliantly done BBC crime drama from the mould of Luther and Sherlock, but on Netflix.

It’s so well handled and written handled that the fact Whishaw’s ‘trigger man’ character being gay is just an incidental part of the narrative rather than being shoehorned in to satisfy decades of under representation.

And he is superb.

So is Knightly. God bless her, I’ve always thought she was talented, but so irritating at times in how she brought her characters to life in a less-than-likable way.

Well shut my mouth, she is barn stormingly brilliant.

Lancashire scares the heck out of me with her assured almost ethereal overlord approach to her character that is deeply chilling – complete with clipped accent.

The supporting cast around them perform admirably, which is a feat in itself, and I’m torn between who I like the most out of these inappropriate heroes .

The two hit girls are something else – an Irish and Welsh duo with super strong accents and even stronger survival instincts. They start off funny and just get better among the brutality of the storyline. And it is brutal.

Your only problem will be finding enough time to watch it all in one go. I’d advise letting it breathe and do one per night, like a fine wine.

The locations seem to be authentically London and being shot Panavision makes it look uber cinematic, bring Joe Barton’s script vividly to life.

It won’t change your life, but for just over six hours, it will entertain.

Verdict:
Story: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Should you watch it?: Yes.
NETFLIX

*all images and video credit NETFLIX