Schülertheater!
If I had to choose only one word to critique BB, that would be it.
Never in the field of human conflict has a show left me with such a stale taste in my mouth.
And it all comes down to the screenwriting.
If it´s not on the page, it´s not on the stage. The plot chickens.
I did not read the novels which BB is based on, I just read they were not particularly good,
so what to expect from the movie, right?
Well, it could have been better with some writing talent applied.
I watched it in German, guess it won´t get any better in English.

Wether it is because three different directors worked on it in a collaboration,
or because Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg (a State film board) gave 10 million Euro in support (and therefore probably people without skills had a say in the movie),
or because it is a co-production between Sky (a private TV channel) and ARD (a State TV channel, so probably more incompetent people involved),
the most expensive German show ever (40 million Euro) failed to impress me on a Gesamtkunstwerk level.

Now don´t get me wrong, it´s not all bad. The show has its moments.
Costumes, scenery, music, dialogue, all manage to catch the Weimar vibe and the spirit of Germany´s maximum city, poor but sexy Berlin, quite well, there is suspense, humor, working class misery, tragedy, all the ingredients are there, but the final concoction is flawed.

After I had watched the first two seasons a while ago, I recently watched the third, and hopefully last one, not in the spirit of pleasant anticipation, but more in the sense of fulfilling one´s duty, a very German character trait by the way, so that at least I would know what I was talking about when writing a critique.