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I have mixed feelings about these Jesse Stone movies.
First, Robert B. Parker knew how to structure a mystery.
But I get tired of Jesse feeling sorry for himself and drinking too much. Such a worn-down, hackneyed cliche and such a lame use of that cliche. Other shows have done it better. And I doubt if lovely young women are drawn to Jesse. He's way older and he has that hang-dog expression. How is that appealing? Do they want to rescue him from being pathetic? How is that appealing?
But I do love Jesse's humanity. In one episode (this one, perhaps), Jesse rescues a teenage girl from her boozing mother. Nicely done. Good for you, Jesse. That is appealing, to me, at least.
Like any good detective, Jesse sticks to an investigation until he solves the mystery. That is satisfying. Always. Saves the series from obscurity.
Overall, I give the Jesse Stone series a C+.
Watchable but not essential.
Reno Rangan
Here I'm in the ninth and the final film of the Jesse Stone series made for television based on the characters created by Robert B. Parker. For now this is the last film, but the series is not over yet. There's no official announcement for the next film either, but I'm hoping for another one would make its way very soon. It came after a two years of gap when the series was in a bad position, so its fans thought the series is done and dusted. And then this new film hit the jackpot with a tag as the best in the series. But I've a different opinion...Now there's only two left in the PPD. There's no big cases to work with for Jesse, so that is why it's called 'Lost in Paradise'. He leaves behind Luther to handle all the troubles in the paradise which is actually minor ones. Meanwhile, he travels to Boston looking for some unsolved cases from his new boss. There he finds an open case, about a series of murders, where the killer was caught and confessed, but who declined one of the murder that's very similar to his trademark.So like we know, Jesse starts to dig it deeper by gathering information from people related to the victim. This is a drag part, but it very much needed for the story to develop and particularly that gives the feel like the actual Jesse Stone film we're familiar with so far. Like most of the detective stories, this series never focused on just one crime event to solve, but multiple. So in this as well, the main crime solving theme had more space on the narration, but the minor one like a domestic violence, we can say child abuse was another side of the narration. That's where Mackenzie Foy comes in.Jesse somehow manages to figure it out how the final victim died in his Boston ripper case. If you know Jesse Stone about how he deals with them, then you would know how it's going to end. But who's the suspect and reason for doing such thing revealed in the last quarter. The romance part of his life as well takes a twist. Since he got into Paradise nothing seemed serious, but here he's trying to move on as he's getting old. So it did not go as he planned, or expected. But that did not stop him to do his work or his rhythm of the life never disturbed."The murders have stopped. That seems to be enough for a lot of people."There's no Reggie. I always concerned about him, he should have been in a family that has children, but Jesse did his best to take care of him. Now another version of Reggie is here called Steve. His story seems more sentimental, particularly in one scene, definitely anybody would feel that heart wrecking reaction the Steve had given. If you ever had a dog, sure you will do. There are some lines that were repeated throughout the series, some would find it as a signature, but some might get annoyed. I was annoyed by the ex- wife's series phone calls, since the story had no intention to reveal her completely. Otherwise, I would have had not problem with such developments.The film was good, that does not mean this is the best one in the series as many people consider. For me, the first three were great, especially 'Death in Paradise' is my pick of the series. After those, then comes this one, but it was overwhelmingly received when it was aired on the television with a record breaking viewership. For that reason alone another film should come. I'm not a Jesse Stone fan as I thought in the beginning of the series, but still I want this to get going. Because good or bad, kind of addictive.Not the writing that I'm very impressed with, but Tom Selleck was why I'm hooked to it. The series saw ups and downs, but his phenomenal performances saved the many occasions throughout the series. The series also saw lots of changes in the supporting roles, but a very few managed to remain till now and those were like Luther, Dr. Dix, et cetera. The theme music, I still hear in my mind wherever I see a poster of the films or a picture of Selleck. Like many say, he is born to play that role and I believe as what he said that he's not finished with the Jesse Stone character,Whatever, I'm happy this got all uplift needed for this franchise. The screenplay as well to give a little credit for that, because of the holding a suspense for a decent time. That means, at some point you would able guess the twist, but how it ends like in scenes was unpredictable. I think, I enjoyed so far of the series, so bring it on a new sequel. And finally, the final scene was very emotional. A big move from the Jesse, but it was the right thing to do, as well as the film to end on a high.8/10
frank-340-831830
With a world hell bent on watching reality TV, the Jesse Stone stories are fiction that is like watching reality. The simplicity of the story makes it believable, and the simplicity of the characters make them believable. The characters have flaws and "character" but like the story, they aren't so complex as to "make you think" - but rather to make you sit back, take it in and enjoy watching the story unfold. Some may say the story is predictable, yet these have never been big plot twist "M. Night" movies. It helps a little to have seen the previous stories so you know some of the history of the characters, but I am sure you can enjoy it simply by seeing that some of the people already know one another, with small reminders of how. You will sit back and wish all policing could be done the Jesse Stone way - with respect, and a gentle but firm hand, and wish we could live in such a simple world. Jesse is a nice man, his dog is nice and the story is nice. Its the cop show you can watch with your grandmother.
pensman
I like the Jesse Stone movies probably because I was a fan of the novels: heavy on dialogue, sparse on description. Selleck as writer/collaborator maintained that balance. I don't like the dropping of characters from film to film but that may be because the films are so sporadic and actors need to eat. This entry is slow moving and focuses on Jesse being dissatisfied with the way the "last" victim of a serial killer was put to rest. Jesse battles his usual demons—drink, loneliness, emptiness—and doggedly pursues leads with the aid of a certain disreputable boxing promoter. There are a few toss away scenes with Luke Perry, William Devane, and Kohl Sudduth but that's about it. There is a minor subplot featuring Mackenzie Foy as a troubled teen. But the heart of the story is that the last victim, Mavis, was butchered while she was still alive and Jesse knows even though the serial killings have stopped, Luke Perry wasn't the murderer. In the end you won't be surprised to find out who the guilty party is, just follow the "scrubbed" file to the obvious end. Not the most satisfying film of the series. I did like Steve the dog.
