Bali 2002 (2022) User Reviews

I was glued to this, didn't follow the news at the time and it was fantastic to be able to delve into the whole event.

[kimmgould · 7/10 · 26 September 2022]

I wasn't paying attention to the news when this happened, so this was interesting because I didn't know too much about it. The series did a good job of showing the shock and chaos of those first few hours. I liked how they worked with the timelines and interspersing some original footage. The show was well done, it wasn't emotionally manipulative, but very real. (Although I did fast forward through a few bits that were too tragic). I liked that it touched on the practical details of how to handle a disaster like this, both politically and medically.

What an incredible job the AFP did afterwards, in such difficult circumstances.

Bali 2002

[alisonjforrest · 8/10 · 26 September 2022]

I could not stop watching. A good overview of the Bali Bombing with actual footage. Entertaining, both dramatically and emotionally. This four part series takes you through time from before the event, during and after. It also looks at the medical breakthrough by Fiona Wood and her spray on skin. Plus both Indonesia and Australian forensic and detective work to find the cause, reason and perpetrators that caused this devastating act and many to follow. I could easily watch this again and strongly recommend you do!

There is one actor missing from the IMDb cast - Sophia Forrest who played a large part in this production.

Great show

[hxxtdfm · 8/10 · 28 September 2022]

It was really quite confronting to see this tragedy re-enacted. The show is tasteful, showing actual footage while pairing it with the narrative of the storyline.

It was thought provoking and the cast have done a good job in portraying the chaos and trauma well.

Perhaps would have liked a bit more character development before the bombs went off as well as additional characters however looks it's been executed well.

Sadly user: "mkennedy-36926" has written a rather inflammatory and negative review. The fact this person hasn't got a basic grasp of the English language when it comes to spelling or grammar shows their absolute lack of intellect.

Heartbreaking

[gallagherkellie · 7/10 · 25 October 2022]

The first 2 episodes were super full on. My anxiety was threw the roof! I was on the edge of my seat...even though I knew what was going to happen it was still terrifying waiting for it and they built the suspense well.

There's blood and gore so don't watch it you're not ok with things like that.

The last 2 episodes were well done and the acting was good.

The whole thing just really makes you feel so sad for the victims and their families. I shed many tears at the end.

The only disappointing thing is the footballer in real life actually got as burnt as he did by saving other people, which wasn't shown in the show. He was a hero.

Well produced dramatic account of a terrible event

[tm-sheehan · 7/10 · 9 October 2022]

My Review - Bali 2020 My Rating 7/10 Streaming on Stan On the 20th Anniversary of the cruel and callous terrorist attacks on Bali's tourist hotspots, this 4 part dramatisation series explores how everyday heroes from Bali, Australia and beyond defied the odds to bring order from chaos and hope from despair it also portrays the pain and loss that the victims experienced.

It's particularly disturbing after watching this series to read that the Islamic militant Umar Patek was granted early release weeks before 20th anniversary of the terror attack that killed 202 mostly Australian tourists.

In 2021 the 82-year-old former head of Jemaah Islamiah, an al-Qaeda-inspired group behind the attack that killed 202 people.

People from 21 nations died in the blasts on 12 October 2002 on the popular holiday island of Bali. The two bombs had ripped through Paddy's Irish Bar and the nearby Sari Club in the Kuta tourist district.

Directors Peter Andrikidis and Katrina Irawati Graham have done a splendid job as well as the script writers Marcia Gardner, Justin Monjo and Kris Wyld.

It's not a long drawn out series and achieves a good balance between telling the personal story of loss of some of the victims without exaggeration or sensationalism .

It also presents the critical political events that in some ways hampered the investigations between the Indonesian Crime authorities and the Australian Investigation Team headed by Graham Ashton, the former AFP officer and, later, chief commissioner of Victoria Police.

Richard Roxburgh in my opinion gives one of his best performances as Graham Ashton it a far removed role from his usual edgy roles such as Cleaver Greene in Rake . He is almost understated as the chief investigator who has to negotiate a fine line between observing the cultural differences that threaten to destroy the vital evidence his team needs to find the murderous terrorists responsible.

It's an impressive cast led by Claudia Jessie as British tourist Polly Miller, Rachel Griffiths as burns specialist Dr Fiona Wood, Richard Roxburgh as Australian Federal Police Commander Graham Ashton and Sean Keenan as AFL star Jason McCartney.

The other revelation for me disclosed in this story was the fact that the vital intelligence predicting possible terrorist activity at the time was either ignored or not considered urgent by The Liberal Government headed by the PM at the time John Howard .

The subject matter is disturbing and may distress some viewers but the Producers have done justice to this terrible event.

Very pleasantly surprised

[deesimmons-01807 · 10/10 · 26 September 2022]

I Feel this closely mirrors the true story.

It was gripping and really quite emotional.

Anyone else here who is old enough to really remember this awful but important tragic event as if it was yesterday, will feel as I do and that is how important it is to remind people of what happened and how many people lost their lives and those who lost loved ones.

I felt most actors gave a really great performance or job of portraying the real life characters and a few really stood out for me personally, they were Sean Keenan, Claudia Jessie and Saskia Archer.

It's definitely worth the watch, nobody can try replicate a true life tragedy, but I feel this was close enough.

ok but could be a bit more factual

[whowalks-52104 · 6/10 · 10 October 2022]

OK dramatization of events, but could have been a bit more accurate with the events. As a Nurse working on the the first Victims out of Bali on the Monday morning in Perth WA these where flown on an Indonesian military jet, they missed a huge dramatic opportunity. Following this literally no one attended the Emergency departments in Perth as the whole country bonded in solidarity for the victims for at least the flowing 2 weeks. All missed opportunities by the screen writers.

Great acting performance by the girt playing the Indonesian widow.

I also like Rachel Griffiths portrait of Fiona Woods down to the Pearls LOL but she was never that trendily dressed.

Ignore the negative reviews

[richiemarx1 · 10/10 · 3 October 2022]

Ignore the negative reviews!

Just because someone doesn't like this, there is no reason to trash an exceptionally good series! Get a life!!!

After reading some of the reviews you'd think it was the worse thing that's been on tv!.

This is really good, in my opinion and that's just my opinion! I think there are some better performers or actors in the show! And not necessarily all Australian!!

The people panning it are complete morons! Someone called it mega cringe! I can imagine what trash they watch!

I found it to be engrossing from beginning to end. This is a true life event that was seriously tragic!

I highly recommend it. And it does NOT deserve the lowest ratings!

What another poor offering from the nine network

[mkennedy-36926 · 1/10 · 26 September 2022]

With the calibre of actors of Griffiths and Roxborough you would think this was going to be a stellar series.

Alas it is not poor directing no continuity and certainly some dreadful over acting especially from the forensic bloke he was leads than credible.

The sets where lame and lack authenticity. The investigation was without a doubt not researched nor where the actual arrests.

The visitors to patients in hospital looked very glamorous and indeed did not reflect what a stressed relative would be reacting to situation nor the position they where in.

I could go on but really Nine Network start.

Worth watching

[sharon-12921 · 8/10 · 5 October 2022]

There were some confronting scenes which really hit home the devastation victims and their families have had to endure. The acting and directing overall was good enough to want to watch each episode until the end. It wasn't intended to be a blockbuster but a timely documentation of the pain and suffering of the victims and the investigation occurring at the time. And that's exactly what this series is. For the critics attacking the actors; I think they played their roles very well, particularly as traumatised victims both during and after the bombings. I think perhaps they could have shared more stories or followed the progress of the victims' recoveries in more depth, but that's just nit-picking to reach the 600 word count required by this review.

Beautifully respectful, delicately told

[anniebella · 10/10 · 6 October 2022]

This limited series was so respectfully and delicately put together I was so impressed, I feel they really did the victims of this horrible event justice. I hope they feel the same. The acting was so genuine and real that it broke my heart into pieces.

We have to talk about the actress Sri Ayu Jati Kartika who plays Luh. She embodied the unified broken hearts of the Bali people when the Bali bombings happened and how hard this was for them. My heart broke all over again and ached the whole time watching this through to the very end. Not just the victims of the bombing but the Bali people and everyone affected. This actress was so good I can't believe IMDB haven't even pictured her in here yet. She is brilliant. Her tears flowed so freely I wanted to break through the screen and give the poor woman a hug. So broken hearted. She truely embodied the worlds sentiment of such a horrid event.

Richard Roxburgh and Srisacd Sacdpraseuth and their performances to show the working bond between the two countries was beautifully delicate like a dance. So well done. These men behaved so amicably, if only the men at the top behaved this way!!!

Well done channel nine and Stan for putting this together it was beautiful.

Perfect Australian miniseries

[alfonso-desas · 10/10 · 10 January 2023]

For anyone who is not Australian, factual accuracy is much less important than emotion, timing, flow, direction, acting, photography, music and the overall experience of watching 4 episodes glued to your seat. It is one of the most perfectly crafted and moving miniseries i have ever seen. I'm sorry if the player is bald or has a blond mane, or if the doctor was taken care of by the wardrobe department. What matters is the respect, lack of exaggeration and realism with which such horrible event is treated by the filmmakers. I was entertained and movedinequal measure, so kudos to the filmmakers. For me it's a perfect 10.