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The Void (2016)
Very faithful to its inspirations
The very heavy influences from the works of HP Lovecraft, and films such as Hellraiser and The Thing fill the majority of this film through its use of grotesque practical effects. It looks incredible and serves as yet another reminder of how practical effects still constantly triumphs over CGI when it comes to creature design and world building.
The story and writing are nothing special, acting instead as a vessel to take viewers through the surreal madness of cosmic horror.
This film had a simple goal and objective, and it races to get to it with a constant barrage of scenes of violence or frantic terror, with little time in between to catch a breath.
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)
Should have been a series
Snyder really let this one get out of hand with a calamity of too many ideas that ended up really messing with the pacing and story-telling of this film. With the large cast of characters constantly being introduced to us with no real time to flesh out their skills, there's really no investment in any of them, and it feels like if this was a series they could have gotten a full season out of just putting the protagonist's crew.
This movie has the bizarre paradox of being visually pleasing, while also having some of the laziest and most poorly choreographed action sequences I've ever seen, and how they made it past the cutting room floor makes me think that Snyder didn't actually look at them and just assumed they would be great. Somehow, the slow-motion fight sequences are even more sloppy than the real time ones, and make it look like everything was shot in one take. This, combined with multiple scenes in which bad guys could have just shot the main characters in the face point blank and inexplicably didn't, ruined the action that was supposed to be at the core of the movie.
Effects were awesome, costumes were great, but it wasn't enough to save this. A season 1 of Rebel Moon chronicling the life of the protagonist as she climbed through the ranks of the ranks of the royal military from war orphan to war hero would have been conceptually and visually better than the 2 minute flashback that we got.
Vinland Saga (2019)
Nothing new
I had some hope for this series going into it, but it didn't take long to figure out it was going to be extremely shallow.
Every single anime trope that could have been used was crammed into this. The main character is an unbeatable one man army. He constantly has to hold back to prevent himself from being overly bloody. These tropes aren't cool, they're idiotic, and they remove any sense of peril or risk, and as a result you know exactly how every fight is going to end up.
The Viking aesthetic is skin deep; the characters are just the creators' very uncreative interpretation of what white people act and sound like.
The above, and traditionally juvenile anime writing drags down what could have been an epic saga to something that offers nothing new.
High points are art style and fully animated fight sequences, but it's still really cringe the moment the moment dialogue begins again.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Needs fewer people
The crutch to all these films is always all the people. Side characters constantly saturate these movies with needlessly crappy and convoluted side plots, bad scripts, and terrible decisions. Adding more military elements to this film didn't help much either, because its cringely apparent the director had zero knowledge of the subject matter and didn't bother to source an advisor. As a result, we see clashes between human factions that are equally idiotic, and we get shots of rifle optics that are clearly just camera overlays, among other lazy oversights that distract from the rest of the movie.
At the end of the day, we eventually get what everyone came to see, a monster fight. "Let them fight" couldn't be more on the mark, and the director should have taken a lesson from that line.
The Mummy (2017)
Unforgivably Lame
This movie tries to recapture the swashbuckling charm of the Brendan Fraser franchise without his roguish charm, or the adventurous pulp era setting that made it fun.
The writing is undeniably bad. The mythology uses the wrong gods, a lot of throw away lines are constantly repeated as filler, and the film can't decide whether it wants its villain to be sympathetic or not. The SCP style agency that deals with evil monsters in the film apparently has funds for technologically advanced strike teams, but not enough brain cells or experience to post guards on the captured mummy, knowing full well that she is the oldest known evil global threat in existence; and that's just one example of where the plot is constantly propelled by dumb chance, and dumber characters that are supposed to be seasoned experts.
The effects aren't any better than the original franchise either, despite 2 and a half decades of improvements. The CGI is obvious and terrible, which would have been fine if it went towards improving other parts of the film, but I can't for the life of me see any aspect of the movie that was bolstered by a larger portion of the budget.
Strong points are a good cast, and a cute mummy bae. There are some rare scenes that are gems; like the inside of the cargo plane during its turbulence, and the kneeling crusaders. They were done with such surprising competence that they were among the few things that really stuck out in an otherwise ham-fisted attempt to revive monster cinema, so much so that I feel like a completely different person was responsible for them and immediately fired before he could could taint the rest of the movie with his infectious artistry.
The Divide (2011)
Does a lot with a little
I'm not going to call this film underrated. I can see why many find it unappealing if they're not fans of gritty and grim dystopian works. The best science fiction usually attempts to answer a moral quandary, and the one in this movie is a question of human nature. When facing the inevitable end of our species, what will we do in our final days?
Naturally, some people took offense to the implication that people would immediately begin to devolve into a state of carnal debauchery and brutality in a short span of time. I sincerely doubt that they would be that virtuous if faced with similar situation, but more importantly this type of pondering in story telling is meant to incite some kind of emotional response.
With a very limited set they managed to put together a good cast and really consolidate their budget into a decent premise and competent acting. I feel that they should have used this to make the story span over a larger stretch of time to make it more believable, but this was a lesson in how simplicity in film can be very effective.
If you like gritty scifi and dystopian films, this ends up being a good gloomy popcorn flic.
The Book of Boba Fett (2021)
Shamelessly lazy
I expected much better from Robert Rodriguez of all people. The writing and effects for this show are inexcusable. The original trilogy predates this by half a century and still looks better.
Gaping plot holes abound for the sake of introducing a cast of characters that are supposed to somehow feel compelling or edgy when they couldn't be any more disassociated from the overall story and its themes.
The set design looks like something you would expect from a 90's era series like Buffy or Hercules, with lazy costume, set, and effects all taking a back seat for god only knows what priority.
It takes a mighty effort to continue suspension of disbelief with the absolutely minimal effort of story telling and aesthetic provided by this show.
The 100 (2014)
100 of the worst human beings
First and foremost, this show is one long teen drama with very loose sci-fi elements that are mostly irrelevant; it could have just as easily taken place in a Russian gulag or third world country. It's really just a backdrop and an excuse to do yet another degrassi style drama that was "different."
That being said, the core of the show has almost nothing to stand on. With such a huge cast you would think there would be a single likable or relatable character, but everyone is just awful. I mean objectively they are all the same trope. In the span of two episodes you can see characters argue, erupt in violent fights, plot and scheme to cause each other's demise, kill some of the locals in a teen angst outburst that turns into a rampage, and then act puzzled as to why the locals are too stupid and unreasonable to ever trust them against a common threat.
The inability of nearly every character to understand why none of the other characters like them is a trait pretty commonly associated with psychotics and sociopaths. That's the standard we're working with, and at no point do they show any amount of improvement and growth, it just goes through cycles of certain characters being alienated, then eventually returning to the fold because a lazily written happenstance makes them suddenly important.
Everyone is a marry sue that can use guns that they've never seen before, fight, survive in the wilds, and make production quality resources out of scrap. But none of them have any understanding of diplomacy, ethics, responsibility, or decent human interaction. This makes every dialogue painful, every action scene repetitive and predictable, and all the drama just unbearably shallow.
I am legit mad at all the people that talked this show up like it was worth anything and convinced me to watch it. It's pretty clear that they must not have had very many channels to watch.
The Hurt Locker (2008)
This is not how any of this works
The only reason people should watch this film is for a lesson in everything NOT to do if you want to be a US Soldier. This movie only further widens the divide between civilian and veteran, because this is not the kind of film anyone should glorify as a primer on the rigors of war or the minds of those that serve. There are key things you need to understand:
1. Renner's character is a horrible soldier. Everything he does constantly endangers the lives of those around him just so he can show off. If you want to be self-destructive in wartime, fine, but if you endanger your boys in the process you are the worst kind of soldier. Nobody would ever want to work with him, and he probably would have been busted down to a private and put in a supporting position far away from any live explosives.
2. Every intense scenario in this film is made perilous for no reason. There would be a circle of machine guns around suspected IEDs to prevent exactly the kind of stupidity that takes place in this film. The dangers are only featured in the film because the writers had no idea how to create realistic tension.
3. Nobody, and I mean nobody, ever kicks, pulls, or drags suspected IEDs because you have no idea what kind of triggers might have been put on them, or how many there might be. You wouldn't waste your time and life needlessly disarming a random carbomb in an abandoned courtyard either. Just blow it up. Seriously, it's already in a self-contained area that wont endanger people.
If you've never served, those may seem like small issues, but those three grossly erroneous flaws make up the entire movie. Whoever wrote this created a fantasy, not a realistic depiction of how EOD operate or war actually worked in the middle east.
I don't fault the actors, they did good with the scripts they were given and probably had no idea how dumb the writing was, but vets hate this movie.
Lovecraft Country (2020)
Incredibly Bipolar
This series is just all over the place and can't keep a steady tone. It'll range from setting up a decent adventure of the week type scenario and then immediately plummet into lots of inane drama.
The music will range wildly, sometimes fitting the iconic period with a smoky blues or jazz feel, to out of place modern garbage.
It's extremely difficult to find characters relatable because they seem to change on an episode by episode basis, drifting through spectrums of gay, angry, abusive, manipulative, caring, and so on and so forth.
After a couple of episodes every dialogue quickly turns into a lot of angry shouting, or self loathing, because none of the characters seem capable of coping with their issues regardless of whether they are mundane or supernatural in nature.
Lastly, and perhaps the most glaring problem, is the absolute constant barrage of modern politics force fed into every episode after 2 or 3. It's just non-stop, and becomes a lot shouting about privilege.
After that, the show kind of just collapses under its own decaying writing. Everyone just kind of happens to know things for no real reason other than coming from a family that reads books... which apparently makes them well versed in astro-physics, among other things. The detective elements that started the series off become abandoned, and everything just kind of happens because the plot needs it to.
If you think you can stomach these eye rolling issues that plague the show, there's actually a pretty strong Lovecraftian tale beneath the surface that can be entertaining.
1899 (2022)
Not what I expected
The trailers had me expecting some kind of Lovecraftian horror series, and given the track record those have I'm glad this ended up being completely different. Despite being prepared for the worst, I was completely caught off guard by this show, and didn't realize it was another European production.
Every few years it seems like a great hit comes out of the Scandenavian/German corner of the world with instant hits like Dark, Let the Right One In, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and this show landed with the same impact.
High points are:
- Amazing set and production.
- Fantastic brooding atmosphere.
- Complex and involved plot.
The only things that I was less enthused about were its use of music, as they felt out of place but made a little more sense given the show's ending, and ultimately the end they settled on. It felt like they had many options for which direction to take the plot in, and the one they ran with didn't feel as compelling as their other choices.
Remarkably well done though, and competently created by people who clearly still view cinema as an art.
Wednesday (2022)
Good as an offshoot
I was glad to see that this show managed to overcome my skepticism. With Tim Burton this seemed like it should have been a perfect match of artist and muse, but the trailers had me concerned.
I still find the casting of the majority of the Addams family as the biggest disservice to the series, but they play such brief supporting roles that it allowed Jenna Ortega to be the primary focus and do an excellent portrayal of an older Wednesday Addams.
Thanks to the amount of screen time she was allotted, there was ample time to overcome the odd casting choices of the rest of the family. The writing was also exactly what I expected for the character, cold and sharply cutting quick-witted rebuttals that Ortega delivers with the emotional vacancy needed to fit the role.
The overarching story is a simple "who dun it?" plot that limited the chances of being exposed to plot holes while serving as a vehicle to explore the expanded setting with.
All new characters are pretty much high school tropes, even falling into nicknamed cliques and social circles based on what kind of spooky monsters they are, but thankfully Burton dialed back the teen drama that tends to ruin shows like Cobra Kai.
I still can't get over the fact that Gomez looks like a meth dealer, and Morticia went from being agelessly regal to looking old and tired. Overall, it still succeeds in being entertaining and accomplishing what it wanted to, with enough plots lingering in the background for more seasons. Each episode had a lot going for it, making them feel longer than they were.
America: The Motion Picture (2021)
High Art
This was a painstakingly accurate depiction of how history was born. Before that point, everything else was a mistake. This masterpiece of cinema is a must watch not only for Americans, but also for other nations wishing to understand the American mindset on a day to day basis.
It not only covers the most important time in human history, but it also shows us the trials and rigors that brave men and women had to overcome to make that moment happen. Collaborating with discarded outcasts of society, it showed how George Washington created an alliance of underdogs to break the backs of the British Empire and free his people.
A must watch.
Svart krabba (2022)
Feels like a Metro origin film
A lot of people seem to complain about the lack of information regarding the faceless enemy that acts as the driving antagonistic boogeyman in this film. From what I can tell, the point is that it isn't supposed to be any specific nation, because the film itself is meant to put us in a country living in a state of total war as a reminder that it could happen anywhere in the world.
The acting is as good as I can praise a foreign film. German and Scandinavian productions have been pretty top notch over the last decade, and this movie didn't disappoint. It felt like they focused on doing a lot with a little and they succeeded with that.
We had great set and costume, good subtle use of music, sudden outbursts of pandemonium and visual effects when combat broke out, and haunting signs of war crimes that left grim landscapes in their wake. As a random netflix watch, I didn't expect much out of this movie, but it delivered anyway as a solid popcorn film.
Another Life (2019)
Fire everyone involved
I know people lay into the writing and acting for shows a lot, but this is one of those examples where words can't properly convey how terrible it really is. You have to watch the first episode just to experience how abstract and weird the interactions depicted in this show are. Every interaction is irrational, or bland and stale, with monotone and beady eyed dead stares. It feels like the scripts were written by lizard people trying to do human impressions. There isn't a single character of sound mind that can make rational decisions or carry anything that can begin to resemble a normal conversation.
Everyone in the show is insufferable, constantly angry, and completely unwilling to work together to accomplish even the most basic day to day tasks without a freaking mutiny on board a ship that is supposed to be mankind's last hope for survival.
The fact that someone wrote these lines, willingly acted them out, witnessed them and decided they were solid takes and a wrap, means that this entire production was fundamentally flawed from its foundation and executed entirely by people who had no idea what they were doing. You have to be riding a high on the brink of an overdose to think that any of these scenes were sensible, much less suspenseful and important to the overall show. If you worked on this production, you should be ashamed.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022)
Good, but missed the sweet spot
The bones, overarching plot, and basic style of this show all have everything needed to make this series an instant classic. The action and violence are on point and on the level of the original Ghost in the Shell, with the type of character dynamic you would find in a show like Black Lagoon.
The things preventing me from giving this a better rating are the tone and the main character. The music for this series is all over the place, and really makes that Cyberpunk feel stumble and stagger with displaced scenes and weird moods. This reduces what should feel like gritty dystopian noir to a cartoonishly over the top and predictable action romp.
The main character is one of the least interesting characters, and constantly eclipsed by the supporting cast that he shares the stage and spotlight with. His design feels cheap and uninspired, his ambitions and motivations are usually unclear and confused, and he's too dumb to do anything in his own best interest, perpetuating the plot solely by his unwillingness to accept professional or personal council from anyone.
It's still a good show, but those two large flaws constantly prevent it from being better.
Im Westen nichts Neues (2022)
Stunningly good
I really didn't expect this film, or any remake created by Netflix to hold up against the original but somehow this one did it.
The way this film leaned full tilt into taking us on a young recruit's journey from a desire to serve and earn glory, to slowly being exposed to the brutality of trench warfare as he emotionally and psychologically breaks down was masterfully done. Costumes, make-up, set, and music all came together to give us a dreary and terrifying hellscape created by the destructive power of man, and did not let up with the anxiety, paranoia, and sense of defeat that gripped the main character.
The only low point in this film was the Flamethrower segment, where it seemed like they somehow screwed up the practical effects for those scenes, and went back in to add the pyrotechnics using CGI. Against the grainy and elaborate set and practical effects displayed throughout the entirety of the rest of this film, this really stood out as weird and cheap.
Thankfully after that, the film went right back into its otherwise near-perfect stride.
War Machine (2017)
An unfunny comedy
This movie is as dry as the deserts it takes place in. I never thought I'd see a boring modern war film, but this is it. The fact that this movie is labeled as a comedy is very misleading, because the only humorous element is Brad Pitt's character, but given how unfunny he is when set next to an otherwise serious tone and cast, he just seems autistic and unintentionally awkward. It's like he tried to Jack Sparrow his role and give it his own quirky take without being able to pull off the delivery, and instead of re-shooting all his scenes the producers just decided "screw it, we'll tell people it's a comedy" like that would justify how painfully it made light of the dismal failure that was the hearts and minds initiative in the Middle-East.
There was a potential for an interesting underdog story here, that could have been amusing and humorous if the director had any idea what kind of tone he wanted to set for this film, or a gritty commentary on the loss of American lives caused by the idiotic interference of politicians in war, but it just feels like its all over the place and belittled the serious issues with the most recent wars in American history.
Grimcutty (2022)
I hate every character
This film feels like it was written by the same kind of people that tried to get rock and metal banned in the US in the 80's. It's a Tipper Gore level of ignorant writing that sees itself as relevant to the times without understanding how obnoxiously tone-deaf it really is.
Thanks to the agitating writing and script, every character is its own flavor of an annoying idiot. Everyone feels like a parody, or the way a modern day Karen might view normal people through their own narrow and skewed point of view. Nobody makes rational decisions, everyone is an uncomfortable level of weird, and the film as a whole feels like a high budget advertisement for ASMR, which just makes ASMR more annoying than it already was.
Hellraiser (2022)
It forgot the gore
There are quite a few things that this reboot did exceptionally well to remain true to the Hellraiser saga. The costumes and set were all fantastic, and the way they transitioned from earth to the realm of the cenobites looked awesome.
Like the original film, there's quite a bit of build up to the eventual arrival of Pinhead and company. Unlike the original, the gore really takes a backseat during the build up. While they used a fair amount of practical effects, there was still some very obvious CGI that really detracted from the classic tormenting ripping and tearing of the chain kills.
If you compare the effects side by side, this one is far less unsettling and uses a few off screen kills, robbing it of an opportunity to really display the brutality of the source material.
Pinhead didn't feel as menacing as the Douglas Bradly incarnation. They even delivered some of the classic lines, which felt like they did so just to draw comparisons and see where everyone stands, only to lack any of the doom and damnation that Doug Bradley could muster up. Unfortunately this version just didn't have the looming presence and aura of biblical wrath that Bradley did such a wonderful job conveying, and left us with Pinhead seeming like just another cenobite instead of the high priest. Some very creative kills or ways to punish victims could have perhaps made up for this.
All that being said, it's still very competently done and feels superior to the downward spiraling series of films that came after Hellraiser 2. While this remake didn't hit as hard as I had hoped, it still has a lot of potential for improvement with a sequel.
Knightfall (2017)
'DEUS VULT' the show.
I went into this show expecting very little, and it ended up raising the bar a bit. Don't get me wrong, this show is pretty much a popcorn flic, but it's a good popcorn flic with a lot of gems in it.
There are parts where you can tell the budget was strained, such as with re-used or cheaply accessible outdoor sets, or lacking variety in costumes. While it creates a bit of monotony in the show, the places where the money really got put forward shines bright.
The acting is on point through the entire series, but especially goes above and beyond with the legendary Mark Hamil, who honest to god, I didn't even recognize because he did such a great job in his role. He was superb.
The writing doesn't have any sweeping Braveheart style speeches, but does a very good job of conveying the story it wants by walking us through a very militant and rigid lifestyle in a Templar order. While not historically accurate, it does provide an authentic Deus Vult fervor and zeal to the Templar training and regimen, set to the backdrop of a straightforward overarching story, with only a couple of side plots to avoid bogging it down in the same kind over convoluted mire that other shows have suffered from around that time.
The show delivers a consistently alternating tempo of investigative intrigue and sudden outbursts of action when not showing the Templar Order's internal growth and brotherhood. This steady pacing does a good job of holding attention, and keeps the show from growing boring or dull, while helping viewers take in the characters at a steady pace and grow to like them.
Lastly, and perhaps my favorite creative decision is, there are no blatantly 'Good' guys. Every character is flawed. Even the protagonist is not without sin, and ends up being the catalyst of a lot of the conflict because he has his own vices to wrestle with. Mark Hamil's character is belligerent and wrathful to the point that his first priority will be keeping up the strength of the order, no matter who he has to break or tear down to do it.
Whether they intended to or not, this kind of writing made the characters not only much more grounded, but also more fitting to the biblical and philosophical tone of the show as a whole. Whether it was a fluke or intentional, the end result was an enjoyable series that I hope gets more seasons, and a bigger budget.
Fear the Walking Dead (2015)
Experience may vary
Fear TWD is a show that suffers from a little bit of an identity crisis, but at least it's constantly trying to adapt. There are episodes where atmosphere and mood are precisely the type of slow creeping dread and sense of impending doom that really builds up and makes the slow-burn worth while. Other times there's a lot of filler with poor or no action, focusing in day to day inconveniences of trying to rebuild and settle in the apocalypse.
The show suffers from a long cast of unlikable characters. Very few of them have redeeming qualities, or any traits that make them relatable to audiences. Some of them become vehemently awful human beings that you find yourself constantly rooting against even though they're supposed to be protagonists. Others never really make an impact, and some actually begin to grow and develop as they adapt to the new world, only to be killed off when they finally become likable.
I don't know if Morgan offers enough as a character to breath life back into the series, but the addition of Jon Dorie certainly offered an interesting and outlandish character that broke away from norm. I was bored more often than I was entertained, and still think the show could be good if they could inject a more interesting cast of characters.
Prey (2022)
Falls flat
Let me preface this by stating that this movie is very competently made. The camera work, idea, and story all work. The problem with this movie is that everything else is rushed or cheap.
The CGI is the first glaringly rough thing that you notice. It looks cheap and dated. All the animals in the film suffer from this problem, and it really stands out against a natural environment like the great plains. The Predator also seems to switch back and forth between an impressive update to his camouflage effect, to really bad CGI favored over practical effects.
The main character progresses through all problems and obstacles by defying the laws of physics with some made up Comanche-fu fighting magic and indestructible plant fiber twine, while also having an innate ability to understand how all never before seen technology works. The Predator's ranged weapon is a gaping plot hole in itself, because either it cannot be aimed without his helmet, or the protagonist is somehow able to activate its helmet without understanding the technology behind it. Its stupid, you'll know what I mean when you see it, it's a conundrum.
The writing is pretty bad and brazenly feminist, making the main character the only enlightened individual surrounded by idiot men. She's always right, even when she's wrong, and to compensate for this her failures and ability to progress through the story are all propelled by random happenstances that constantly favor her. I get it, suspension of disbelief is a thing and a necessary element in Hollywood, but lets not pretend crappy writing doesn't exist.
The story is pretty close to the original Predator but the tension is completely absent, and the entire concept of trained soldiers going back to basics to defeat a technologically superior threat with primitive brutality takes a back seat to constant displays of random luck, and the Predator being incredibly stupid.
Historically it's a mess. The french fur trappers, the Comanche tribe, the buffalo, and the mountain lion all contradict each other and would have been in differing parts of the continent, but ended up being cobbled together because of the same bad writing that made the protagonist consistently annoying.
Lastly, there are no surprises. Everything has either been revealed in the trailer, or is painfully and obviously announced long before it happens. An herb that lowers body temperature is used to overcome the Predator's heat vision, and it's not subtle. When it does happen, it's for the sake of one scene before his helmet is snatched off his head, making the build up needless and pretentiously grandiose. They could have just started the scene with his helmet off, or damaged instead of creating an overly elaborate and convoluted scenario. The means of trapping the predator becomes introduced and broadcast in the same manner a good hour before it ever happens.
They're going to keep making these lazy sequels and reboots if people keep making excuses and lauding undeserved praise for them. Lets call this what it is, the film was lazy and poorly thought out with the most minimal amount of effort put into the writing and research.
The Predator was an idiot.
The main character was annoying.
The setting was historically BS.
The effects looked terrible.
The tension and build-up were flat.
Lovely set though.
Robin Hood (2018)
The worst Robin Hood film
This movie is completely aimless and has no idea what it wants to be. The dialogue is all small talk and banter that tries to have the witty impact of classic British crime films like Snatch and Lock Stock and Two Smoking barrels, but fails because of awful writing.
During the Crusades segment, the film felt like it was trying to be a modern Iraq war movie, with siege weapons and longbows effectively taking the place of machine guns and rifles. It was so weird and disconnected from the rest of the film, that it might have even been a good concept if it wasn't immediately abandoned after the prologue.
Everything else is propelled entirely by characters being either completely incompetent, pure luck, or the director's poor understanding of how anything actually functions, allowing random and improbable firewalls and other absurd happenstances to allow the heroes to constantly escape.
This felt like an attempt to pay homage to Guy Ritchie, but instead came across as a shameless mockery.
Ozark (2017)
A good show with no reward.
This series had a lot of grit and decent writing. Unfortunately it falls apart every time it tries to rebuild itself after the first season. The cast of characters that star in the show are either unlikable, or have no control over the evolution of the overall story, so the show corrects this by interjecting new likable characters that just end up getting killed.
The show's biggest weakness is its constant lack of a permanent character to relate to or root for. Everyone that is likable eventually dies, with the exception of Marty, but Marty is constantly incapable of breaking away from Wendy, who increasingly becomes more of a parasite the longer the show goes on.
That being said, I cannot stress enough how good the acting is. It's very good, and they do a great job of making you love or hate various characters. If anything, some of the writing is what creates lapses in logic and makes certain motivations nonsensical. The stars do a great job with whats available to them.
The conclusion to this show is where everything falls apart for me. That's the point where you realize there's nothing rewarding about the series, and many things could have been done better. Wendy could have been a pariah for all the illegal dealings as a sense of karmic justice or irony. Marty could have finally left her to break away from her constant scheming and power hungry ambition that kept burning bridges and left the family constantly plummeting deeper. The Private Investigator could have exposed them and brought everything that was happening to light. The grandfather could have wanted to make up for his failures as a father by getting his grandchildren out of that dangerous situation. The new head of the cartel could have even been stopped by the Sheriff, Marty, or literally anyone else in a last moment twist, bringing an abrupt end to the last person holding the knife to the Byrde family's throats. But none of that happens.
4 seasons of plot twists eventually amounted to nothing substantial, and I think the writers began to realize this because they shoe-horned in a last minute attempt to try and humanize Wendy, but it just felt like an unnecessary distraction. They even crammed in a car accident that did nothing. No one died, no one was seriously injured, it was never addressed again, and there was no interaction with the driver at all. If the scene never even happened the show would have continued on just the same, so it felt strange and jarring that they even spent the time on it. It was just too late to redeem Wendy in any meaningful way by that point.
The strangest thing about the ending was the way everyone acted like the events of the last episode would have somehow brought a conclusion to everyone's frustrations when that couldn't have been further from the truth. Everything would have had to continue for years with FBI involvement and climbing into bed with the cartel, so I don't understand why everyone was acting with some sense of relief.
This show had highlights. Ben and Buddy were great characters to root for, the Langmores were strong characters as antagonists and protagonists as a whole. Marty and his kids kept you constantly watching in hopes that they would eventually just push Wendy out and tear her down as the inhuman piece of garbage that she was. The question is whether or not you're willing to watch the show just to see those high points eventually amount to nothing.
Good show, but it could have been better.