“You’re either at the table or on the menu.” - Al Capone
Guy Ritchie has a very unique style but it’s undeniably entertaining. He creates electric dialogue, morally ambiguous characters and seems to really thrive in seedy underworlds where violence is as much of a currency as cash and in that sense his characters are always either rich or hopelessly poor and trying to remedy it through questionable means. These characters can range from drug addicts to bare knuckle brawlers to a member of an English crime syndicate.
Much in the same way American mafia stories explore themes of loyalty and betrayal and the consequences of violating these unwritten rules, a UK crime story such as MobLand addresses these same concepts, just with more worldly accents.
*I will post a recap and small review of each episode just like this every Sunday on release day. At the end of the season I will post a full review of the entire season. If spoilers are ever used, I will make sure it is obvious ahead of time to avoid any mishaps. Until the season ends, I can promise zero spoilers for the time being.*
MobLand is on Paramount +, new episodes, Sundays at 9pm PT
Starring: Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, Hellen Mirren, Mandeep Dhillon
Episode 101 - Stick or Twist
This is the beginning. This is the blind head dive into shark infested waters. And those sharks, English and organized. The Harrigan family are a long standing crime family who don’t take kindly to unsanctioned tom foolery. When situations call for it, they either handle these incidents in house by their own hand or by their trusted fixer, family wrangler and body disposer, Harry Da Souza, played by Tom Hardy. He is a no nonsense loyalist to the senior Harrigans, Conrad and Maeve (Brosnan and Mirren).
As often the case with most series premiere episodes, this is about establishing who is who and their unique character dynamics especially how they either clash or blend with the other often hostile characters.
Unfortunately for Harry, part of his job is cleaning up after the Harrigan youths and their meandering cohorts who on a particular night cause chaos in a club which the results could cause irreparable damage. This is all about who is loyal to whom and what the chasm is between differing syndicates. Conrad Harrigan is a man of planning and staying one step ahead. Perhaps the greatest aspect of this opening episode is learning that Conrad may be the head of the family, it is his wife, Maeve, who not only makes her voice heard, but is absolutely the sadistic one of the longtime couple. She is fearless in her way of speaking and commanding of the room. While Conrad can become twisted in indecision, she is scarily decisive and more than willing to make the hard call.
This is the promise of things to come and it’s promising to be anything but calm seas and clear skies.
Out of 10
Story: 8/ Acting: 8.5/ Directing: 7/ Visuals: 7
OVERALL: 8/10
Overall thoughts on Episode 101: Stick or Twist -
A strong start and definitely for fans of not only Guy Ritchie but fans of crime drama in general. It’s darkly comedic and delightfully violent. It can be cliche at times but works because of its premise and wonderfully brilliant cast. Lots of exciting things on the horizon.
Season 1 Trailer: