MobLand is a new TV show on Paramount+ with all 10 episodes available to watch now. From creator Ronan Bennett, the show stars Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, Paddy Considine, Helen Mirren, Janet McTeer, and Toby Jones. Two mob families clash in a war that threatens to topple empires and lives.
I don’t know if I was expecting much out of this show. I really enjoyed the talent, which was a big selling point for me. I remember when I first watched the first episode, seeing Matt Bellamy, lead singer & guitarist of Muse – my all-time favorite band – was a co-composer of the show made me even more excited. Now that I have seen all 10 episodes, I think the score for the show was solid, but my expectations for the show only got greater as the show got better and better.
Directed by Guy Ritchie in the show’s first two episodes, I found these episodes to be the weakest of the series. It’s ironic since I enjoy Guy Ritchie’s direction for the most part, but it felt like he couldn’t quite capture the attention needed for the kind of tone this show needed, as well as develop enough characterization to keep the show interesting. I personally enjoy mob stories, and I still liked the cast, so I stuck around. I am glad I did, because the rest of the season rocks.
After the first few episodes, you can see where the story is not wasting a single moment. With one episode starting off with a literal bang, the show begins to find this right momentum that keeps the show engaging and the characters finally feel interesting as they are put into peril. Give characters conflict like this and you finally get proper characterization. With each episode ranging from 45 minutes to an hour, every episode feels like it flies by, but I also felt 100% invested.
Looking back at Tom Hardy’s career, the only standout performance from the actor comes from The Bikeriders. The actor has gone through many low’s and high’s, but his low’s certainly won’t derail his career. He’s also been a talented actor. He just needs the right project to showcase his talents, and this show offers one of the best roles of his career. With the actions his character take in this show, I was consistently blown away by his expressions throughout. He is dangerous, but his face doesn’t show you whether he’s bad or good. He’s always thinking, making him unpredictable. There are several standout scenes for him in the show, but there is one shootout scene that proves exactly what his character is all about.
Throughout his career, I always appreciated Paddy Considine’s work. He has always been an underrated actor that hasn’t fully gotten the credit he deserves. The emotional and mental mindset Considine has to be in for his character here is unreal. There is a lot of development given to his character that makes turns him into something interesting by the end of the season. In a family full of bad guy’s, you can see where his character wants to do a whole lot of good, but is held back by doing the same things his family has convinced him of that appears to be acceptable.
The chemistry between the leaders of the family, played by Pierce Brosnan & Helen Mirren, is electrifying. At their older ages, they try their best to keep it together, but show glimpses of losing it, making them even more threatening in this world. Even though they appear to have it together, there is a balance between these two characters that help keep the family together. Their actions eventually put them in an interesting position by the end of the season that makes me hopeful to see more out of a potential second season.
The script does have some cliche dialogue here and there where people talk more in riddles rather than being threatening. Nonetheless, the writing has other strong attributes. There is a midpoint plot that goes extremely dark that had me hooked. The direction the show goes in is not for the faint of heart, but it is necessary to help push these characters forward. Based on the timing that this show throws you in and how it presents its challenges, reminds me a lot of a modern-day Game of Thrones.
Overall, MobLand had a rough start, but manages to get better and better, marking one of the best television shows of the year in a strong year of television shows so far. Tom Hardy & Paddy Considine give one of the best performances of their career, while Pierce Brosnan & Helen Mirren carry the show with their convincing performance. I am hoping between the star power & writing we got here, there is more to come with a potential second season. I will be deeply disappointed if this show gets cancelled for some reason.
VERDICT: 4/5 (Great)
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