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First Trailer for Gareth "The Raid 1 & 2" Evans' Gangs of London
- Thread starter Zor
- Start date
Resubbed to Sky yesterday and watched this one in two days. It's a 6/10 crime show with 10/10 action sequences. The two bigger shootouts in the show are insane, especially for a TV show. Closest we got to classic John Woo 90s cinema IMHO with all the bloodshed, furious camera work and impactful bullets. Also some fine martial arts scenes here and there.
The rest of the show is okay, but not great. The drama often falls flat because none of these characters is likeable minus the main good guy. Almost everyone else is a sadistic psychopath or an innocent victim. The pacing isn't great as well and the overall story is kinda meh, especially those twists in the last episode. And it sorely lacks an explosive finale.
The rest of the show is okay, but not great. The drama often falls flat because none of these characters is likeable minus the main good guy. Almost everyone else is a sadistic psychopath or an innocent victim. The pacing isn't great as well and the overall story is kinda meh, especially those twists in the last episode. And it sorely lacks an explosive finale.
I think the story would have been a lot stronger if they spent more time building the relationship between the two main characters....of whom's names I've forgotten....but that would have made the final episode a lot stronger.
I finally found the time to finish watching this tonight, and holy shit it fucking RIPPED. Undying love and respect to Gareth Evans for going so hard with this. Goddammit.
I can't get over how well this man shoots action. There's never a half-measure; when it's on it is fucking END OF THE WORLD ON. Every punch breaks something, every kick sends someone rocketing through a wall, every swing of a weapon is at 110% power, missing by microns. I've watched like seven hundred thousand martial arts movies in my life, I'm very hard to please, and this shit has me squirming in my seat, white-knuckling it every time. It's like they aimed for the utterly insane, scream-at-the-top-of-your-lungs intensity of the machete fight from The Raid 1 for every action scene here. Wildly creative choreography gorgeously captured on film, and not one inch of the frame goes to waste. There's always an inventive new angle to shoot from to make you feel like you're right there in the fight while still keeping the action perfectly readable. The camera man is just as much part of the fight as the two fighters themselves. GOD, I can't get enough.
And the gun violence? Fuggedaboudit. Every bullet hits like a cannon shell. Motherfuckers are getting straight up PULPED. That sniper rifle was turning men into GOOP. GOOPING MOTHERFUCKERS. I'm going to be thinking about the one Danish merc that gets fucking vaporised at the molecular level for months. 10/10. 12/10 GOAT: Goopest of all Time.
I really liked the non-action stuff, too. I liked Evans' crime drama chops in The Raid 2 and I liked them again here; it ain't Scorcese but I think it's more than adequate for establishing the general feeling of dread and ratcheting up the tension before the sweet release of another apocalyptic action scene. Most of the cast is made up of entertainingly sadistic psychos and you can tell the actors had a lot of fun with them. The guy who played Asif was MVP with those crazy eyes, but I really enjoyed Luan and Lale, too. Special mention to absolute goddess Michelle Fairley, too. You can't teach what she's got.
I loved the finale. I might have preferred a hard ending over a setup for another season, but I guess that ship has sailed and I'll happily watch another one anyway. Hopefully the show did well enough to get them the same budget for Season 2, or even more this time, because this thing must have been expensive, lol.
I can't get over how well this man shoots action. There's never a half-measure; when it's on it is fucking END OF THE WORLD ON. Every punch breaks something, every kick sends someone rocketing through a wall, every swing of a weapon is at 110% power, missing by microns. I've watched like seven hundred thousand martial arts movies in my life, I'm very hard to please, and this shit has me squirming in my seat, white-knuckling it every time. It's like they aimed for the utterly insane, scream-at-the-top-of-your-lungs intensity of the machete fight from The Raid 1 for every action scene here. Wildly creative choreography gorgeously captured on film, and not one inch of the frame goes to waste. There's always an inventive new angle to shoot from to make you feel like you're right there in the fight while still keeping the action perfectly readable. The camera man is just as much part of the fight as the two fighters themselves. GOD, I can't get enough.
And the gun violence? Fuggedaboudit. Every bullet hits like a cannon shell. Motherfuckers are getting straight up PULPED. That sniper rifle was turning men into GOOP. GOOPING MOTHERFUCKERS. I'm going to be thinking about the one Danish merc that gets fucking vaporised at the molecular level for months. 10/10. 12/10 GOAT: Goopest of all Time.
I really liked the non-action stuff, too. I liked Evans' crime drama chops in The Raid 2 and I liked them again here; it ain't Scorcese but I think it's more than adequate for establishing the general feeling of dread and ratcheting up the tension before the sweet release of another apocalyptic action scene. Most of the cast is made up of entertainingly sadistic psychos and you can tell the actors had a lot of fun with them. The guy who played Asif was MVP with those crazy eyes, but I really enjoyed Luan and Lale, too. Special mention to absolute goddess Michelle Fairley, too. You can't teach what she's got.
I loved the finale. I might have preferred a hard ending over a setup for another season, but I guess that ship has sailed and I'll happily watch another one anyway. Hopefully the show did well enough to get them the same budget for Season 2, or even more this time, because this thing must have been expensive, lol.
Fucking right. Spot on how I feel about this show.
I'll add that I loved how he steered the ending, I really was not expecting this outcome for certain characters, that things would escalate so far and change the game so much. I know some would have prefered more grounding, and more focus on a smaller scale, but I personally love how far they took it.
Really hope we get another season.
This show was great but it has a real nasty sadistic streak. It loves its torture and suffering and executions just a little too much for my tastes.
Also if we're going there with goop, shout out to the grenade in a caravan moment where the guy gets blown halfway out a window, is hanging there clearly dead or dying, but the thug still follows up by point blank shotgunning his head.
I will say there were a couple moments where I was convinced I knew what was about to happen next and I was totally wrong. It's nice to have smart storytelling occasionally.
Also if we're going there with goop, shout out to the grenade in a caravan moment where the guy gets blown halfway out a window, is hanging there clearly dead or dying, but the thug still follows up by point blank shotgunning his head.
I will say there were a couple moments where I was convinced I knew what was about to happen next and I was totally wrong. It's nice to have smart storytelling occasionally.
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Heh, that's easily my least favorite aspect of The Raid movies, mainly Raid 2, and why I don't find myself rewatching them really. I love the quick, ultraviolent action scenes. But I can't handle the slower, drawn out execution/torture stuff.
Oh yeah. Whenever the Raid movies are mentioned it's usually in regards of the martial arts but the way Evans shoots gunfights is amazing as well. The whole country house shootout will probably go down as one of the greatest of all time.
Yes and it also incorporated a lot of environmental destruction and mess which I only really see in John Woo movies as well. Most other movie shootouts neglect that detail.
Welp your review sold me on finding out how I can watch it where I live.
Just found out Gareth Evans' has a damned tv show so I'm bumping this thread as I start the series. I'll watch anything that guy makes after watching The Raid 1 and 2, even the remake he had nothing to do with (Dredd) was great.
Netflix should pick this up for international rights, it´s split on random networks in some countries (and nothing in Canada)
Quite simply for me, one of the best shows of last year.
Me and a friend thought we'd watch 1 episode and ended up binging the whole thing.
It's heightened silliness, but the drama still pays off and it has a keen sense of the real players in London.
I love how desperate and scrappy the fight scenes play out. Whilst still retaining that style that Gareth Evans does so well.
And the gun fights, my god such beauty.
Me and a friend thought we'd watch 1 episode and ended up binging the whole thing.
It's heightened silliness, but the drama still pays off and it has a keen sense of the real players in London.
I love how desperate and scrappy the fight scenes play out. Whilst still retaining that style that Gareth Evans does so well.
And the gun fights, my god such beauty.
He probably has some of the best fight scenes on film over the last like 15 years so this isn't surprising.
I'd agree. I think the Raid 2 was the last time I was impressed with how a fight scene plays out.
He had some bangers in that. But transporting it to London, man you can see just how well his skills travel.
Sorry buddy! I just decided to see what the hell Gareth Evans was up to now and found out he had a tv show.
American cable TV doesn't have any problem with violence, so I would be surprised if they edited any of that. Swearing and nudity would be edited, most likely, though AMC+ has the unedited version already so
i would see the action and camerawork in the set pieces are a bit more flashy and meticulous that Banshee/ Warrior, but that's mainly in episodes 1-5. The action drops off in the second half of the season.
I just started this show today and its fantastic. And it was unedited completely.
Yupper. As far as I could tell. Only the first episode has aired so I dont know if there is any sex but the violence and cussing was all in there. I am tempting to get AMC + just to watch this without commercials.
Yep, can confirm. All violence and f-bombs fully intact in episode 1. Note that they did split the episode in half, so when I say episode one I mean only the first hour. That's all that has aired on the linear channel so far.
Just to tie a bow on this, Gareth Evans confirmed no content edits on the AMC linear broadcast.
ghuwevans said:
Bumping this thread because this show fucking rules and more people need to watch it.
The action, pacing, cinematography and character work is top tier. Gareth Evans is the real deal.
The action, pacing, cinematography and character work is top tier. Gareth Evans is the real deal.
Season 2 teaser. 2022 release.
Not sure how much Gareth Evans has to do with season 2, his episodes in S1 were by far the best.
Not sure how much Gareth Evans has to do with season 2, his episodes in S1 were by far the best.
Between this and Gomorrah 2022 looks like it is going to be a banner year for organized crime shows.
I've only seen the first Episode of season one, but that finale alone is...it's just shit you don't really see in television. Bless Gareth.
Can't wait to get back and finish S1
Can't wait to get back and finish S1
I totally forgot haha. The last couple episodes sort of dragged
Or did he? He was shot through the jaw and they seemed to obscure his body when the police were supposedly reporting him as dead. I could see them faking his death through some shenanigans.