Peaky Blinders: I'm really trying to like it....
Exactly what the title says. I want to understand why it is that this is one of the more popular shows in existance right now and a lot of people are comparing it to the Sopranos or Boardwalk Empire.
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It is in many ways exactly like Boardwalk Empire in that it very loosely based on actual events although this time in Birmingham, England in the early 1900's and it based around the Shelby's who are a gangster family that actually existed and their exploits in semi-organized crime after Tommy Shelby (played by the always wonderful Cillian Murphy) returns home from war in France.
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The show's set design and costumes are second-to-none and the same could be said for the acting. It has a few big name stars and every now and then, i'll see a guy pop up on screen and I'll be like "wait a minute, I know that guy from somewhere" moments such as when Tommy's father comes back to "visit" the family and then rips them off.
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I spent a long time thinking about it, and eventually had to cheat... turns out I "know" him from Sons of Anarchy and his name IRL is Tommy Flanagan. Turns out there are a ton of Cameos in this thing from "kind of a big deal" actors. However, I have not seen most of them because I am still in season 1: This is where the point of this article happens.
I find the pacing of Peaky Blinders to be painfully slow. This is not a new feeling for me because if you look at my opines about just about any modern-day series you will see that this is a top complaint of mine.
I understand why they do it this way, because they want to keep the show going for a long time. Also, they once again stick to the 1 hour per episode time benchmark and for a series with as big a budget as this one, I suppose I can understand why.
I admire what they have done here. I would imagine it is immensely difficult to accurately recreate a time in the past and while I haven't really dug into it too much, when you look at an episode of Peaky Blinders you will feel as though they nailed it. However, I struggle to stay interested in this show because a whole lot of nothing happens in most episodes and it seems to have a "Walking Dead" episode formula of recap what you saw last episode for 20 minutes, do a whole lot of talking and arguing amongst the various groups, then cap it off with about 2 minutes of actual action and interesting storyline development right at the end to encourage us to see the next episode where exactly the same thing happens again.
I'm not gonna give up because there are already at least 3 seasons out there and I have heard they have been signed on for a 5th as well. I can't confirm that. I also know that Adrien Brody, an actor I really like but whose nose frightens me for some reason, appears in season 4. I don't want to miss that.
I think this is a fair and honest assessment of the show. I watched the whole series, I will thus refrain to present spoilers. However, I would not compare this to Boardwalk Empire. Boardwalk captured an immense array of depth and groups of people in an accurate portrayal. While Im not saying Peaky Blinders fails at this, the scale and detail that was left in my mind after watching just wasnt the same. The show did progress rather slow, it was enough to keep me watching, which I dont regret... but there was something 'formulaic' about it. I would give it one thumb up rather than two. Maybe I only feel this way because Boardwalk was so recent in my mind, but I feel other period style series have been more entertaining, perhaps not necessarily 'better.' The costume work, scenery and setting was well done to be sure, and the actors do not disappoint.
fantastic follow-up. I always look forward to your comments :)
Mamma and I are, like so many others exploring and subsequently enjoying the Netflix experience.
I will definitely be looking into this one.
We just started stranger things and it looks good to me.
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One hour long episodes definitely seems to be the norm nowadays, though I'd imagine that even the writers must be struggling or at least have some form of difficulty coming up with enough content to fill a single episode. Thanks for sharing this review with us, looking forward to reading future posts!
Best Regards,
Blue Baikal
https://www.bluebaikal.io/en
Wow! This sounds weird! The way they have to stick to one hour per episode!!
I’ll be falling asleep by half way!
Wonderful and entertaiment
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I have been listening to things about this series for years, but I have resisted to see it, I always have another first on my list, I can not add much, I just wait for a final update with a verdict on it, to know if it's worth it to raise positions on my list or if I better postpone it.