First five episodes were excellent followed by an average finish. Too predictable.....
2 Reviews
Aussie noir - a mis-step in the series....
joebloggscity10 October 2020
I've been a huge fan of this Jay Swann series since I saw the original film and the standard remained remarkably high throughout the sequel and the first season. Sumptuous cinematography, high level acting and challenging storylines have made this world fascinating.
Sadly though this series has dropped the ball a little bit but not too far. You have much the same as before, with Jay Swann arriving in another outback town to solve the grizzly murders & crimes in town. Aaron Pedersen is a brilliant as ever as the brooding hard edged detective with the world on his shoulders (both at work & in his personal life).
However, this time the show has fallen into cliche. He's ended up in a town where his wife coincidentally works, and the coincidences don't stop there, where she is dating an ex-cop who is not all he seems, and Sheverone returns from series one and again is mixed up with the wrong guys. There's corrupt big company "white guy" drug dealer, local aboriginal issues with a corrupt elder and so on. There is the obvious local 'boy/girl-scout' who is on the road to redemption. You've seen it already through the previous series.
It was just lazy, and quite simply there wasn't much of a mystery, no higher than a Scooby Doo episode! So much was so obviously sign-posted on roles, that they should have just given the villains moustaches to twirl while they spoke.
Worst bit was that the villains fell into the trap of 'shooting like storm-troopers' from Star Wars, yet our main man got practically everything in his sights! The last couple of episodes were just awful.
Don't get me wrong, there is still a lot to still enjoy in the series, but I just don't want this whole series to jump the shark. There is still so much to show and share. You can just watch this show for the wonderful settings and the great acting.
This is a mis-step, but hope it gets back on the road for the next season which I will still look out for, and I hope they bring back one or two characters from the first season. Lots still to develop there.
Sadly though this series has dropped the ball a little bit but not too far. You have much the same as before, with Jay Swann arriving in another outback town to solve the grizzly murders & crimes in town. Aaron Pedersen is a brilliant as ever as the brooding hard edged detective with the world on his shoulders (both at work & in his personal life).
However, this time the show has fallen into cliche. He's ended up in a town where his wife coincidentally works, and the coincidences don't stop there, where she is dating an ex-cop who is not all he seems, and Sheverone returns from series one and again is mixed up with the wrong guys. There's corrupt big company "white guy" drug dealer, local aboriginal issues with a corrupt elder and so on. There is the obvious local 'boy/girl-scout' who is on the road to redemption. You've seen it already through the previous series.
It was just lazy, and quite simply there wasn't much of a mystery, no higher than a Scooby Doo episode! So much was so obviously sign-posted on roles, that they should have just given the villains moustaches to twirl while they spoke.
Worst bit was that the villains fell into the trap of 'shooting like storm-troopers' from Star Wars, yet our main man got practically everything in his sights! The last couple of episodes were just awful.
Don't get me wrong, there is still a lot to still enjoy in the series, but I just don't want this whole series to jump the shark. There is still so much to show and share. You can just watch this show for the wonderful settings and the great acting.
This is a mis-step, but hope it gets back on the road for the next season which I will still look out for, and I hope they bring back one or two characters from the first season. Lots still to develop there.
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