It is impossible to not compare this new series with Peaky Blinders for several reasons. First, this is a series about criminal families living and operating in the UK. Second, there is a lot of violence, family fights, and drama, just as in Peaky Blinders. And third, the actor who plays the main character, Joe Cole, also participated in Peaky Blinder by being one of the younger brothers.
In Gangs of London, he is one of the sons of a crime lord that have businesses with all sort of criminal groups from several countries. In the first scene of the first episode, we already see a brutal murder that shows the viewer there will be a lot of violence in the episodes to come.
The event that triggers all the craziness in this series is a murder. A very important character is murdered cold blood, and this will produce a crisis in the criminal organization. Some people will look out for revenge, others are looking for maintaining stability, and everyone is willing to kill people if it helps them get their way.
The basic plot is about finding out who ordered that murder and why. There will be undercover police officers infiltrated in this criminal organization, there will be treason, lies, very original tortures, and ultimately, despite this might sound counterintuitive, a lot of silly scenes as well.
For example, there is very silly to fight with machetes in the 21 century where they could easily use a gun or being shot at with a gun. This might be a cultural preference from the group that used the machetes but still... There is also a very silly scene where a person discovers his Jackie Chan skills and manages to escape an impossible situation.
I also find it hard to believe how can a person be burned to death while being hanged on a building and nothing happens, no problems with the police, no journalist making reports, nothing. Perhaps this criminal group is powerful enough to silence these issues but still. There are some twists and surprises and the show can be very enjoyable.
If you enjoy the genre, I would advise you to give this show a chance. It is not as good as Peaky Blinders, the cast is younger and less talented, the setting is in the modern UK, the crimes are with very diverse criminal groups, and the final product is good enough in my opinion.
The best
- Excellent crime series with very entertaining action scenes.
The worst
- The main actor looks too soft to be a real gangster. He was hired mainly because of his reputation by being one of the younger and secondary Shelbys in Peaky Blinders.
- Some of the crimes were exaggerated, and there is a scene where a character suddenly starts fighting like Jackie Chan. That was totally unrealistic.
More information: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7661390/ Review: AAA In numbers: 7.5/10
