The Last Panthers

In addition to being an excitingly toothsome, thrillingly complex, politically astute, morally destitute drama 'The Last Panthers' (2015) is also singularly blessed with the uncommonly brooding, bad-boy presence of the deliciously spring-heeled, lithe lead Panther, raven-eyed, vengeance-dispensing, Goran Bogdan, who is a TOTAL hard-bodied, heist-master hottie supreme! With its especially dense, thought provoking screenplay, all across the board terrific acting, a marvellously moody minimalist electronic score and its gorgeously layered potting, 'The Last Panthers' mini-series is one especially muscular, six-episode whirlwind of exquisitely twisted, double-dealing, breathlessly immersive, internecine intrigue! And all of this gloriously gritty, Euro-crime, gang land goodness has a rather nifty David Bowie title track ta' boot!

Starts with an old-fashioned diamond heist, but then the series dives deep into the lives of its three lead protagonists and explores the links between crime, war and finance. The characters have enough depth, and the cinematography and music are brilliant. But it somehow fails to build enough tension with ammo of information it has. The various circumstances blur the line between professional and personal in the lives of these characters. Overall, it's intelligent and insightful, and really uncovers the kind of world which perpetuates crime and creates criminals. The series is clear in its message - Intended or not, with or without a choice, once you find yourself entangled in a web of crime, there's rarely a happy or non-violent outcome... unless, of course, you're one of the rich people bankrolling it. The diverse perspective on morality was welcome and commendable; it puts us in the shoes of various characters, and kind of makes the whole journey thought-provoking.

Was really intrigued by the connection of real-life instances relating to the 'The Pink Panthers' and the Bosnian War. And really glad that the rise of Eastern European shows and peoples' interest in them led to an international co-production of a trilingual crime thriller. The casting is brilliant; couldn't have asked for better one. Hope it marks the beginning of a new era of internationally co-produced multilingual shows.

The high production values shine through the complete series, there's been little skimping on things like filming locations. The script works well with the built characterisations that are easy to follow and with very few plot holes to annoy. However there's a few 'wouldn't he just shoot them' moments added so as to drive the story along to another fight scene! Two story lines running together may of made it longer than necessary but it's well worth a watch, unless you're 12 and can't do subtitles. The story manages to intertwine present day and recent Balkans history and the real world pan European heist gang the Panthers. The gun running and corruption twisted through the series are very relevant especially after recent terrorist events.

The plot had seemed intriguing even before seeing the first episode. I've waited to see the true brilliance of Johan Rencks work, and as I watched the first episode I felt excitement to see where this all ends.

I was especially intrigued by the excellent casting and refreshing filming locations. The only thing that bugs me would be the everlasting titles, but that makes the series even more special, as they departed from the usual Hollywood TV series products. Sky TV took a huge step in production, and I believe it will get them the acknowledgement they aspired to.

I surely hope this will eventually get under the spotlight it deserves to be. Until the next episode, by my count, this show gets a proper called nine out of ten.

An underrated trans-european series that is very enjoyable as long as you don't mind subtitles.

In this dark tale of criminal activity, morality is not simple black and white and although there is much back story it is handled fairly well and provides more emotional impact in the later episodes.

The main players are - Kahlil, a french detective who has recently returned to Marseille where his mother, sister and criminal brother live. Milan, one of the diamond heist team who had hoped the proceeds would pay for his brother's operation but instead has to reopen connections with Serbian gangsters. Naomi, sent by her shady boss (the excellent John Hurt) to retrieve the stolen diamonds. She is then sent from Marseille on to Belgrade against her wishes.

If you can cope with three different languages over the 6 episodes you will be rewarded when the various plot strands come together at the end .