Gangs of London

This has probably the most brutal opening of any show I've ever seen and it just keeps getting wilder. There's so much action(created by the guy who directed The Raid movies), so much tension, so much build up, domuch violence. It's really quite fantastic and I find myself biting my nails or staring in disbelief frequently with each episode. Characters are real and raw, talking and acting like real people. There's some corny shots of symbolism in some episodes that are a bit on the nose but the violence, the fights, the intrigue and acting are all top notch. I'd have loved more seasons of this.

Look, a lot of this show is unrealistic, but it's John Wick unrealistic...which means it's unrealistic hyper-reality but still works. At least for me. I absolutely *loved* season 1 and told friends it was the best show since Peaky Blinders. It had some of the best, if not the best, fight scenes I'd ever seen in a TV show. They used their environments and were highly creative. It reminded me of The Raid movie which, extremely minor spoiler, is shown in the background of season 2. Then I watched season 2 and told them it didn't come close to season 1, even with the suspension of reality. I don't know if they replaced the fight coordinator, or what, but it was like the difference between Jaws and Jaws 3. Now it's hard to recommend anything beyond season 1, although I think the second season can be split in two. The first half is absolutely terrible (akin to the Scream movies where the damsel in distress runs up the stairs instead of out of the house). It's inexcusably bad and nonsensical. The second half is unquestionably better than the first half, but that's still not saying much. Season 2 is about 30% of the quality of the first season. They need to get the original writers back, fight coordinator back or whoever they didn't include for the second season if there's to be any hope for season 3.

I dont think that the producers set out to make a realistic portrayal of gang life in London. This was created for entertainment purposes and needs to be viewed as such. Gareth Evans forte is extreme action sequences and this is undoubtedly where this series excels. The action set pieces are truly intense and very over the top. People don't just get killed on this show. they are butchered and the concept of less is more is left on the floor as teams of machine gun wielding mercenaries do battle with crazed criminal families and drug kingpins in seemingly never ending gunfights. The police never seem to hear all this gunplay and the criminals are able to "clean up". Now, i find all this totally acceptable ...as I said this is not an in depth of portrayal of gang culture in London it is a series made in the spirit of entertainment for those of us who like their action as stylised as a Kung Fu movie with a side order of extra tomato sauce ...by the bucket load!!

Some of the best hand-to-hand fight scenes since the Bourne movies. Really fresh choreography and rawness to them, very cleverly staged.

The plots are hit and miss, some feel tired and predictable, some redundant. Following the undercover cop is compelling, and the gang lieutenant father/son pair is well done. Wish there were better female roles. The main guy Sean is very dull and how many times must we watch him standing on a roof staring at London?

Rest of the acting is solid, the camerawork and editing and music are great.

Since the acting, dialogue, and action was good I kept watching, hoping for more interesting plots to unfold.

Gangs of London is just a flat out awesome show. I do agree with most of the reviews that season 1 was better than 2. Even though season 2 is still worth watching, it just doesn't measure up to the greatness which was season 1. Some people don't like it because of how brutal it gets but I don't get what they were expecting from a show about gangs? It is so much more than just some action show too...it's a very intense drama that will keep you at the edge of your seat. Some people want to compare it to Peaky Blinders and while it's not quite as good as that it's still a really good show. I think because both are violent British crime dramas they get compared a lot. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes a good action drama.