Mar de plástico

It started off with promise, but sadly, gradually descended into a clichéd soap opera. 14 hours to come to a conclusion. I don't know if I can bring myself to watch the second series, knowing that it will probably follow a similar dragged out pattern.

From a plot outline, one might think this would be a terrific series. Unfortunately, it doesn't deliver on the potential: the performances are mostly one or two note affairs, and too many situations fly in the face not only of common police procedure, but even common sense. Example: a pre-teen boy walks into a police station with a loaded gun intent on killing a detective, who talks him down from it-but then allows the kid to simply to simply walk out of the station. On what planet would this kid not be on the ground and in handcuffs the second after the gun was out of his hands? Even the most compassionate response would be to detain the kid gently for a psychological evaluation. And this is just the one example that comes to mind.

A totally likable police series from a country that has developed a tradition in the genre. Nice story, nice characters (a little too histrionic for my taste maybe), nice if slightly too long unravelling of the plot. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable-but not a great-series.

I'm only half way through, but I'm ambivalent about continuing. The cinematography is excellent, I'm so in love with it. The story is good and has captured my attention. But, I'm watching on Netflix with subtitles (I don't know much Spanish). Half of them are missing! I'm only getting half of a conversation and I'm having to figure out the rest. Very frustrating! That's my only complaint so far.

This team of detectives is one of the worst I have seen in that kind of crime series. There are so many twists and subplots that you get tired and want to finish it quickly. Most characters are violent and stupid, and eventually you don't care about the solution. Especially irritating is the permanent drama between Hector and his friend's wife. Also the way they all recover in five minutes from terrible injuries, or severe concussions is ludicrous. The only not too bad actor/actress is Nya de la Rubia who plays Lola. The other ones are close to awful. If you don't speak Spanish you will have to guess the dialogues, with white subtitles on white background. So, watchable, but not the top of Netflix.