Black Bird

The hit series of the summer and a huge success for Apple. With most series I grumble about the unnecessary length (shortening episodes from eight to six etc.), but with Black Bird I found six episodes to be insufficient, because it is great to watch and there were so many interesting storylines that had to be rushed because of the shorter length, which is a shame because I wanted a hell of a lot more and that's the only reason why I’m not giving it a full score. Black Bird has a very appealing plot about a drug dealer who is going to serve a 10 year sentence, but gets an interesting offer from the FBI. He's moved to the toughest maximum security prison to get a confession from a serial killer and find out where he buried the women's bodies, because there’s a risk of him getting out, and the reward is freedom. There are two storylines here. One a detective storyline where two likeable detectives search for dead girls (some people say it evokes True Detective, but I see this as far superior). In the other storyline we are in a prison where Taron Egerton (who has fucking grown up since Kingsman and has matured into a major league actor) tries to subtly befriend Paul Walter Hauser (discovery of the year! The guy gives the performance of a lifetime, a masterful performance that will give you chills, his creepy voice will wake you up from your dreams and give you nightmares!). The creators really make do here with two perfect actors, a gritty setting, great dialogue and musings worthy of reflection, perfect technical aspects, it's filmed beautifully and there's a lot of disturbing, uncomfortable and chilling atmosphere that has a strong Mindhunter vibe. I see Mindhunter as a quintessential detective series, which has taken my film knowledge much higher and made watching Black Bird even more enjoyable. The highlight for me were episodes 3 and 4 that featured one ultra brutal prison riot – one of the best I've seen – and also strong flashbacks of both protagonists, especially Larry – digging graves, carnage!!! It's a series that had me glued to my seat, and every week I was incredibly excited for the next episode, which is why I'm sorry it didn't build up in the finale in the style I expected. Minor spoiler alert: I definitely would have welcomed an extra episode set in the trial. I can imagine a tense court battle with Larry. I was looking forward to this, but in the end only about five minutes were devoted to it, too bad. I would have welcomed another episode in the prison where it uncomfortably led to another riot, I was kind of hoping for a final showdown on all sides. The toughest prison in the world after all, but there's not much on gangs and murder or bullying as there's no time left. And also, I wouldn't be at all angry if each episode was dedicated to one dead girl, I believe it might have boosted the emotions, then we could be talking about the best series ever, but still a great show. 85%. (09.08.2022)