Ray Donovan: The Movie

A suitably dark closure to a series that brought a lot to me. I especially enjoyed Bill Heck's young Mickey Donovan. No spoilers here, but the finale was dark, but also optimistic.

You can take a break now Ray.

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Ray Donovan: The Movie" (2022) wraped up the series "Ray Donovan". I highly enjoyed the series, which at some point overstayed its welcome, yet was entertaining watch. The series itself started wonderfully some 10 years ago and i was there at its pilot, and first season was closest thing to perfection. And more or less i liked all seasons after it, yet they were not consistent. And I'm very glad that they did the ending after all, and not leaving it on a cliffhanger. For better or worse, its done now.

"Ray Donovan: The Movie" picks up where season 7 ended. Ray's father Mickey (Jon Voight) on the run with valuable documents belonging to the Donovans' long-time rivals, the Sullivan clan, while Ray (Liev Schreiber) and his brothers Terry (Eddie Marsan), Bunchy (Dash Mihok) and Daryll (Pooch Hall) are dealing with the usual questions of fate and a haunted past from which they'll never quite escape. Ray's daughter Bridget (Kerris Dorsey) has been left a young widow after her husband Smitty (Graham Rogers) was collateral damage in yet another shootout involving the Donovans. Outstanding acting performance from the whole cast, and Live Schreiber´s best role of his career. With this movie, Ray gets the send-off he deserves. Like his daughter Bridget in the movie says: "It had to stop, it had to end". Ray, we will miss you!

While the show would have definitely benefited from a last season, the movie does a very decent job of closing out the story for the characters as they were at the end of Season 7.

However, the movie cannot stand on it's own. It relies on the setup of 7 seasons of story and character progression. Watching this from an "outsiders" perspective is not recommended.

If you are a fan of the series, this should be a nice sendoff that stays true to the major cast of characters, while still leaving on a fairly open note.

Fully recommended for series veterans. The movie does not waste any time with filler and feels like a multi-part finale condensed into just over two episodes of length.

Ray Donovan is one of the best HBO series, and one of my favorites of the last couple years. This movie is a great send-off and ties up all the loose ends. Liev Schreiber is great as Ray, and the rest of the cast holds their own and can own a scene from time to time. But, Jon Voight is a showstopper as Mickey. He is vitty and funny, with slick slapstick Irish mannerisms. His character is either in the wrong place at the wrong time or in the right place at the right time. In both situations, there's always something going wrong, even if he's in control.

This movie puts the main focus on childhood trauma and guilt, which has always been one of the main themes in the show. It is well-paced, visually good looking, and the actors haven't lost their step. I was skeptical at first, but seeing the Donovan family again and resolving or at least erasing issues that have plagued them for years is a great service for me as a fan. This is worth a watch. I enjoyed it.