Érase una vez el oeste

Captivating show although the story line is not too deep, but yet riveting and explanatory enough as clues are revealed throughout the mini-series. Bloody, action packed, beautiful terrain, and reminiscent of "the revenant" and "hostiles".

Great cast overall with Taylor Kistch who is perfect for his character, not too much time is spent diving into his backstory, but he is made for the mysterious and dangerous vibe.

The gloomy environment is in line with the times, 1800s wasn't exactly the "happiest" of times in America. It is interesting how it paints a different perspective of some of the sacrifices folks from different cultures and views had to make in order to coexist.

I loved American Primeval even more than I thought I would. It's a brutal and gritty take on how the American West was started. First of all I love this genre, second I love Peter Berg (Lone Survivor, Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, Patriots Day, Hancock, etc) and lastly it has an amazing cast starring Taylor Kitsch, Betty Gilpin, Jai Courtney, Dane DeHaan, Shea Whigham, etc. On top of all that it was also beautifully shot, the cinematography was amazing. This is a hard watch but a great one. My brother and I binged all 6 episodes in one day, that's how good this show was. If you're a fan of Westerns (and even if you're not) the give this series a chance...you won't be disappointed.

I did not know what to expect with this, but right from the outset the tone was set. Brutal, unforgiving, hard, and believable. This is based on a little known and hardly talked about piece of American history. It's not pretty. But it has you hooked from the beginning. I rarely give a rating this high but the production values, writing, acting, and direction were first class. There are not many people to feel sorry for in this tale, but when you find them, they are worthy of your emotions. You won't look atbMormons the same way again. A sort of ending that has a mixture of predictability, pathos, and unpredictability. Great battle scenes have you ducking, and grateful you are not there.

I watched this over the course of a snow bound day and was glad to see a western story that was very different from the "popular" western series of the past years. Netflix released this as a complete limited series, which is such a relief after suffering through a bunch of series done in the old Big 3 network style of an episode a week.

We all know the network that released those recent series, and I do wish they would wake up to the fact that streaming did away with most of the viewers willing to put up with that game. Also, the recent western series are all done by the same guy using the same set of supporting actors, for the most part. That guy's work has worn out its welcome for me.

Anyway, this fine western has no episode filler, no interminable intro, and not too much anachronistic wokeness in the story line. The anachronisms in the weaponry and costumes isn't too much to bear and doesn't become a deal-breaker.

This story breaks the mold of western series, in several ways. It's storytelling that gets right to the point without all the padding that an ongoing TV series always has. We know right away when a character is a villain, without a multi-episode side story.

Western fans could well end up making this a very widely watched miniseries. I doubt that its success would convince the current makers of the old pattern of dragged out series, but that old model is dying off anyway.

I do hope that Netflix updates the IMDB pages for this show to give cast credits to some good actors who aren't listed, such as Irene Bedard and Jeremiah Bitsui. The cast is excellent, IMO.

American Primeval is one of the better shows I've seen in the last year and I've seen some terrific shows so that's saying something. This miniseries shows how shockingly cruel and violent the West really was. I have to warn you that there are some really violent and gory scenes so if that bothers you then this show might not be for you. It has several different plots to follow but all of them are captivating. It doesn't shy away from how ugly and savage people were for their desire to get land. I know the year just started but this is still going to end up being on most peoples best of the year list. I was entertained from the very first episode to the last and can't recommend this show enough.