Justified: Ciudad salvaje

Considering Justified is one of my favorite shows ever I've really been looking forward to Justified: City Primeval ever since I first heard about it. Then when I saw the trailers my expectations grew even more. Well, it's finally here and I can say without hesitation that this series not only met those expectations but surpassed them in every way. Timothy Olyphant returns as Raylan Givens. If there's ever been an actor perfect for a role it's Olyphant as Givens. This role was made for him. This series brings everything you loved about the original but also with a fresh take. I really can't recommend this show enough. Whether you're a fan of the original Justified or not, this is a must watch.

The original Justified is one of my favorite shows of all-time. I wasn't expecting Justified: City Primeval to be as good as the original (not much is) but I was hoping it would be good enough and it absolutely was. It did not disappoint. I'm excited to see where this is going to go but so far the one thing that I do know is I can't stand the daughter. Having said that, besides hating the daughter, Justified: City Primeval is one of the best new shows of the year. This takes place 15 years after the original ended and Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) is now a Marshall in Florida until a case brings him to Detroit to chase a violent sociopath (Boyd Holbrook). While no one is going to be a better adversary than Boyd Crowder (played by the amazing Walton Goggins), Boyd Holbrook is also a great actor and makes the character a worthy villain for Raylan. The writing and acting is what makes this show so special. While not as good as the original Justified, this is a worthy sequel as it's gotten nothing but great reviews by just about everyone. I read that this is only a limited series back for just this one season but with the way it ended they have to bring it back for at least another season but that ending is what everyone was waiting for. I really hope they do do another season because this show was terrific and you can't have enough Justified in my opinion.

Raylan Givens is back and he's as awesome as ever, but the show still falls down when it comes to the other characters and the overall plot.

The lack of complexity within the plot is the biggest problem. The main villain just wanders about with no real plan or central goals, and honestly he would be better as the chief henchman of a much smarter, more ambitious villain. That lack of powerful central villain, makes the lesser bad guys far less impactful then they should have been.

Carolyn and Sweety are interesting characters on their own, but their personal struggles take up screen time and don't add much to the plot. (The original Justified was great because everything connected back to Raylan, Harlan or the US Marshall service in one way or another.)

The corrupt cop storyline is also a big let down. The cop is not corrupt enough to bring any real tension to the story.

The plot needed a corrupt cop acting against the investigation throughout. I wanted to see them actively tampering with evidence, silencing witnesses through murder or threats, I wanted to see them in secret meetings with other bad guys, passing along information and taking bribes from them. Instead we see the cop clumsily trying to pin the crimes of the villain on an innocent person, and they're so bad at it, that all their colleagues instantly know what they've done.

Willa (Raylan's daughter) is another disappointment. Her "little girl voice" is grating, and she seems very naive for a 15 year old, and especially for a law enforcement officers daughter. We see her exploring the secluded graffiti laden back streets of Detroit, all by herself with zero thought for her own safety. A strange man shows up at her hotel, claiming to know her dad, and she instantly believes him. Honestly if they recast the character as a 10 year old I wouldn't know the difference.

The first few episodes were disappointing and with a repeat theme these days ---"here we go again"------- -- a single law enforcement officer with a spoiled brat teenager in tow. It seems to be the trend with crime movies these days and is getting tiresome. Once the daughter, who is a terrible actor and has no screen presence and talks like a 7 year old baby. Once she moves on the show really picked up. The actors were a bit over the top to start with but became much more believeable as the show progressed. Enjoyed the series once the daughter finally left, which should have been much earlier. The villain is a bit much and hard to believe. The writers could have fine tuned this a bit more. Overall well done and worth watching.

Sometimes you come across a show that's just perfect, and while it must be tempting to capitalize on its success, it would probably be better to let it be. Because how do you compete with perfection ?

I never bothered to watch "El Camino", because I didn't feel that "Breaking bad" needed a sequel, so maybe it was good or maybe not. I don't know and I'm never gonna find out.

But here we are. A new chapter in the Raylan Givens story.

As expected it doesn't in any way come close to the original. The strenght of "Justified" was grounded in the multitude of great characters surrounding Oliphant and Goggins, and that it took a cop show and turned it into an epic rural saga.

Goggins made his villain a man you despised and loved at the same time. A bad guy with a multilayered personality.

Sadly Damsell is no Boyd Crowder. He's just a bad guy to the bone, and "City Primeval" is just another regular " catch a killer" cop show.

That being said it's not bad. Raylan is still a cool guy and I actually couldn't help myself enjoying it.

But while I rated the original 10, this deserves only a 7.

Worth a watch though.