La ville nous appartient

It's 2017 Baltimore. The Freddie Gray killing has put police brutality on the front pages. The Gun Trace Task Force has been using questionable tactics to take out guns and drugs. Most of all, they are stealing from criminals and regular folks alike. Sgt. Wayne Jenkins (Jon Bernthal) is a central figure in the ensuing scandal.

It's another Baltimore crime drama from David Simon. This one is really ripped from the headlines. It's a little more contained than The Wire. It's only six episodes long. As always, it is an interconnected story with the reality of the world. This is a must-see for fans of The Wire.

Well, actually I live in a rural area in Baltimore County, but am very aware of the BCPD problems, corruption, and largely the lack of the SA (MM) input into the judicial system.

So far, (Epi 1) this is absolutely true what is being played in this 1st episode. Brutality and lack of; is the day to day 'exposed' problem that endures the lawlessness that occurs daily on the streets of Baltimore. Who REALLY owns the city? The criminals, the innocent, or the BCPD?

On top of this, you have a over zealous 'Gun Trace Task Force' that goes way beyond it's scope. Planting items, guns, drugs, to catch whoever is in their way.

You have good cops and bad cops. This has always been the case from the test of time. By in large we have police commissioners that are ineffective. How can they be? So many are here and gone before the sun sets. Heck, you can look at BC Mayor and that alone is enough to tell you that this city is ill. Just as many mayors have been corrupt, (Sheila Dixon, SRB, Catherine Pugh) gawd, the list goes on and on.

If you really want to see how Baltimore is, and other cities like NYC and Chicago, Philly, and Detroit look no further then this story. This is the story that needs to be told.

It's all there. Right in front of us.

Though the non-linear aspects aren't that well handled, with this terrible time sheet thing being used, for some reason-the rest of it is rock solid, I think. Absolutely a spiritual successor of The Wire; even some of the same actors appearing, writers, producers, etc.. It delivers. And what's more, it actually feels quite nice to have the write be on cops. What a terrifyingly corrupt organization the Baltimore police are. If it weren't based on a nonfiction book, I'd have absolutely thought it was fiction. Scary. Excellent. Tight, at 6 episodes. Great plotting, good information, fantastic acting.

No reason not to give it a go.

We Own This City is every bit as good as people say it is. Jon Betnthal is such an underrated actor, he's great in just about everything he does and is definitely great here. A lot of people are comparing this to The Wire, while not nearly as good I can see the similarities. The writing and acting are what makes this show so good. The fact that this based off a true story makes the show that more exciting. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season!

... the editing and directing makes for a confusing story. It is very hard to follow. They flashback to 5 years ago, then ten years ago, than 20 years ago, and the timeline very hard to follow. I get it, they are trying to tell the story of how people got to where they are but it gets confusing the way they did it. At the same time you need to know all the names G-Money, Shropshire, Allers.

This is very poorly edited, and makes it hard to really care about the characters and story.

They should have kept it simple because the story is interesting and the actors are all amazing. Since this is just a mini series, I only hope they tie it up smoothly together in the coming episodes.