Driver

I came across this six-part mini-series on a set of DVDs that my public library just added. On the surface it has several good things going for it. First I love New Orleans, I have been there many times, my wife grew up there, I used to live in a community just a few miles west of New Orleans. It is filmed there, I recognize the locations.

Plus I am big fans of two of the actors, the rest I don't know. Giancarlo Esposito was wonderful as Gus Fring in "Breaking Bad" which owes a lot of its popularity to his role. Here he plays the lead character, a driver, named 'Gray' Parish. The other is Skeet Ulrich as Colin.

The premise is thin, Gray and his wife discuss their lack of finances and fear they will lose their New Orleans home. She is suggesting they look at a less expensive, 2000-sq-ft home in Covington, just across the lake north of New Orleans. So he decides to do a driving job for some South African gangsters. There is a short chase scene on foot and they encounter a parade, an all too common cliche' for New Orleans locations.

After one episode I don't know how much more I will continue with. While the locations and cinematography are bonuses, the script and action don't have much subtlety. The story doesn't flow very well and the script is plain vanilla. With so many competing choices I don't know if I will spend the rest of the time to watch it all.

I will update my review if I do.

Update: I watched the second episode then gave up. Nothing but a bunch of bad people doing bad things and frankly not very interesting bad things. So I quit.

I am really trying to like this show, it's just trite and cliche so far. AMC and Giancarlo Esposito should be an instant hit with originality but this is not the case. Another mob related program but taking place in New Orleans. The location is different but the story is not. Nothing new or dynamic here. I'd recommend a pass as I doubt it's renewed for a season 2. Perhaps the writing could improve but it might be too late. Rewatch Boardwalk Empire or the sopranos. I'm three episodes in and am finding it difficult to not be bored. Maybe the season finale can turn things around but I won't hold my breath.

It felt like we were dropped into the middle of a season instead of the start of a brand new show. There's zero character development. You just have to figure it all out on the fly. We have no idea why Parish is who he is or why the bad guys are even the bad guys. Then there's Parish's family. These are all complicated characters but we get zero backstory. They just jump into the middle of things. And with that they give us only six episodes?

They also seemingly did things on as cheap of a production budget as possible. Some scenes it sounds like they were filming in a telephone booth.

This show might get a season 2 due to Esposito's popularity. Otherwise surely this would get canceled.

If they wanted a text title about the Parish; Two words would be enough. 'Bad Director' You have a very good leading actor who is a world star >>>>Giancarlo Espasito.

There is a very good script with a 5-season guarantee.

But all of this was entrusted to a bad director who could not visually prepare and present it to the audience.

Is a bear running after the director? What's your rush? Is there a new art you want to give us with disconnected visuals?

David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Alexander Woo.

You have to work harder to do a better job.

And that bad music? What is your problem? Half the battle is good music. You should find better music.

A soporific "limited" series where you just "woke up" from cars' engine roars, chases, gun shot bangs and wounds. Besides the good acting and semi-thrilling atmosphere it has nothing to offer, the worst and the most detrimental to the show was his family and any children in it. They sucked up any thrill, drama and crime soap-opera that you got involved with in its 6 tiny episodes.

Giancarlo Esposito performed at his usual peak with gray hairs and minuscule screenplay plots this time, but overall the series is a waste with too little episodes.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 5.5
• Production value/impact: 5.5
• Development: 7
• Realism: 6.5
• Entertainment: 4
• Acting: 7.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7.5
• VFX: 7.5
• Music/score/sound: 7.5
• Depth: 6
• Logic: 4
• Flow: 3.5
• Crime/thriller/drama: 6
• Ending: 5.5.