Last King of the Cross

A downgrade remake of Underbelly made for the US market. Bland, very bland. Australian strip clubs made to look like boring US ones, with people throwing notes on the stage (lol) and strippers dancing in their underwear (lol again). And casinos in the Cross? (Lol even more). Even the cops in this show look half respectable. Aside from John Ibrahim trying to make some money out of his reputation, this series looks like it's made by people who were all born in the 21st century. And who never visited the Cross in its heyday. A very sad indictment on the state of Australian media today. (Lol) Underbelly did it so much better.

You should watch this with a salt shaker by your side so you can take every sign involving John with a grain of salt. It turns into a piss take fantasy where were expected to root for the man who still contributed to the Australian criminal world.

The actors involved with the series do deserve some credit especially Tim Roth as Ezra Shipman and Claude Jabbour as Sam Ibrahim both have a massive screen presence and every scene is enjoyable to watch with them involved.

All in all its an average crime series marred by the involvment of its subject in the production and who most likely offered fiscal backing for a cleaner portrayal. It really characterizes the corruption present in Australia.

First two eps were slow, however the following eps has been a rollercoaster ride keeping me on the edge of my seat. Intriguing plot, complex characters dealing with trauma and their masculinities. I love Sam & John's entanglements. Sam is a scary guy indeed. Tim Roth character is a bit of a larrikin. Not sure if he belonged in Kings Cross or moved to the wrong suburb (or country). Also, I read the book. There was no Vietnamese female gang leader, however I found the character Tien, a stand out. She's very intriguing and hard to tell what she's thinking. And I'm always looking forward to what happens to her and her tribe next. Looking forward to the upcoming eps on how she rises against John Ibrahim.

Am halfway through the show now and enjoying myself! The Cross feels like a seedy place where anything can happen and because the show is a fictionalised version of that era they can add in plenty of violence to keep it entertaining. The leads are both great, John played by Lincoln Younes as the successful businessman and Sam played by Claude Jabbour who you think is a stiff older brother but turns into a dangerous loose livewire adding genuine electricity to every one of his scenes. And of course always nice to see someone like Tim Roth onboard adding that extra touch of Hollywood to the whole thing.

Looking forward to more episodes.

The first two episodes have dropped . This a very good violent and somewhat graphic recreation of Sydney's Kings Cross of the 70' and 80's

An epic gangster show based on true story . The Cross comes up a treat re dressed for the era and its retro colours really pop . They have clearly spent money on this show the special effects are high levers Tim Roth adds real international cred . To the gangster world of Kings Cross at that time -

The lead playing main character John Ibrahim the King of the Cross is excellent, he has real talent . Early days yet in his story but the first two eps have build a character arch that makes him both menacing yet likeable . Certainly far more likeable than most of the other characters, which bodes well

looking forward to next espisodes .