Mão de Ferro

Starts outs with a mighty pop then fizzes out with a script that leaves you tired of the characters and this overworked plot.

I really wanted to love this and what is not to love? Barcelona? Yes, truly one of Europe's most magical cities. The mob? Never a bad idea to write a mob story. Family drama? Always a narrative pull since King Lear and the Bible. Betrayal? A cornerstone of storytelling.

Yet, it all became tiresome and slightly confusing. Too many flashbacks that were supposed to reveal plot points but, instead, negated any real character revelation.

I don't mind cinema violence and this series shines most authentically in its violence. The nephew and uncle showdown is as real as it gets. Many other scenes evoke the same realism and emotional spell.

The last episode was a shark jumping mess. I know that the producers are just angling for Season 2 but jeez.

This could have been great. It had some moments. Had it been cooked down to four episodes instead of eight then moving forward to the second season, I might be excited to follow the story.

But, they kind of wore me out.

Do not get me wrong: it is still mediocre.

Just, compared with the usual low quality, and the terrible acting and scripting of Spanish thrillers, is probably the best show of latest years.

The show benefits from a high budget. Sceneries, the port, the ships, resources. All this contributes to a solid staging and a professional appaerance.

The action scenes are well done, specially comparing with other Spanish productions. Still quite amateurish, but I think not because the way they filmed it and the actors and extras done it; it is a planning problem: writers and directors have no idea how weapons work, how people behave in close range combat, and so on.

Eduard Fernández is an extraordinary actor and nailed it. His performance is largely the best in the show, and he single handedly saves the entire show. He is gritty, dark, complex. And, overall, the actor is very natural: the way he speaks, the way he moves, he is very credible in the role of the port kingpin.

We cannot say the same of the other parts. And it is a common problem in non-comedy Spanish shows: from plain bad acting to overacting, people not talking the way people talk in Spain, expelling from their mouths poor or ridiculous dialogues.

Another problem is the lack of attention to detail. It is not fault of actors or production, but writers. It is like that scene which begins with a cargo ship navigating and a caption that says "Pacific Ocean". Suddenly, a speed boat with somali pirates or alike appears from nowhere. In the Pacific ocean. Quite a leap for somali pirates. The subsequent action in the attacked ship could have been really good, as they had the resources to do it. What they lack is attention to detail, knowledge of stuff necessary to giving it a little credibility and the classic overconfidence of writers in their own knowledge.

The lack of professionalism in the depiction of police work, how drug dealers and sicarios work, how weapons should be used, and even the incorrect geography, takes the shine off what could have been a great show.

The show is plagued with all these things; together with the bad acting (aside of the extraordinary work of Eduard Fernandez and a few small parts) and very poor dialogues, makes watching it a bit tiresome and difficult to suspend disbelief.

I liked the concept: gangsters running the port in Barcelona, with some family drama and internal tensions. The actors were good. At first, it wasn't trying to be too clever.

As the episodes wore on, the bad writing kept decreasing the enjoyment for me, until I positively disliked watching the last two episodes. I kept watching hoping it would redeem itself, but it only degenerated into implausible subplots and gratuitous diversions.

Others have pointed out some of the poorly written scenes, but it's even worse than that: the timelines don't even match up. Miki will head out in his car at night and then arrive in broad daylight, even though we know the two places are not that far apart. Other times things are happening with characters that are clearly meant to have happened before other scenes. I'm not talking about the flashbacks, which are also annoyingly overdone and distracts from the main storyline, but at least they make it clear when it's a flashback.

With only slightly better writing, this could have been a good watch. As it is, I recommend skipping it.

Show has the proper mixture of everything that make a good crime show. Crime family with tensions between members. Crime enterprise hiding behind the facade of legitimate business. Large shipment of drugs going missing. Various crime families circling each other "we are friends, we work together but we'll punch on you if we see you as weak". Colombian drug cartels. Undercover cops. Events from decades ago still casting shadows and secrets. But somehow it all fails to come together and leaves us with a disjointed story that is all over the place, betrayals that make little sense, people acting stupidly..... Too bad.

Iron Reign is a watchable Spanish crime drama set in the criminal underbelly of the Barcelona port. The short eight episode long season one combines intrigue, drama, treachery, police, drugs and even a love triangle.

Unfortunately, the potential of the story is lost amidst flashbacks, confusing story twists, too many main characters and subplots within subplots.

The basic storyline concerns one family, the Manchados, who manage everything illegal at Barcelona port. The plot focuses on a cocaine drug deal with foreign sellers which, due to double dealing within the family, goes off the rails and efforts to stave off a disaster as a result of the failed deal. Meanwhile, Spanish authorities have set their sights on bringing down the Manchados by infiltrating the family.

Can't say anymore without giving away too much.

Iron Reign is an easy series to watch. It may not win critical acclaim but it's far from a waste of time. The ending may not be to one's liking but Netflix is setting viewers up for season two.