Gangs of Oslo

Hailed by Ricky Gervais recently on Twitter, this show peaked my interest. I am Norwegian myself and also live on the east side of Oslo, close to where many of the shows locations are set - which was a nice thing to see!

Set in the east side of Oslo, historically renown for it's gangs and high crime rate, we follow two "brothers" from a fictitious area "Lakkeberg" - Moaz and Rami, who grew up together but ultimately chose their lives on each side of the law. The story revolves around Rami and his criminal gang called the "Enemiez" and Moaz as the police investigator. The show has a slow start but slowly grows on you. The twists and turns keeps you on edge in the later episodes. The personal stories of everyone - the kids, the families, the gangs and police - come through well and you get a good feel for the complicated choices they all have to go through.

Special compliments to both main actors as they portray the feelings and complicated life choices very well, and are credible in their roles.

The show is all around well acted by the entire cast, has a great score and good drama/action throughout. Give it a go, you won't regret!

Shocked by some of the poor reviews here. Did we see the same series? Make sure to not watch it dubbed, but in Norwegian with English subtitles.

It's not the super action packed type of gang series, it's more of a slow burn with focus on the characters and the relations between them. It gets better with every episode. Great acting, and very interesting to see a series from the east side of Oslo. Loved it!

I will recommend this series to everyone I know. Amazing performances by the actors, interesting plot and you end up even caring for the bad guys in this series. I like that the series shows they are compassionate people too, even if they commit terrible crimes.

I really like the foreign made gangster/crime genre whether it is movies or television. Most of the "Hollywood" formula is absent from these productions which is a good thing. Gangs of Oslo is no exception. It starts slow. In fact I couldn't really get into it until about the 3rd episode. It takes off from there and brings the nuance I like from productions that are outside of the normal "Hollywood" fare. Its not a over the top gangster show that tries to bombard with you with constant improbable moments which are suppose to surprise you and keep you engaged. No, its very well written. This is a must watch for cinemaphiles who look for nuance and fantastic writing.

Oh, where to begin with this show? It's like they discovered the magic of bokeh and just couldn't let it go.

I could almost hear the director shouting, "More bokeh! We need more bokeh!" in every production meeting. It's like they had a bokeh quota to meet or something. Heres an idea. Maybe throw in a few shots where the background is actually discernible.

Ah, the plot, the saving grace of this rollercoaster of a show. It's like they threw a dart at a wall of story ideas and landed on "passable." Don't get me wrong, "passable" can sometimes be code for "It's okay, I guess," but in this case, it's the lifeboat in a sea of chaos.

Finally the acting. If i had to describe it with one word, it would be volatile. One moment, you're witnessing a dramatic scene that would make Shakespeare proud. The next, it's like they've switched gears and are channeling their inner cardboard cutout. But hey... its entertainment.

Okay so this is a gang movie but not the kind of tough gang things we like to see. It's like some teenagers gang. The things they do, the petty fights, they all come across as some young adults in a starting of gang that don't really know what is going on or how to handle drug transports or even run a gang.

It's a pretty okay series. Don't expect so much. Just expect something basic you can enjoy. It's quite slow too so have patience.

There were some really unnecessary scenes but guess they all join to make it lengthy so yh.

Simply put, it just seems like a group of people in a gang that do not even know what to do.