san_iom

Once you get hooked to shield, there is no going back. I started with the complete DVD set, and was through the whole 6 seasons in a month- imagine that, with my exams hollering over my head and all. What a pity my DVD set didn't have the last season, supposedly the best. This is the grittiest and most unflinchingly daring television drama i have seen in ages. In fact most series have always been too boring or too slow on the momentum for me. The only other series i have completely finished the entire seasons with loyalty is the original CSI (not the later weaker spin-offs). I always hold that was a work of genius. But Shield is even more so on a completely different level- CSI was all about the ensemble cast and good script. In Shield, its almost a one man show- Chiklis keeping you on edge forever, with other great and efficient supporting casts. Man, this is not only a career defining performance for Vic, this is almost one of the greatest achievement in characterization in the whole history of drama, TV or otherwise. Vic( I wont even say Chiklis, he looses into the character that completely) is beyond phenomenal. The curt and witty dialogs, and the superb timing that everybody delivers them, its difficult to imagine how this is a premeditated drama. This is drama at its best.

Convoluted script that plays games with your mind all the while maintaining the feasibility, the down to earth characterization of interpersonal relations with no idolizing and no idealizing of anybody, dialogs that are catchy yet effective, and the intensity with which it delivers- nothing can match that. And the momentum- Shield delivers in its mere 10 episodes in a season what 'Lost' doesn't in its entire 24 episodes of its season. That says it all. It moves so fast in fact i don't even have time to look for loopholes.

The vulnerability of each character is phenomenal. Dutch gaining control from being a boy everybody played pranks on to being a confident, and at times, narcissistic detective was a pleasure to watch, and his performance is only second to Vic.

Of course there are loopholes, and there are moments of overdramatisation, but i am willing to excuse them all for the hell of a ride that it provides. The 'gonna give my life for the team' stuff is quite indigestible and overdone, especially since it comes down to 'i am gonna kill you' now and again. Dutchboy's psychoanalytic stuff is a little too much, yet interesting to watch. Aceveda's uptight character is interesting, especially in earlier seasons. His character starts loosing weight in each successive seasons.

But the real showstopper is Vic. So much so we cant imagine anybody else in the role. That's hard to come by. And when i read people giving one star to the series on this site, i feel sorry for people who don't appreciate how much effort these guys have really put into this thing, especially Chiklis. He disappears so completely in the character, he thrills and chills and moves you at the same time with his impeccable timing of emotion and comic sense.

All in all, this is going to be my all time favorite.

This followup to the hit Ong Bak has nothing to do with the original Ong Bak, and it seems like the producers were simply trying to cash in on the name, but boy- why did they have to? This movie stands upto itself on its own. Tight editing, lots of superb fight sequences, lots of innovative battle techniques, minimal storyline meaning minimal time wasted on anything but the raw action that we are there to see; all makes it a great movie impossible to miss. You get glued to your seat and wont even blink. Somebody wrote he was bored, which I tried hard to understand- but couldn't. Man, action movies don't get bigger or better than this. Its like Gladiator meets Apocalypto meets Rambo, only better. Raw gut wrenching intensity makes it a pleasure to watch. Don't miss this.