5
by bloodshot
hey garth,
At the time i was pretty much looking for a consensus since out of the box the comparisons were heavy from reviews i had seen. Then after the 1st viewing, i had to agree. I was still up in the air about whether it could stand on it's own. After rewatching last nights encore presentation though with more of a critical eye, i'm looking forward to tonights 2nd. Drea de Matteo's character may have been too similar to her previous Aide's, emphasizing the the entire comparison, along w/ Coultar's direction, but there's something else there.
I wanted to like Mad Men when it 1st started and gave it a try but lost interest. It's stellar review for season 2 especially the 60's athenticity, had me hoping i misjudged it, but again, i had a tough time with it. The dialog just didn't ring true with me and seemed a little forced. There's no doubt in it's quality.
just stumbled across this review that says what i'm trying to a little bit better about S O A. Actually, It's strikingly simliar considering i wrote the above 2 hrs before i saw and added it.
This is "Anarchy," "Sopranos" style
Kurt Sutter, the creator of FX's intriguing new drama "Sons of Anarchy," spent years as a writer-producer for FX's "The Shield. " And it shows...
By Matthew Gilbert
The Boston Globe
Related
Television RSS feed
On TV
"Sons of Anarchy"
10 p.m. Wednesdays, FX Kurt Sutter, the creator of FX's intriguing new drama "Sons of Anarchy," spent years as a writer-producer for FX's "The Shield." And it shows. About a gunrunning motorcycle gang in California, the grimy, B-movie-tone "Sons of Anarchy" is similarly obsessed with brutality, amorality and the ruthless politics of self-preservation.
But "Sons" begs even more for comparison — and not necessarily negative comparison — to "The Sopranos." A gang of bikers, led by a family with a murderous matriarch, is at cross-purposes with the law, with other biker gangs and, of course, with one another. The family's son, meanwhile, deals with an unlikely bout of conscience and nostalgia. The kicker: Drea de Matteo, Adriana on "The Sopranos," is in the cast.
The good news here is that "Sons of Anarchy" ultimately has its own identity. Also a plus: the performances. The Sons of Anarchy motorcycle club was started by Vietnam vet John Teller, who is now dead. Charlie Hunnam, at times looking uncannily like Heath Ledger, ably leads the cast as John's son, Jax, who is destined to become the gang leader. Jax is a sensitive tough guy with a beatific smile and pretty yellow hair. And now that his junkie ex-wife (de Matteo) has given birth to his first son, he is rethinking his choices and pondering his father's original, more peaceful intentions for the gang.
That nascent kindness in Jax is a source of great worry to his ambitious mother, Gemma, who is played with impressive iciness by Katey Sagal. Gemma is remarried to the current Sons leader, the violent Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman). They have no scruples, and no tolerance for the ideals that Jax may have inherited from his father. "He's not his old man," Clay snaps at Gemma. "Stop worrying." But she will worry — and perform at least one horrifying deed — until she is sure that she owns her son's soul.
"Sons of Anarchy" has real potential to become a solid dramatic addition to the FX slate, as "The Shield" enters its final season.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company