It’s easy to feel like you’ll know exactly what you’ll get once you see stills from Guy Ritchie’s MobLand, which stars Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, and Helen Mirren. But while it features cliches of the mafia genre, MobLand is far from boring. Plenty of things are happening all at once, and in lesser hands, these storylines would’ve been a mess. But under Ritchie’s veteran guidance, things come together elegantly. It helps that Hardy is the perfect lead. Sure, he’s tough as the London underground’s main fixer, but he’s also surprisingly polite at times and quick-wittedly humorous at others. In the show’s quieter moments, he even manages to be poignant. The changes in tone are never jarring, instead always arriving at the right time. Even if Ritchie and Hardy have directed and starred in too-many-to-mention mob stories, they still delight and surprise in this enjoyable British series.
"As much as I love when Hardy spits out an utterly unheard of enunciation, his casual everyman-ness gives Harry -- and his show! -- a jolt of authoritative star power that helps it start off strong."
— Ben Travers
"Ritchie brings his A-game to this two-episode premiere, shooting the twisty plot with just enough style to elevate it without pulling attention from what really works here: sharp writing and an even sharper performance from Tom Hardy."
— Brian Tallerico
Two mob families clash in a war that threatens to topple empires and lives.
When London’s two biggest crime families get into war, it’s up to fixer Harry de Souza (Tom Hardy) to manage the crisis.
The sharp script, which funnily enough, began as a Ray Donovan spinoff. I’m just thankful it evolved into this British gem.
It’s one of the better mob series to come out recently; more fast-paced and thrilling and less dependent on genre cliches.
