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I really enjoyed the original/first Justified series based on Leonard Elmore's books and carried in large part by Timothy Olyphant's dry wit. I owe it the discovery of and love for bourbon, among things, and I still watch the BRay set I bought.
So I was thrilled when I got wind of a sequel. Raylan is just a bit older and scrawnier in it, back to his old hat (though with a too-straight brim), but after 2 episodes I'm wondering if it's going to take off like the original series did. For one, Raylan hasn't fired a shot yet
I guess it isn't that easy to take up a character from over 10 years ago, neither for the author (who probably was already older than the plot would have him) nor for the makers.
Anyone else watching?
PS - has it really been 15 years already?!
PPS - a 34$ cup of coffee? Is that really a thing in the US? My memory of US coffee is stuck in '85 so you can imagine what opinion I have of it...
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07-29-2023 06:52 AM
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I'm a Justified fan, or was. I haven't seen the new one yet but it looks fairly promising. Everybody agrees they miss the Harlan County setting and Boyd Crowder but they're still warming to Tim Olyphant who is apparently as watchable as ever.
Apparently no one cares much for the daughter character (played by Tim's real-life daughter, unfortunately) but they all agree the villain is deliciously evil, so that's okay!
I'd say give it a chance. It won't be the same as the first one but these things rarely are. Maybe they're working up to it rather than going from 0 to 60 in the first five minutes. After all, there's plenty of mayhem in the trailer, if you've seen that.
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I agree, Boyd of the Teeth That Shine in the Dark is sorely missed, Ava is too.
Plenty of mayhem and mischief in the trailer indeed, but I've seen too many trailers that were compiled of the only good moments to put a lot of faith in it.
The original show also took at least half a season before it started to turn from just a loose collection of episodes into something with a storyline that would last for several seasons.
Maybe it's the fact we have not been given any clues on what went on during the years that passed, something you'd expect to have been the case in the first episodes. Apparently the current setting is closeby enough to consider a detour to Harlan, so the new season could have started where the previous one ended - with R visiting B in prison...
Why is it unfortunate that the daughter is playing her own role? I remember an interview with Tim where he said or admitted his kids thought his role very cool, so good for her she gets to play a role she may already have been practising for years. I did think the parent-child acting looked pretty natural (but will admit I'd have pictured his daughter somewhat differently)
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Because she's been getting quite bad reviews from the public. Point is, if he's the star then it must be pretty uncomfortable for them both.
Originally Posted by RJVB
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She doesn't (yet) have the same aura as whats-her-name-again-young-girl in the first series, but then she's playing a pretty basic and predictable role for now. Tim doesn't strike me as someone who needs his stardom moments, more as someone who'd actually enjoy a family project. Now I'm even more curious if we get to see the girl's mother, and who plays that role
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Don't know this series, but it sounds fun!
I also certainly do not know a "$34 coffee!"
If it does exist, it's in a big city shop with PT Barnum as their marketing manager!
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City Primeval is bound to be a bit odd, since it marries two different periods of Leonard's career. His Detroit novels (starting in the 1970s) are the ones that established him as a crime writer--a friend who lived there in the period says that Leonard really got the city. Raylan first shows up as part of the cast of Pronto in 1993 and, like a number of other Leonard characters, got re-used in subsequent books. Fortunately, Raylan is the kind of Leonard character who can be spliced into any number of settings without too much distortion. But as much as I enjoy watching Olyphant, it would have been interesting to see the original novel done on its own.
As for the daughter--if there's a problem, I would say it's with how she's written rather than with the kid's acting. And my wife immediately found the rather trite scene where Raylan punches out Mansell for hanging around the daughter a false note--another writing issue.
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How is "no one cares much for the daughter character" connected to the actress playing said character "getting bad reviews"? Originally Posted by ragman1
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I'm having a 'Justified' watching party tonight. Loved the original series.
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It's predictable, and lacked a punch line like "the next one will come faster". But the aftermath was pretty well done and unexpected, I'd say. Originally Posted by RLetson
That must be fun! Originally Posted by Gitfiddler
I think part of what made that original series so good is that it had a great mix of both larger-than-life and very down-to-earth characters, both of which felt real. Take Mags Bennet, and of course the ambivalent relationship between Raylan and Boyd (complicity?). I'm not seeing that yet in this new series; the villain is a bit too 1-dimensional to my taste and the cop is almost invisible. There's some potential in the omnipresent lawyer though (we could do a guessing game where she'll end up ).
It did disappoint me a bit to learn afterwards that almost nothing of that original series had been shot in Kentucky, though.
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I have read most of the Raylan stories. IMO they are not as good as the series, with the exception of “Fire in the Hole”, which is as concise and well done as any short story. I like a lot of Leonard—in particular love his western stories—but some of his writing comes across as somewhat lazy and underdeveloped. Originally Posted by RLetson
Surprising to me, but the series really “got” Kentucky and the South in general. The accents were incredible, particularly impressive given that many of the actors were from well outside the South or even the States. (The Dewey Crowe actor is from Australia, IIRC.) Originally Posted by RJVB
It's predictable, and lacked a punch line like "the next one will come faster". But the aftermath was pretty well done and unexpected, I'd say.
That must be fun!
I think part of what made that original series so good is that it had a great mix of both larger-than-life and very down-to-earth characters, both of which felt real. Take Mags Bennet, and of course the ambivalent relationship between Raylan and Boyd (complicity?). I'm not seeing that yet in this new series; the villain is a bit too 1-dimensional to my taste and the cop is almost invisible. There's some potential in the omnipresent lawyer though (we could do a guessing game where she'll end up ).
It did disappoint me a bit to learn afterwards that almost nothing of that original series had been shot in Kentucky, though.
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My wife are just now watching the original series, still in Season One.
Enjoying it so far.
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It made me really interested in the culture of that part of the States (and rekindle old, old love for cowboy hats & boots ... I ended up getting the Stetson that was modified to be Raylan's hat Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
). There are (or were) several websites discussing the bourbon culture in the series and even Raylan's tasteful dressing (haven't seen too much of that yet). I think that in a way the series was also "responsible" for (re)kindling my interest in Americana/Roots music that ultimately made me pick up a guitar.
Heck, even the things I cook and grow in my veggie garden are still inspired by the various kinds of soulfood in S/SE US.
This is something I really admire in US acting (maybe in the UK also). It's an additional couleur locale aspect you will rarely find in French cinema or TV series. French overdubbing often even gets the kind of accent wrong (I can no longer stand to watch anything foreign on French TV).The accents were incredible, particularly impressive given that many of the actors were from well outside the South or even the States.
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we must remember Leonard was alive and listed as a "consultant" on the original series
I have been disappointed by some of the film versions of his books..Freaky Deaky in particular .. but then
his writing has so many subtle ways it would take a voice over to bring attention to them and film really cant capture them..thus writing rules!
as for the merge of Raylan and Detroit..I will let that go..I hope Sandy Stratten (sp) and Clement will miss Raymond Cruz as Raylan takes over
ahh..how I loved the first reads of his books..and all the re-reads!
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I always felt that the original series was speaking in Elmore’s voice. That first interaction between Raylan and Boyd is a classic. Originally Posted by wolflen
I haven’t seen too many films except for 3:10 to Yuma—the original and remake are both excellent—and Jackie Brown—another classic. Oh yeah saw Mr. Majestyk back in the day. Hombre, Out of Sight and Get Shorty are supposed to be good.
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