If you've ever watched those old British crime movies with all the slick talking and brutal violence, then imagine that but turned up to eleven. The show basically takes every gangster movie you've ever seen, throws it in a mixer, and serves it up with Tom Hardy being the coolest guy in the room.
The story follows Harry Da Souza, played by Tom Hardy, who's basically the guy you call when everything goes wrong. He works for the Harrigan family, this old Irish crime dynasty run by Conrad and his wife Maeve. Pierce Brosnan plays Conrad like he's trying to be a tough guy but honestly seems a bit lost half the time. Helen Mirren is Maeve, and she's absolutely nuts – like the kind of person who would burn down your house because she had a bad feeling about you.
Right from the first episode, you know this show isn't messing around. Conrad kills his old friend Archie just because Maeve gets a weird feeling about him. No real proof, no investigation – just boom, dead friend. Watching this, I was immediately thinking "this is stupid" and honestly, it kind of is. But that's what the show is about – these old crime bosses making terrible decisions while Harry tries to clean up their mess.
Each episode just piles on more chaos. Harry gets arrested, bombs go off, people get framed for murders they didn't do, and through it all, Tom Hardy's character is the only one who seems to have his head on straight. The guy is basically carrying the whole show on his shoulders. He doesn't even need to say much – just one look from him and you know exactly what Harry is thinking.
The thing about Maeve is that she drives you absolutely crazy while watching. She's supposed to be this smart crime boss, but she makes decisions that are so wild and random that I found myself wanting to throw something at the TV. Helen Mirren is way too good an actress to be stuck playing someone this unhinged, but somehow she makes it work.
By the middle of the season, the show gets pretty dark. There's this funeral episode where tensions blow up, Maeve sets off a car bomb because someone insulted her. Then there's this whole trip to Belgium for a diamond deal that goes completely wrong, and you start to wonder if anyone in this family has ever made a good decision.
The last few episodes are where things get really wild. Harry starts working with this cartel queen named Kat, there are chainsaw scenes which is typical Guy Ritchie style, and people are getting executed on livestream. By the finale, bodies are dropping left and right, and there's this twist where you find out one of the cops has been working with the bad guys all along. I didn't see that coming at all.
What's funny is that the show knows exactly what it is. It's not trying to be The Sopranos with deep character development and slow-burning drama. The whole thing is completely over the top, but it owns that energy instead of pretending to be something more serious.
I'm pretty split about it myself. Sometimes I love the chaos and think it's pure entertainment, even when it doesn't make sense. Other times I think it's trying too hard to be cool and the writing falls flat, even the accents seems forced and annoying, but Tom Hardy is fantastic throughout. He doesn't even say much in a lot of scenes, but somehow you always know exactly what his character is thinking.
The opening theme song, "Starburster," is really catchy too. It fits the manic energy of the show perfectly.
If you like crime shows where people make terrible decisions and everything explodes in their faces, you'll probably enjoy MobLand. It's definitely not realistic – real crime families probably don't operate like this because they'd all be dead or in prison within a week. But if you can get past that and just enjoy the ride, it's pretty entertaining.
The dialogue can be pretty cheesy sometimes, and some of the plot twists feel like they came out of nowhere. Conrad and Maeve are supposed to be these powerful crime bosses, but half the time they act like they're losing their minds which might actually be the point – maybe they're supposed to be these aging tyrants who've lost touch with reality.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely, I felt it was way different than typical crime shows.
The whole thing feels like it was made by people who really love gangster movies and wanted to make the most gangster movie possible. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's never boring. Even when I was frustrated with some of the choices, I kept watching because I had to see what crazy thing would happen next.
Watch on Hulu