Cinematography:
Christopher FaloonaComposer:
Methodic DoubtCast:
Antony Starr, Ivana Milicevic, Ulrich Thomsen, Frankie Faison, Hoon Lee, Rus Blackwell, Lili Simmons, Matt Servitto, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Steve Coulter (more)VOD (5)
Seasons(4) / Episodes(38)
Plots(1)
A recently paroled master thief assumes the identity of the Sheriff of Banshee, PA, and reconnects with his onetime lover and partner-in-crime while avoiding gangsters they both betrayed years earlier. (Home Box Office)
Videos (167)
Reviews (7)
It’s been a long time a new series made me as happy as Banshee did. Let’s ignore the fact that at the end of each episode, the protagonist looks like a zombie beaten with an iron rod, only to become the properly coiffed alpha male in the next episode as he was in the beginning of the series. This series portraying a city that has a bit of everything is simply superb. Given the size of the city, there’s a great number of Mafiosos, and the audience will grow fond to each and every one of them. And that’s the great thing about this series. Each character has their place in it. The story gets back to each of them and they each affect the story in some way or other. I don’t care that Antony Starr’s character is basically immortal. Apart from this, everything works perfectly: dialogs, camera, atmosphere, relationships. The first season was a pleasant surprise.
()
I'd be interested that it’s from the makers of True Blood, and I could get used to the slightly creepy town full of various individuals (including the Amish). Yet even though True Blood later became something I loved, the beginnings here are pretty damn weird. So far, it gets points for Ben Cross and a good dose of soft porn.
()
Season 1 – 80% – Pure-blooded, sexually charged, action-packed and no-nonsense. It has everything you would expect, from the good stuff like a main hero with an unbreakable jaw, the revealing of the secret advantages of the eye candy, and the tough one-liners smoothly coming out of the mouths of the local crooks, to the not-so-good stuff, where the most fundamental logic and behavior somehow escape otherwise thoughtful and brilliant characters in many heated situations, not least Sheriff Hood. Nevertheless, I come back to this backwater town, where every other guy is a criminal or a brawler, with great pleasure. Every fight, shootout, chase, or break-in is an audiovisual experience that leaves you no time for criticism. And last but not least, it has been a while since I found the main character of a series as likable as Antony Starr when he walked out of prison. This clearly laid-out struggle between good and evil may be unsteady, but it's hard not to root for it. Season 2 – 85% – Bigger, more mature, and even more action-packed, if that's even possible. What worked before is working even better now, and those I loved before I now welcome on the screen with an even wider smile (Siobhan, Job), while my least favorite Gordon is now completely unbearable. The famed beard that makes the second season better lies in the barely noticeable moments of relaxation when the sheriff reflects on where he came from and where he is headed, and each glass or glance in the rearview mirror brings me a little closer to him. It's just a pity that the behavior of the main characters in the most crucial moments is still unexpected due to hastiness and lack of logic. Thankfully, the series only cares about credibility as a last priority. Season 3 – 80% – A proper action colossus. The mouthfuls the creators are trying to digest in the action realm are becoming more and more substantial, and the proper long first-person action scenes or station raids, for example, are such perfectly crafted moments that I can't even blink and can only think that the inferno of Banshee deserves many more viewers. That said, there are occasional moments that are needlessly overdone or even ridiculously comical (a teenage version of Fight Club and especially the terminator-like qualities of the already sufficiently terrifying Chayton). But it still captures the essence of fun, because the positives are brilliantly breathtaking in their strong moments. The decision that the next season will be the final season is a blessing, though, because there has to be a limit to the reasons Hood would stay in this hellish town. Season 4 – 70% – When main creator Jonathan Tropper humbly announced that coming up with a constantly evolving action series is such hard work that it would be better if everyone leaves at its peak and gives the viewers the most intense season, it sounded great. Considering how straightforward and inventive all the previous seasons had been in reaching their goal, it seemed that this approach couldn't go wrong. But the show shifted towards action, added a lot to the detective investigations, and most importantly, our favorites disappeared from the scripts. Instead of enjoying the final episodes with Sugar, Deva, Proctor, or Job, we are given an abundance of screen time devoted to Calvin Bunker, probably the worst villain in the entire series. As a result, the Banshee swan song gets an above-average rating due to the participation of my beloved Eliza Dushku and a perfectly western-like finale. The amount of stylish departures, heartfelt confessions, and manly tears will stay with me for a long time.
()
(less)
(more)
I'm reviewing the series after only two seasons, which is about as much as I can take. Antony Starr is a great actor who did a fantastic job alternating between the Magnum look number one through five so professionally that I didn't even register the difference. If the sheriff he portrayed had some sort of venereal disease, the whole town probably had it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many unnecessary sex scenes and pointless fights. There was hardly any development in the story, and I was often bored. It was also full of various clichés and flashbacks. The only interesting character could have been Kai Proctor, if only the creators had given him more screen time.
()
Damn. Why did it have to end after just 4 seasons? I ended up falling in love with the entire cast. Now I understand why so many people hold this show in such high regard. It offers countless high-quality aspects. Antony Starr, in particular, shone in all directions here (though it was the role of Homelander that brought him fame... such a pity). To sum up, Banshee captivated me with its straightforwardness. No one here messes around; it's at times quite a brutal watch for a TV production. However, I was somewhat annoyed by how the creators had to cram so much sexual content into each season. I get the occasional inclusion, but at times I wondered what genre I was actually watching :D Anyway, the third season was probably the best; the Indian character Chayton, with his role as a merciless killer, is etched into my memory. The final season was wrapped up optimally; I couldn’t have ended it better. I’m really glad for the time I spent on it. For me, it’s 8/10. P.S. Job, as the loquacious sidekick, was excellent :)
()
Ads