Suburra: Blood on Rome

The film version is a little bit better, but the series has enough room to be narratively robust and scripted to a tee, though it doesn't always get the balance of characters and the pulse right. It's also an unpleasant finding that what initially looks like a prequel to the feature film goes its own way in subsequent seasons, gradually losing continuity with the film. Even so, it's a beautifully atmospheric, pulsating mafia series with superbly acted main characters, European minimalism and is great fun most of the time. (08/29/2024)

A superbly balanced miniseries that certainly won't put the famous and hugely popular feature film to shame. A conceptually brilliantly built prequel to the events of the film, excellently written and acted main and supporting characters, almost no unnecessary filler, and even the soundtrack follows a similar set-up to the film. An intense mafia saga that can successfully compete with the US, while still maintaining a cool European minimalism. An authentic mafia probe into the eternal city. (08/21/2024)

The story is even tighter, faster and smoother than the first season. It's also a little wilder on the twists and turns, but it still stays within the bounds of the tolerable and never goes full nonsense. Alessandro Borghi continues to rock with his economical acting and uncompromisingly masculine embodiment of the dreaded gangster of Ostia. The others follow suit very ably, especially the members of the gypsy family, and in general the portrayal of the familia and their traditions and social practices is unexpectedly authentic. I'm curious to see what the third season will come up with, because it doesn't get much better than this. (08/25/2024)

Bromance in a mafia disguise. The third season is already tired, thematically weaker and slight overwrought in general. Suburra would have been much more decent and coherent having only two season, as the third one is unnecessary and doesn't bring anything new or interesting. Plus, the ending tries to target big emotions but it stumbles halfway through. (08/29/2024)