Mano de hierro

Pros: Intriging concept. Mafia-like family controlling the port, with people trying to take over the throne, the backstabbing, the betrayals, the side deals, etc. So initially you get the idea of this being a Spanish version of Rome Suburra......except the execution is no where near the Italian counterpart.

Writing. There are so many scenes involving someone calling somebody's name or saying 'stop'. Way to many. Just irritating.

Very few 'real' conversations. Instead, it was people reciting individual sentences to progress the audience to the next scene. 'I am going to take our daughter and drive her to school' or 'I am going to call my brother on the cell phone and invite him to lunch tomorrow' are example of statements made to inform the audience what the character will do next, instead of natural conversation.

Direction. The shaky cam, multiple edits within one scene, face close-ups, loud music during action...all the necessary tricks to decieve the audience that more is going on. The fight scenes are choreographed so badly that one person actually had a knife over their head bringing it down to stab someone, I almost stopped watching from that scene alone. People would all have guns but for some reason forgot they had guns and fight hand-to-hand for no reason at all.

Ex Machina.....for a city with almost six million people, there appears to be only one coffee shop, one restaurant, one alley, one police station and only one side of the port because people kept running into each other by coincidence, throughout the series.

Starts outs with a mighty pop then fizzes out with a script that leaves you tired of the characters and this overworked plot.

I really wanted to love this and what is not to love? Barcelona? Yes, truly one of Europe's most magical cities. The mob? Never a bad idea to write a mob story. Family drama? Always a narrative pull since King Lear and the Bible. Betrayal? A cornerstone of storytelling.

Yet, it all became tiresome and slightly confusing. Too many flashbacks that were supposed to reveal plot points but, instead, negated any real character revelation.

I don't mind cinema violence and this series shines most authentically in its violence. The nephew and uncle showdown is as real as it gets. Many other scenes evoke the same realism and emotional spell.

The last episode was a shark jumping mess. I know that the producers are just angling for Season 2 but jeez.

This could have been great. It had some moments. Had it been cooked down to four episodes instead of eight then moving forward to the second season, I might be excited to follow the story.

But, they kind of wore me out.

The TV series in question is nothing but a chaotic mishmash of gratuitous violence and graphic sexual content, seemingly designed to shock rather than tell a coherent story. From the very first episode, it becomes clear that the writers have little else in mind beyond throwing every taboo and shock value scene they can think of into each episode. The result is a non-stop barrage of outrageous characters-A voodoo/Santeria shaman, pirates, fight club pretenders. In short, nothing more than a mindless and forgettable sequence of fighting stunts and spontaneous sex scenes. One a positive note, you'll never feel like you missed something, since every scene feel the same.

Iron Reign is a watchable Spanish crime drama set in the criminal underbelly of the Barcelona port. The short eight episode long season one combines intrigue, drama, treachery, police, drugs and even a love triangle.

Unfortunately, the potential of the story is lost amidst flashbacks, confusing story twists, too many main characters and subplots within subplots.

The basic storyline concerns one family, the Manchados, who manage everything illegal at Barcelona port. The plot focuses on a cocaine drug deal with foreign sellers which, due to double dealing within the family, goes off the rails and efforts to stave off a disaster as a result of the failed deal. Meanwhile, Spanish authorities have set their sights on bringing down the Manchados by infiltrating the family.

Can't say anymore without giving away too much.

Iron Reign is an easy series to watch. It may not win critical acclaim but it's far from a waste of time. The ending may not be to one's liking but Netflix is setting viewers up for season two.

Do not get me wrong: it is still mediocre.

Just, compared with the usual low quality, and the terrible acting and scripting of Spanish thrillers, is probably the best show of latest years.

The show benefits from a high budget. Sceneries, the port, the ships, resources. All this contributes to a solid staging and a professional appaerance.

The action scenes are well done, specially comparing with other Spanish productions. Still quite amateurish, but I think not because the way they filmed it and the actors and extras done it; it is a planning problem: writers and directors have no idea how weapons work, how people behave in close range combat, and so on.

Eduard Fernández is an extraordinary actor and nailed it. His performance is largely the best in the show, and he single handedly saves the entire show. He is gritty, dark, complex. And, overall, the actor is very natural: the way he speaks, the way he moves, he is very credible in the role of the port kingpin.

We cannot say the same of the other parts. And it is a common problem in non-comedy Spanish shows: from plain bad acting to overacting, people not talking the way people talk in Spain, expelling from their mouths poor or ridiculous dialogues.

Another problem is the lack of attention to detail. It is not fault of actors or production, but writers. It is like that scene which begins with a cargo ship navigating and a caption that says "Pacific Ocean". Suddenly, a speed boat with somali pirates or alike appears from nowhere. In the Pacific ocean. Quite a leap for somali pirates. The subsequent action in the attacked ship could have been really good, as they had the resources to do it. What they lack is attention to detail, knowledge of stuff necessary to giving it a little credibility and the classic overconfidence of writers in their own knowledge.

The lack of professionalism in the depiction of police work, how drug dealers and sicarios work, how weapons should be used, and even the incorrect geography, takes the shine off what could have been a great show.

The show is plagued with all these things; together with the bad acting (aside of the extraordinary work of Eduard Fernandez and a few small parts) and very poor dialogues, makes watching it a bit tiresome and difficult to suspend disbelief.