User reviews

Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser gave the performance of a lifetime in every scene they were in, I love both of the main actors in this show for very different reasons and I really applaud Paul Walter Hauser for taking and completely nailing a role so outside of his comfort zone (he plays Jimmy Tacos competition in "I think you should leave" and it's awesome) but the writing really failed everyone involved in this show by like a lot... The only reason this show is so compelling is because of the performances.

There's a lot of tension building that leads to nothing, this happens again and again, you can pretty much guess everything that will happen next if you reduce every interaction to the lowest common denominator, it makes for a really lacklustre, boring series, but again Taron, Paul and Greg made it a very watchable series because they acted their tushies off.

Overall it held my interest enough to see it through, but barely.

It was a show with so many ideas, and it grabbed at all of them and didn't really get any of them. Flashback show? Daddy drama? Prison-life commentary? Bribery story - soon forgot. Mistaken identity? For about 10 minutes. A whodunnit? Yes all of the above.

Probably its biggest crime was the trite wrap up. It was a show desperately trying to convince you it was mysterious and unpredictable, but you kind of ended up where you knew where you'd end up. And in a hurried and trite wrap up a show that went from "based upon a true story" (which is code for: loosely inspired and barely recognisable) to oh yes honestly this was allll true.

And they all lived happily ever after? Well, one of the criminals at least?

It is hard to believe this is Dennis Lehane who brought us Mystic River and so many good projects.

This series suffers from absurd story lines and a creepy lead in Taron Egerton.

Sepideh Moafi's performance is confusing at best. Why is she so angry? Why is she crying? I have no idea.

THE GOOD: The standout performance and reason to watch this series is Paul Walter Hauser, who steals every scene. It really is worth a watch just for that.

Greg K is good as is always.

After five episodes I am still watching but I have no idea why.

While it starts very well and seems to be a very good story, this tails off with too many loose ends and ends with a wimper. What's the story with his relationship with his dad for instance, why did the superstar intelligent kid get into crime?

It also jumps into a number of dream sequences which is always a worrying sign of the writers running out of ideas.

Seems to be a very good that is worth telling, and some of the performances are good (not the lead who seems to be doing a 1980 RDN impersonation) but in this case it is a story told poorly.

(Why does this have to be 600 characters. Can you not review something briefly?)

It starts amazingly and actors are performing exceptionally, story feels intriguing but it loses momentum around episode 4. Too much buildup, but actual conversation between Jimmy and Larry are not as gripping as I though they will be, entire 4th episode is a letdown with a prison riot absolutely irrelevant to the plot: too many unfamiliar faces are being beat down, but not a single known character is affected. Why was it even here, for running time extension?

Probably, I'm too spoiled by Mindhunters and I expected similar experience, but it's not on par, sadly. Don't let my review fool you, it's a very good show, it's just not a GREAT show.

Script is a bit lame, along with some of the acting. Far better things out there. Main character is a bit implausible, regular story about a serial killer and a group of cops trying for a confession.

I like real. Trust me: there's no jail in America where you have so much freedom and space. Besides that, the show is a little above average. Definitely not a 10 like so many people rate this. The leads tend to over do it a bit. The good looking actor is a little too pretty to play a hardened drug dealer.

I believe that there is an easy consensus that Paul Walter Hauser deserves all of the awards for his portrayal of the very twisted Larry Hall. Unfortunately for me, he is really the only one who consistently carried this series.

The writing is a bit tepid in various episodes and scenes, especially in the beginning, and feels a bit like a knockoff Guy Ritchie production at first. Mindhunter this isn't. And I hate to say it, but I found Liotta's acting to be a bit off. Kinnear was dependably good, and the always excellent Robyn Malcolm only has a small role. Egerton's appeal did improve over the course of the series.

That said, the story is quite intriguing and it is definitely a series worth bingeing. Hurrah; minimum character limit has been met!

This feels like it's following a formula that has worked every single time before, until it's in the hands of someone who doesn't understand how to tell a story.

I can't imagine anyone rating this above 7.

THE best part of the show is Paul Walter Hauser. His portrayal and characterization of Hall is really remarkable.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Egerton in roles like Elton John. I suspect it's not his acting that falls short here, but the writing and directing.

Over and over and over I kept trying to make sense of the writing. SO many holes and problems and ridiculous non sequiturs.

Please don't spend your time on this.

... Black Bird is good, just not quite that good... quality cast with several top notch performances, yet all are not without flaws ... overacting creeps in on numerous occasions, and there are times facial expressions of one of the leads, are just not at all natural.. then there are dead segments where little happens, coming off as fill for the purpose of achieving a six-episode-miniseries... in a "true-story" drama that's not good... and-that-voice-OMG PLEASE-make-it-stop

... U. S. crime dramas tending having a certain way about them... appearing frequently not being as 'realistic-authentic' as most European productions... stumbling across it once more sometime down the road, would not be viewing it again... and honestly wished had not this time.

It's easy on the eyes and ears but lacks character and spice. Pretty much something u have seen many times over but somewhat entertaining and not offensive if u found nothing that raises your interest. A movie would have been a good one!

Surprised this is getting so many positive reviews. I love a good serial killer mystery, but the several of the actor performances aren't very convincing. Greg Kinnear and Ray Liotta are always top notch. But Paul Walter Hauser was much more believable as a mentally disassociated killer in his character in the show Kingdom. I felt his performance consistently indicating (over acting) throughout this series. The prison guard is just terrible casting if he's supposed to be a threatening bully. His performance cheapens the entire production and plot. Sepideh Moafi's performance is underwhelming as a tough detective. No depth to her character.

I haven't finished the show yet, but I have a pretty strong hunch about the outcome. I'll see if the outcome was as predictable as I suspect in the conclusion. I know there aren't a lot of great show options right now, but let's be honest: this show deserves no better than a 6 star rating. It screens like a cheesy soap opera with a serial killer storyline worked in.

Story is ok but why he ? He totally can't act !! There is so many better actors out there !! Why he? Can't stand his always same gesture and expression ! Bad acting !

I thought the series was great until episode 3, from then on it gets weaker, repetitive and boring. There are numerous plot holes that I believe are not part of the real story. The main thing is that from a certain point, Jimmy, infiltrated in a crazy and violent prison by the FBI, no longer has a way of contacting the FBI that put him in jail and was racing against time to find evidence of Larry's crimes, and leaves him "forgotten" there, thrown to his own luck. This huge hole, obviously created to create tension and suspense, for me it did the opposite, it showed a huge script flaw and slash force just to generate tension that becomes artificial. It makes the hottest FBI agent look like an incompetent. Jimmy's conflict with the corrupt guard and the prison's leading prisoner are not going anywhere, they are sub-plots that don't make the story move, they just fill up sausage, like the prison riot, which was completely unecessary. The protagonists Jimmy and Larry do not even appear in the scene, which does not affect the story at all. There are several script flaws. They wasted a great story and great actors. The part of the prison that should be the most tense and interesting ends up being the weakest and most disjointed. Even Jimmy and Larry's characters get repetitive because their characters don't advance in the story and have no sub-layers. Jimmy's character's supposed redemption is forced and thrown around without much context. The script failed to create a real connection point between the two or a great point of tension. The flashback scenes of the murdered kid and Jimmy's relationship with his father, which should generate emotion, are also repetitive and boring.

I would give it a 10 up to episode 3, and a 4 from episode 4 to 6. Overall I give it a 6.

The last episode of the series is the best episode... In general, the events of the series are slow and 6 episodes are a lot on it.

I expected a lot because the series is famous and loud, but I was surprised by the very slow of the series, the acting of the actors is good and the direction is good, but the series is devoid of events and to be honest it deserves to be a drama film about being a TV series.

I'm really confused by this show because some scenes, the main character's dialogue, the police woman's dialogue, are just incredibly cliched and corny and the sort of thing you'd see on a bad TV show that gets at most a 5 or a 6 out of 10.

And then other scenes, the flashback scenes involving the older cop investigating the murders, his acting, and the serial killer himself, and his acting, are not just good they're great, they're what keep me coming back to the show.

It feels like they started out with a really good True Detective/Mindhunter/Fargo type crime drama, but then someone tried to dumb it way down for the masses. Even the musical choices, songs I like like Soundgarden and Headline News, just feel really out of place for this show. It feels like a good show that some executive is trying to ruin.

Slightly above average.

I don't know about the real story but the show should not be this long, at least for a tv show. I feel like some scenes aren't necessary at all. It should have been a 3 episode Max or just really make it into a movie. The story feels so dragged out with unnecessary plots. For example, the Italian mob subplot without any follow-up purpose and the corrupt warden subplot and then. Like what? Why even bother to insert these scene?

But the acting of both Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser are absolutely amazing and I love them both, especially Paul Walter Hauser with his creepy acting. Also, Taron Egerton is so underrated.

The finale was rushed and didn't make a lot of sense. Sadly this ending means I can't recommend this show. Which is a shame, because it had some pretty good acting.

Something is up with the rating for this mini series. There is no way on earth it deserves an 8+ rating. Not that it's a bad series. It's just not an 8.

Here's the problem -- Taron Egerton is just not a very good actor. He ruined the Elton Joh flick, so isnt it clear he has no range? He's basically boi-candy and not very talented apart from that.

However -- and this is important -- the guy who lays Larry is exemplary. He's creepy and scary and really brings the serial killer character to life. He makes the show. Without him this wold be a C level series.

Ray Liota looks horrible and of course he died right around the making of this. Sad. But he looks like he has two feet in the grave already and doesnt really bring anything to the plot.

This series could have been way better with fewer episodes, making the exposition tighter. It really starts to drag midway and is really only good when Larry is on the screen.

Basically a drug-dealing, scumbag snitch takes down a pathetic, mentally-challenged incel. Never once did they convince me Larry was even capable of his crimes even though I'm sure he was, but they did sell me on Jimmy being just another rich, pretty-boy, spoiled brat getting away with sh#t. Springfield is not even a bad place to go. Inmates actually TRY to get transferred there. They try and make it look like the worst prison ever in this scarey-tale. To try and make you sympathetic to the drug-dealing scumbag, they toss in a sick father and evil guard. The fact that this is actually based on a true story takes points away from it to me. It's written by the drug dealing, scumbag snitch, and I can't help wondering what a auto biographical movie by Ma Barker or Charlie Manson might look like. Anyway, people love simpleton prison crap so give it a watch.

Slow lame and ending was flat. A documentary would have done the justice. This had potential to be close to true detective. Actors were flat as well as nothing really tells you to hold your seat.