User reviews

I enjoyed this id say could have been done in 4 episodes without missing anything, acting especially by the killer Larry was fantastic but the writing was a little bit stretched and required some level of denial, just too many times situations didnt seem likely. The guards, doctors,F. B. I agents all were out of what line to how they would have acted. Still its a 7 and good.

I watched the series after looking at the reviews hereto be honest it is not as expected, but good overall. All episodes together is approximately 6 hours so if you have a free day you could finish this. Acting wise and making wise the series is A plus. But there is not a surprise factor or something and like in some reviews its not that horrifying only it is conveyed to us verbally and is left to our imagination.

Taron and Paul did an excellent job acting wise and the series is mainly concentrated on the development of each character. I think as this is inspired from real life incidents it lacks some dramatic moments and they didn't show how he does his crimes other than Paul saying what he did. Also one more problem I had was that by the end of series Taron does something but it leads to nowhere and nothing happens on behalf of that like it was not necessary for him to go through all that.

But all together it is a watchable entertaining mini series.

I was really looking forward to this and most of it is really well done, however the character of the female FBI agent is terribly acted and is almost a parody of how they think female FBI agents behave. Her character is so badly written that it is hard to get through her scenes without cringing.

This was on my radar anyway, from the good reviews that I've seen but it was the shows position on the Guardian's top TV of 2022 list that pushed me to watch it now. Whereas Paul Walter Hauser's performance has landed the most plaudits, this is the best I think I've seen Taron Egerton be.

Having been arrested on an aggravated drugs charge James Keene (Taron Egerton) is offered a commuted sentence if he can befriend Serial Killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser) and get him to admit to further murders, before Hall's appeal comes before a judge. Keene is reluctant until his father James Snr (Ray Liotta) suffers a heart attack, and he realises that the deal is his only chance to see him again. Outside Prison, Jimmy's handler, FBI Agent Lauren McCauley (Sepideh Moafi) and Detective Brian Miller (Greg Kinnear) try to recreate the steps of the original investigation and turn up new evidence.

I do feel, in retrospect, this is a show you watch for the performances, and they are indeed probably worth the price of admission alone. Hauser is great, but also, he has the mannered lunatic to portray, with a high-pitched voice and mutton chops to play up too. Egerton is all about hiding. In the opening scenes it's hiding behind a veneer of pleasantness and charm, but later it's keeping it together when he hears stories of true despicable evil.

I thought the story was reasonably good until that final episode when it feels like we rush through to a conclusion. Even though the start of each episode says that it's a true story, somehow that didn't really register with my until the final episode, with the epilogue moments. I did come a way feeling a bit, "Oh, is that it" I have to admit, as a couple of storylines don't really pan out to mean anything and the whole conclusion is messier than you would have hoped (though presumably that's what actually happened).

Whilst I don't regret watching the series by any means, I'm not sure that much more than the central two performances will remains with me in a few months' time.

While adhering to the general praise, I felt somehow disappointed by the end, and overall the whole show seemed a bit rushed to me, something's missing in terms of tension building. What about the relationships with the guard, and the old "prison godfather"? It needed some developing, in my opinion. I was expecting them to have some impact on the story, turns out they didn't, at all. They're like open doors that get closed before anyone passes through.

Perched up and decided to watch this to see the late, great Ray Liotta's final performances. As usual, he exceeded my expectations and went out in a blaze of glory. His Big Jim scenes with Little Jimmy are riveting and emblazon themselves on the mind. The problem is this show is a little too light on Liotta. In the brief scenes he's in, he truly elevates the show. He's always had that sort of continuous intensity, piercing no bs eyes, and a laugh for the ages. Conversely, Egerton drags it down with his stiff acting that grossly lacks tonality or nuance. I suppose the washboard abs got him in the door. It's tough to shoot a gritty show with a polished lens, but hey, they pull it off mostly. It can be unflinchingly real and too close for comfort at times. I was reminded of prison movies I watched with my pop growing up. Movies like Short Eyes and Midnight Express. They scared me straight for dang sure. You won't get so much as a misdemeanor out of me. This filmic show kind of does the same. Especially fine acting by Moafi, Kinnear and Hauser. The darkness, too, can bloom and sing.

Uneven start as the characters are seemingly engaged in a 'cooler than thou' F-bomb contest, most ludicrously including the female law enforcement official whose real-life counterpart was hopefully more professional. Ultimately though it's the compelling work of the principal actors - notably Paul Walter Hauser as puffy, mutton-chopped serial killer Larry Hall -- that draws us in and hits deeper emotional notes. Some scenes work better than others, and the in-prison arrogant-to-humble transformation of informant Jimmy Keene feels fast-forwarded. But it's nonetheless a creepy, memorable drama marked by exceptional acting.

I really loved the acting, the story was great (even more so for being "true") I felt the story was drawn out a bit and the ending was a bit limp but on the whole a good watch.

A limited series created by Dennis Lehane (Mr. Mercedes), Black Bird is a based on a true story prison drama following Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton), a mid-tier criminal serving 10 years who agrees to transfer to a high security prison to reduce his sentence, so long as he can befriend and gain confession from another inmate, Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser), a believed serial killer of multiple young girls. High stakes, well directed, good scripting; it was believable for the most part and I enjoyed it. A tense thriller, Paul Walter Hauser does an eerily good job as the deranged Larry, and Taron Egerton is great as the arrogant but smart lead. If you like crime dramas this one's pretty good and pretty short.

The acting is strong all around with the standout being Paul Walter Hauser who displays the perfect tone and emotion, it's a compelling story that holds your attention completely but unfortunately it's just too short and felt rushed towards the end, it deserved at least another two more episodes.

'Black Bird' (2022) is a thrilling true crime miniseries that is just nerve-racking and keeps you on edge the whole time. Give it a watch if you Apple TV+ and despite the platform having less options (as of 2023) than other major streaming platforms this is one of the reasons why you would just get it alone especially since you can binge-watch it in just a weekend.

I knew nothing of this story coming into the series but afterwards it put me on a spin to learn more and more about the case. Overall its pretty close to what the writer and main character, James "Jimmy" Keene as written about. The story is possibly even wilder in real life despite this series making you think it can't possibly be true.

The series is heartbreaking at times and very triggering due to the graphic scenes and descriptions by the serial killer and detectives. While Taron Egerton (Jimmy Keene) did a fine job, Paul Walter Hauser (Larry Hall) made you forget it was acting. Which was great and absolutely terrifying to say the least! Hauser deserves so much praise for his role.

I will say that while the series is bingeable, it did feel a little incomplete at times with some minor storylines not really completing besides a few subtle lines and nods. Other than that it was pretty great! Give it a watch for sure!

I enjoyed this very much. If you like slow burn intellectual drama. I personally am someone who loves to delve into the minds of psychos and that's what this is about. The character of larry is played brilliantly.👍

"Black Bird" tells a more or less exciting story about drug dealer Jimmy Keene, who is placed undercover in a prison by the FBI and is supposed to get information out of the suspected serial killer Larry Hall - if Jimmy manages to provide enough usable evidence to keep Larry behind bars, his 10-year prison sentence will be annulled and he will be released.

In my opinion, the series itself was quite drawn out with 6 episodes. I think if they had reduced this to 4, the series would have had a much more pleasant pacing. The series consists mostly of officers running around desperately and two inmates who either talk very slowly or look at each other skeptically.

The only thing that was outstanding about the series was the acting of Paul Walter Hauser as Larry Hall.

In general, however, I think this true story could have been implemented better.

Yes blackbird is one great show. Intense story that's carefully developed excellently building up the nature's of Larry. Blackbird had the perfect phase in progression. It's a different kind of crime documentary naturally thrilling but also covers every side of the story and paying tributes to the beautiful lives that were taken away by a killer. Cast really put up a magical performance especially the two leads, simply sensational. A very sincere portrayal of emotions. Whole cast was ideal for this story. Great special effects and visuals all throughout the series. Excellent use of audio too..

I enjoyed the show. Taron played the role incredibly. To me the show had a lot of build up and brought me in, then seemed to suddenly end, a lot of build up for a quick ending, felt like it could have gone 2 more episodes, but good show.

PROS:

• great acting all-around. Possibly the best I've ever seen Ray Liotta, great final performance for him and incredibly eerie since he looked on the verge of death and that was his character's arc in this show as well.

• good technical merits. Cinematography is nice, rich, and clean. Feels like a high value production.

• satisfying conclusion in the final episode

CONS:

• lame writing. Dennis Lehane may be a great novelist, but on TV his dialogue feels cheesy and try-hard.

• weaker story for the most part, especially the lame stuff with Salmon Rushdie the over the top prison lord. Although the creepy blonde guard was a pretty great villain.

7/10 this is a TV show review, it is not a banana.

I think this deserves something like 73/100.......

Anyway, it is a great little series - not too short, and thankfully, not too long. I do wish other series' would trim a few episodes.

I did a bit of background research and for the most part, it is indeed a true story. Drug dealer Jimmy gets a ten year stretch, and is then offered a get out of jail card if, and it's a big if, he will transfer to a jail full of nasty nutters and get some info out of serial killer Larry, who has the chance of getting out of jail. They know he has killed others, but they are not after that, they just want that little bit of info to squash his appeal and keep him in jail for ever - becuase they know, and we know, that if this utter psycho gets out of prison, he will most defintely kill again...and again.

I won't spoil anything here, I will leave it with saying that the perfomance from Paul Walter Hauser as the deranged serial killer, is Emmy award winning, as are Taron Egerton as Jimmy and the final performance from the late, great Ray Liotta as Jimmy's father (apart from, of course, whatever he was filming at the time of his death).

Highly recommended, for sure.....

The story relied too heavily on Larry being a creep and giving disgusting details to add the shock factor. The plot is really good, it's made well and the actors were good but parts were a little cheesy and frustrating.

In a world with so many mystery miniseries, I think this doesn't quite stand up there with some of the best. Still very good though and worth the watch.

Don't read this review - Cuz I tried it for a 3rd time (after listening to a podcast) and liked it. I guess it was a slow starter.

I wanted this to be good.....it isn't! (NOW I Get it)

I stuck it out for all of 40 minutes, but I'm going to take a stab at what happens.... Our wooden lead character gets the serial killer to reveal the whereabouts of a body.... Okay, I want out.

But no, Woody, there are other bodies....

How some of you reviewers sleep at night, Ill never know! I wanted this to be good.....it isn't!

I stuck it out for all of 40 minutes, but I'm going to take a stab at what happens.... Our wooden lead character gets the serial killer to reveal the whereabouts of a body.... Okay, I want out.

But no, Woody, there are other bodies...