User reviews

Not since True Detective's first season has a crime drama been so compelling, so intriguing and gripping! In just the first three episodes, it's far exceeded my own expectations. All, and I mean every actor steps up 100% in their roles here which is rare, and lastly but not least, Ray Liotta contributes an excellent contribution to the overall consistent acting throughout the entire casting performances. I'm glad to see his (Ray Liotta's) final role be of a such a fine caliber of a series!

This is not Black Bird. It is Paul Walter Hauser's show. Again.

First, I discovered Paul in Frank's Grillo's Kingdom series. He is terrific there. One of my favorite characters. A masterfully acting class. Probably the best performer there with Jay Kulina.

Second, even Black Bird's story is interesting, what makes it over the average, is Paul's performance. Don't get me wrong, Taron is great too, but not as credible and solid as Paul.

Last, the series had potential to become a cult classic, but at the end, it makes you feel like something is missing. Overall is pretty great but not superb as it could have been.

Wow! This true crime show was truly a great watch! Each one of the episodes keeps your interest triggered. As a big fan of the Netflix show "Mindhunter", I see some parallels with Black Bird. The FBI, profiling, serial killer and prison environment are all present in both shows. So if you are a fan of Mindhunter, than I think you may also like Black Bird.

Especially the complex and unfortunately very sick and evil character of Hall has been more than excellently portrayed by the actor. I would not be surprised if that actor will be nominated for some important movie awards. It really was that good.

Mini Series Magic

Is it just me or is the mini-series becoming one of the more popular "styles" of TV entertainment? I can't remember watching a single mini series more than 3 years ago - now I'm keeping a sharp eye out for them since the likes of "Chernobyl" "Mare of Eastown" and "Black Bird" have all blown my socks off.

Taron Egerton is the shining star of his generation, truly a man of many talents. I've followed him since his breakaway role in Kingsmen and have enjoyed every single project I've seen him in sense. "Black Bird" was the first serious role I've seen Egerton in, and he proved that he can deliver across the TV medium, for multiple episodes, hooking the audience in on a character that he really made his own.

The story of Larry Hall is terrifying, a monster in our society that was caged and almost let go again. I was hooked from the first episode to the last, and by the end was wishing the series wasn't so "mini."

First thing that comes to mind is mayor of Kingstown because that's the most recent prison drama I've watched; and while that was fast paced in comparison to black bird, this is just as, if not more thrilling and has it's main focus on one story. There's a lot of suspense so far and of course "based on a true story" always adds a little more zest to it. For the same reason, some scenes are difficult to watch especially throughout episode 5 because you know this actually happened. The acting is great throughout, even though from the few shows I've seen Taron Egerton in he takes similar roles but he's really good at them and I think this is one of his better ones yet; Paul Walter Hauser is incredible as well as he makes you believe everything that's said about his character's personality even though each story contradicts whether he's a serial killer or serial confessor. After Jimmy lands at maximum security almost every scene is tense and gripping so you never lose focus and I really love it when shows consume you as you watch, the only thing you think about while watching Black bird is Black bird. Looking forward to the mystery unravel. Didn't give it a full ten rating but there's nothing I can fault it for.

Black Bird is an AppleTV+ mini series based on true events surrounding Jimmy Keane who is played by Taron Egerton. Keane was a drug dealer who was caught by the DEA and was required to serve 10 years in prison. He ends up cutting a deal with the FBI to befriend a suspected serial killer Larry Hall that is serving time in a maximum security prison. Hall is played by Paul Walter Hauser who won an Emmy award for his role. Keane was asked to get a confession and to find out where the 18 plus bodies were buried. Larry's brother Gary Hall (Jake McLaughlin) could not even control his brother from his actions. Greg Kinnear and Sepidah Moafi were the agents in charge to solve the crimes committed by Larry. Tony Amendola played the head of a mafia family that is calling the shots from prison. Lastly the late Ray Liotta played Big Jim, Keane's father, and he was amazing in his role. Unfortunately he passed away before this series was released. Overall i loved this gripping physiological prison drama, one of the best I have ever watched.

Black Bird is a thrilling crime drama that is exciting from start to finish. The story is based on a true story, which makes it even better. The story is well written and directed.

The cast is amazing, especially Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser! Phenomenal performances from both of them. Paul Walter Hauser as Larry Hall really managed to confuse me. Is he really the killer? Or does he like to confess to murders he didn't commit, just to get attention? He played very well, and I was really disgusted by him.

The ending left me a little empty inside and I felt a bit unsatisfied. I think I expected something more, but I don't really know what or why, because it was a good ending and a good series. Maybe the ending was a bit abrupt.

For slow burns, I feel that this one was the perfect length. 6 - one hour episodes to tell this story does not make it drawn out, and keeps the viewer engaged. In one of Ray Liotta's final projects, he did what we all expected from him, and absolutely played his role to perfection. Taron Egerton portrayed Jimmy Keene very well, as I felt that he was out of his element, taking on a different role than what he normally does. Paul Walter Hauser deserved his Golden Globe. The creepiness felt chilling, and his performance may give you nightmares. It's a very good show, and one that I would definitely recommend this show.

It's difficult to believe that Taron Egerton is relatively new to acting. With performances like this, one would never think. He was absolutely believable as a cocky crook with a conscious. He displayed all the layers of the complex character so well. Cockiness masking self-depreciation that eventually shifts to a slow mental decline as he struggles to accomplish his purpose in prison. Egerton is just wonderful. Paul Walter Hausser is also riveting. Upon first glance, he strikes you as a lovable goofball you would see in a comedy. After seeing him in The Kingdom, I was immensely impressed with his acting chops and he also did not disappoint in Black Bird. He initially strikes you as a serial killer that you almost feel sorry for. However, there is a scene where he snaps and it is absolutely terrifying and Hausser reminds you just who his character is and what he is capable of. The acting is a solid 10. How the story is told is a little slow in parts and I think it could have been condensed to 4 episodes opposed to 6. However, it was an interesting and worth it for the performances.

I came upon this limited series just this week and finished it in two nights. Apple TV+ finally hit one out of the park!

Created by the excellent novelist/producer Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, The Drop), who also co-wrote the series. Outstanding direction by Michaël Roskam (The Drop), Joe Chapelle and Jim McKay. The series takes its time to unfold this true story, but it never drags.

Then, there is the terrific cast, headed by Taron Egerton, and featuring: Greg Kinnear, Ray Liotta (in one of his last performances), Sepideh Moafi, but, most especially, a stunning, stand-out performance from Paul Walter Hauser (Richard Jewell).

I wish Apple TV+ would make more of these gems!

An extremely good limited tv series made by apple, this is the 2nd or third apple show I have watched and I must say they are doing a good job !

The story is of Jimmy who is a successful gun runner who ends up getting caught and sentenced to 10 years in prison, he finds himself a deal that drops all charges, that deal is to befriend a serial killer and find the ___location of over 14 alleged girls that he killed. He is fighting for his freedom and safety.

The acting is great, the cop side of the show I wasn't totally in to but the best scenes are Jimmy in Jail and getting to know Larry day by day and wondering if he will trust him enough to confess his crimes.

There are some parts that felt a little slow or unnecessary to the overall story, things that went nowhere but other than that I enjoyed it so much I binged the lot, definitely worth a watch, 8/10.

Great acting, though Jimmy seemed a bit overacted here and there. Could be 1-3 episodes longer otherwise those sidestories with the guard and the italian boss could have been cut out, shrinking it to a longer 120-150 min movie. The end feels really rushed and incomplete. I hope Paul receives an award for his acting as Larry. This is just an insane interpretation of a serial killer. It needs skills painting this 2face character. That he achieves to get even the viewer liking this monster somehow at the end. Unbelievable. And actually The father should be inside of this jail as well.

Apple TV does really turns out being an A-Series provider. Rather less but top notch entertainment instead of spitting out one low class flick after the other.

The remarkable but true story of a convict used by the FBI in a deep undercover operation to get incriminating evidence on another convict, a guy suspected of being a serial killer. Danger was everywhere, and the series did a great job of making me feel tension from beginning to end. On top of it, Paul Walter Hauser absolutely inhabited his character and delivered a seriously creepy performance. Taron Egerton (the undercover prisoner) kept up with him and had several fine scenes of his own, and Sepideh Moafi, Greg Kinnear, and Ray Liotta filled out the cast nicely. It was Liotta's final role, and a good one to go out on. Between subplots like his character (the elderly father) making the mistake of tipping his hand and a corrupt guard trying to take advantage of his son, the investigation of FBI agents on the outside, and the shady aspects of the suspected killer's brother, what could have been a simple story had a nice richness to it. Worth seeing, and apparently accurate to the truth.

It's a great series - I should probably rate it higher than an 8 - but it does drag some. Regardless, it's a great but awful true story - and everyone in this did a great job. Enjoyed every episode. And that's about that!

This is what I call a quality mini series. Six episodes that you will want to watch in one go, it's that addictive. The main reason for that is the excellent acting of the two main characters played by Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser. Taron Egerton was very good but Paul Walter Hauser was just exceptionally good playing his creepy perverted character. The fact that it's inspired by a true story makes it even better. Quite an extraordinary story if you think about it, although it's inspired and by that I mean that I'm sure it didn't exactly happened like that, certainly not the liberties the prisoners got in a certain scenes of this show. There's no way prisoners have that much freedom in a high security prison in the United States. That said it doesn't really matter, all the episodes have a good exciting tension building. You can't help it to hate the creep, that you wish he will get what he deserves and that's all due to the excellent acting. What a performance of Hauser, with Richard Jewell by far his best roles he played. Ray Liotta played a smaller role, it's ironic he played a dying character and passed away just a bit later. It was good to see him one more time. Rest in peace Ray!

Highly recommended! If you like true events, you shouldn't miss this series. It's exciting from the start and sometimes very funny. I started the series without high expectations and was pleasantly surprised.

A brightly made, slow-paced Biographical crime thriller that has many quality in its acting, especially of highlight was the brilliantly played character of Larry (the weirdly talented Paul Walter Hauser) with his soft voice and crystal-clear / translucent dreamy eyes underlining his deranged personality; a mini-series with actual feel of guilt, incarceration and deeds to survive or try to survive in that environment. It's a little not-believable screenplay-wise and plot-wise, all the while shining out for its acting, development, very fitting score and to some extent its flow - lethargic, semi-paced, haunting and back in square one of the loop.

It is not phenomenal, just very well made, which I liked it and wanted it to be more brutal, haunting, more graphic with way more development in a span of at least 10 episodes. 6 episodes do not do it justice and the last one was hurriedly packed up and finished with two real pictures of Jimmy and Larry.

Also, a special note to the superb and emotional acting of Jimmy's father, played by the talented and charismatic Ray Liotta. RIP

• Screenplay/story: 7.5
• Development: 9
• Realism: 8.5
• Entertainment: 7.5
• Acting: 8.5
• Filming/cinematography: 8.5
• Visual/special effects: 8
• Music/score: 8
• Depth: 7.5
• Logic: 7
• Flow: 7.5
• Biography/crime/drama/mystery/thriller: 7.5
• Ending: 7.

An excellent series, but it is not suitable for the family, with scenes that disturb morals and obscene talk, but the story is strong and the acting is very strong and striking.

• Has a similar vibe and feel to MINDHUNTER on Netflix
• Taron Egerton is fantastic in this show. One can say that without him it wouldn't be the same tv show. His written dialogue is great!

• I recommend watching the show in 1 go. Perhaps 2. To get the whole impact and progression.

• Addictive, it doesn't quite have the cliff-hangers as other big shows have, but rather does its own thing. By episode 2 you will probably be hooked.

• Ray Liotta, the protagonists dad, does a fantastic performance as well. Well done.

-Sepideh Moafi, Lauren McCauley, has some great dialogue scenes that were genuinely clever and curveballs.

• It will become clear why the show is called 'Black Bird'
• Not as graphic and gory or violent as I expected.

Although I normally don't start watching a show until there are at least 2 or 3 seasons, my wife and I really wanted to check this one out. I'm glad we did. If you're into creepy-style dramas with a good mystery then you'll enjoy this series. Most of the main characters were well acted...esp. The 2 main characters. The creepy guy was so well done that your skin crawled every time he was on the screen. There were some quirks to the show but they didn't affect the overall success of the series. For instance, the female lead had a really strange accent that I just couldn't place...so it made the character a little (unintentionally) comical. The overall story had good flow and the plot played well with your emotions so that this tale always gave you the creeps at all the right times. Turns out there was only one season to the show...but it's definitely worth watching if you like to be creeped out.

Black Bird has a more than interesting story to tell but suffers from some oddly elementary writing now and then. However, it should be seen if only to witness the mindbogglingly nuanced performance of Paul Walter Hauser. Mr. Houser's performance has an almost hypnotic effect on the audience which makes it all the more terrifying as the the subject matter discussed becomes increasingly more intense. Mr. Egerton gives a strong performance that unfortunately bares the brunt of some of the aforementioned schlocky dialogue. His "Jimmy" is also saddled with an oddly cobbled together family drama as secondary story. The scenes between Hauser and Egerton left me pinned to the back of my couch making it well worth the price of admission.

All brilliant characters and exceptional acting on everyones part. My only gripe is the pacing, the series needed a extra 2, maybe 3 episodes to develop the characters. Not that it was done poorly, just that there were some scenes that weren't explained properly and it left you scratching your head. Leaving you wondering why the character did what they did.

Oh man - Paul Walter Hauser's character is the perfect serial killer vibe you want for this storyline. I dont understand how Taron Egerton could keep a straight face after some of his comments. I really like that the backstory takes place in unassuming Indiana yet the magnitude is much larger.