- Network: FOX
- Series Premiere Date: May 22, 2014
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Critic Reviews
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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The writing is sharp, the atmosphere thick with tension from, among other things, car and foot chases.
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It would be giving away too much to get into the specifics of an emotional Episode 3 encounter between Javier and son Carlos. But this is where Gang Related really starts to distinguish and establish itself as a series that might grow into something more than a vividly staged run ’n’ gun hour with little else going for it.
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In the show's best moments, this moral pickle (being a mole vs. being a cop) leaves Ryan scrambling to improvise ways to prevent gang crimes without really catching anyone. [26 May 2014, p.40]
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It’s a fast-paced shoot-’em-up/blow-’em-up affair (with the usual ridiculous disregard for actual public safety), but beneath the noise and oozing machismo, it’s not half bad as a deeper emotional story about family and trust.
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The action scenes are impressive, the cast admirably diverse (with Cliff Curtis especially strong as Ryan's demanding surrogate father), and the tone suitably rugged. All Gang Related needs to up the ante is a hero who's a little more "anti-."
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It’s an action drama about a cop leading a double life and is itself torn in two directions: aspiring to the latitude and sophistication of cable, but still hamstrung by conventional notions of character development, exposition and taste.
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With the tension of its premise and the promise of its family-driven drama, Gang Related may eventually work the stiffness out of its joints and become interesting. Or not. It’s that kind of show.
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Clunky dialogue, clichéd relationships, and an escapist action-flick aesthetic combine to subvert the ambition for gritty realism. It requires stronger vision and voice, as well as more distance; it can't decide whether to be likable or prickly.
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Nothing feels authentic about this show.
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For what it is--a small-screen version of a big-screen shoot-’em-up--Gang Related is fine, but it won’t be confused with great TV.
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Just as Lopez struggles to balance his loyalties, so does Gang Related struggle to bring fresh energy to the formula.
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The pilot episode, airing Thursday, is less than promising, but once you get used to the cliches, the loudly telegraphed plot developments and the unrelentingly phony look of the set, the show becomes watchable in subsequent episodes, thanks to a few of the key performances and some well-directed action scenes.
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Gang Related ultimately confuses being grim with being sophisticated, and it too rarely stops to think about what it’s trying to say beyond, “Man, being a dirty cop sure would be tough!”
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Pulp hooey with a comic book vitality and earnestness that manages to keep it (usually) on track.
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Instead of Ryan being a complex antihero with shades of gray, he’s more like a boring beige.
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O'Quinn doesn't have nearly the command he did on Lost, even if he is in charge. Any scenes with the gang members' families are just plain cringe-worthy.
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As badly as the members of Los Angelicos behave, they're always going to be more interesting than the people trying to shut them down. And yet not quite interesting enough to keep me watching as they chase the legitimacy they're never going to catch.
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A couple of hail-Mary maneuvers and a lucky coincidence come to the rescue. But it’s clear that Gang Related already has dipped deep into a well that only holds so much water.
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Gang Related is a dense serial about loyalty and betrayal, but without enough redeeming qualities to offset its high quotient of ugliness and mayhem.
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It features gunfire, bad dialogue, more gunfire and me wondering why Terry O’Quinn keeps signing on to losers like this after winning an Emmy for his work on “Lost.”
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In Fox’s instantly awful Gang Related, it’s pretty clear right away that you’re dealing with a pile of clichés that, pushed together and financed, can never be more than dreadful.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 35 out of 48
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Mixed: 3 out of 48
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Negative: 10 out of 48
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Jun 11, 2014
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Jun 1, 2014
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Jun 27, 2014