Too Old to Die Young

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Season 1
Metascore
55

Mixed or average reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 8
  3. Negative: 2 out of 8
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Critic Reviews

  1. Collider
    Reviewed by: Gregiry Ellwood
    Jun 14, 2019
    58
    A series that doesn’t seem as deep as it thinks it is. ... Refn directs his actors to deliver their lines in a deliberate and often unnatural rhythm. The cast occasionally circumvents this aesthetic, especially during emotionally charged moments, but Refn and his longtime editor Matthew Newman often have scenes breathe for excruciatingly long times. [Prime Video only screened episodes 4 and 5]
  2. IndieWire
    Reviewed by: Eric Kohn
    Jun 14, 2019
    50
    Viewed as a single unit, the episodes were a mixed bag of self-serious storytelling and pulpy action, with whispery exchanges that drag on for minutes at a time, set against Refn’s standard subterranean vision of an ominous modern-day Los Angeles. [Prime Video only screened episodes 4 and 5]
  3. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: David Fear
    Jun 18, 2019
    40
    [A] limping, baggy megillah, which fails to justify its marathon-length running time as anything more than a self-satisfying, hardboiled-by-numbers folly.

Awards & Rankings

47
#47 Most Discussed TV Season of 2019

User Reviews

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User Score
7.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 43 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 43
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 43
  3. Negative: 8 out of 43
  1. OlivierPiel
    Jul 6, 2019
    8
    I'm usually much harsher than critics, but here it is unfathomable why they trash such a beautifully shot series. Granted, cars, neon lightsI'm usually much harsher than critics, but here it is unfathomable why they trash such a beautifully shot series. Granted, cars, neon lights and taciturn characters are the fetish of Mr Refn, but the attention to lighting details, the composition and the framing of the pictures are just gorgeous.
    Others complain about the wooden and unnatural acting but it is refreshing to get away from all these method acting scenes that ooze too much fake pathos.
    Some other complain about the stillness and silence or lack of a plot. But this is exactly why it is much more a cinematic experience than other Netflix or TV shows. Refn understands that show like True Detective or similar neo-noirs are just mediocre disposable paperback thrillers that become instantly obsolete once the whole story is revealed.
    On the other hand, he doesn't fall into the second-degree superficial pulpy farces à la Tarantino where non-stop action and half-clever zingers are put there just to distract the audience about the emptiness of the whole endeavour.
    As in his previous works, he confronts the American mythology of the police thrillers with our innate fascination with it, and distills its essence...and find at its heart a sort of metaphysical yin/yang battle between female and male instincts.
    This is very well done for the first 8 episodes or so. Sadly, the ending feels very lazy and rushed as it resorts to clichéd monologues on the end of the civilization and sophomoric sociological/philosophical musings , and worse a stalled narrative. Also he overdoes it on the Trump doom and gloom parallels. It feels cheap and pandering to the audience. This brings down the whole myth building exercise and concludes in a very boring hackneyed political and sociological epilogue.    … Full Review »
  2. SlinkyBender
    Jun 19, 2019
    4
    I'm only 2/3 of the way through the first episode and I just checked to see how much time is left for the third time.
  3. Lambo442
    Jul 24, 2019
    2
    The first episode was incredible. Intense, disturbing, intriguing. But with the second episode everything goes downhill. The charactersThe first episode was incredible. Intense, disturbing, intriguing. But with the second episode everything goes downhill. The characters introduced in Mexico are very flat, they hardly every speak (especially the nephew, who just sits there brooding). There's too much of a pause between each line of dialogue and the long panning shots start to become a chore. It's a real shame as there's a lot it had going for it, the amazing music by Cliff Martinez of course, the cool plot line established in the first episode, with this corrupt cop trying to balance his love life whilst staying alive. Then it all gets very dull.… Full Review »
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