d-d-d-dAz Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 The early reviews are out from the first 3 episodes and they range from 'disappointing compared to season 1' to 'triumphant return'. The more highbrow reviewers seem to bemoan the lack of poetry or artistic flourish; the more mainstream TV/film outlets seem more positive. Â They all seem united in saying that there's a lot of promise for the later season. Â I know a couple of people at Sky who've seen more than the first 3 and they're really, really raving about it. Â I'm excited.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Astro Hollywood Posted June 21, 2015 Moderators Share Posted June 21, 2015 I haven't seen any rave reviews. Everything I've read on S2 says it's fucking terrible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 I'm not going to post a bunch of reviews, but indiewire have done a piece on the mixed reviews;  http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/wildly-mixed-first-reviews-arrive-for-true-detective-season-2-20150612  Actually, it's Fathers Day. I'm happy. I'll try and insert some hope into the Astro household;  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/11675660/True-Detective-season-2-episode-1-review.html  http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/reviews/a35664/true-detective-season-2-review/  http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/06/true-detective-season-2-review  http://www.cinemablend.com/television/True-Detective-Season-2-Review-Great-Cast-Balances-Excessively-Dark-Story-72581.html  http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/true-detective-season-2-episode-1-the-western-book-of-the-dead-review-kiss-goodbye-to-any-link-whatsoever-to-series-1-10325359.html  Not universal praise by any means, but then I don't think it was ever going to be given the sort of breathing space to make mistakes in the same way the first season was. I still think it'll be good, as long as you can separate it from the first season.  All the reviews seem to admit it has teething issues, but promise. The people I know who've seen more seem far more positive. It may be a case of growing into itself. That said, that may be an issue in and of itself with it only being 8 episodes. It may get going in time to finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Astro Hollywood Posted June 21, 2015 Moderators Share Posted June 21, 2015 I didn't exactly hunt around, but the reviews in the places I usually read and trust left me with a sinking feeling. Season 1 was so out of nowhere, unexpectedly incredible, that S2 was always going to have trouble living up to it, either from people judging it more harshly, or the extra pressure on Nic Pizzolatto after going from a complete unknown to the most acclaimed showrunner/writer of 2014. My mind is definitely open, and I hope it's great, but so many damning reviews are not a good sign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 My biggest concern is that they'll misunderstand the appeal of a character like Rust, and instead have everyone speaking in inorganic, staccato sound bites designed to be quoted on twitter. Â Rust was bonkers, but played so well it became believable. If the new series is punctuated with single-sentence philosophising that doesn't fit the character or scene, it'll be awful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Marty was the most interesting character, Rust was the most interesting cop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted June 21, 2015 Author Share Posted June 21, 2015 How shall we play this, just so that I can label the thread correctly. will the majority of us be watching the "regular" 9am Monday showing (so label as 'UK pace') or are we going to go with the 2am airing as the episode Premiere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 To be honest, if you're planning on watching it at nine, you get everything you deserve if you can't avoid this thread for less than a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted June 21, 2015 Author Share Posted June 21, 2015 I've just gone with a spoilers within label. That way anyone can watch/sky+ the 2am show & discuss, if not and you decide that your going to wait for the 9pm Monday showing, don't moan if you come in here and something is spoiled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Oh, man. I don't know. Â It had promise, which is good. It was better than the negative reviews would have you believe, but it was still really unbalanced. Â Rachel Mcadams was good. She fit straight into that character shoes. And I'd like to know whatever sex act was too hardcore for her fella, and then I'd like to volunteer my services to her. Deary me. Â Vince Vaughn was the standout for me, as he was who I expected the least from. I thought he benefitted from having the simplest, most effective character to work with; but he held his end up too, and his character was believable and understandable in terms of motivations. Â I thought Taylor Kitsch was rubbish, and his pouty face was annoying. Â Colin Farrell, bless him. He tried his best, but was let down by confusing dialogue that seemed to have been written in a vacuum. It made no sense in terms of the wider scene or show. '...I welcome judgment' was bad and I burst out laughing at 'ill buttfuck your dad out here with your mums headless corpse'. What the fuck was that? Â On the plus side, it still looks gorgeous. The cast, and supporting cast, is brimming with talent and there's a lot of potential there. Â A big issue seemed to be that 57 minutes of the episode felt like backstory before the actual story kicked in. I think what happens from now is a truer reflection of the series, as this felt like a rushed attempt to establish the characters and their stories before the murder mystery could kick off proper. Â It needs to hurry up and intertwine the various threads though, as 8 episodes isn't long enough to have that many different threads. Â 6.5/10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanz25 Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Thought Rachel Mcadams and Taylor Kitsch's characters seemed a bit pointless. Didn't feel the need for them plus I thought there story's in particular Taylor's where dull. Vaughan was great, Farrell similar, both suffered from a huge amount of poor dialogue though. Â Vaughans character had so much utter shite filler content to which did my head in after a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Bifkin Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 I didn't think it was as bad as many of the reviews I'd read but it wasn't a patch on the first episode of the first series. That blew my mind when I first watched it. However, I do think the first series peaked mid way through and rather petered out. The last episode was a bit daft. Let's hope they are slowly building to a thrilling finale this time around. Â My main concern was if the show can really carry 3-4 troubled/tortured/dark/nihilistic leads. I was disappointed that there were no characters like Marty in among all the existential darkness. Still the atmospheric style of the first series was intact, I enjoyed the score and the cinematography was almost as breathtaking, even if I felt they were looking for very similar shots as last season - highways, industrial decay etc. I think I would have preferred a more original feel. Â But I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. Even the worst reviews I've read have it picking up halfway through the second episode so I remain optimistic. Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Gus Mears Posted June 23, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted June 23, 2015 I echo the sentiments regarding Taylor Kitsch, the entire character came across as pointless and I could have done without him duckfacing the entire episode too. One of my least favourite things in modern TV shows is that everybody has to be damaged, or an anti-hero, or have some kind of massive emotional baggage. I came out of this feeling that almost every character was a complete tosser, although I'm sure this will be recitified to some extent in the next few episodes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Murtz Posted June 23, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted June 23, 2015 I thought it was great. I think I enjoyed this opener more than the first season opener. Loved the ending where the main characters all got together. Â The most disappointing thing was the change of the theme song. I bloody loved the tune from the first season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Astro Hollywood Posted June 23, 2015 Moderators Share Posted June 23, 2015 I possibly liked it more than I would have, had the reviews not put my expectations in the toilet, but it did live up to my fears a bit that Rust Cohle was such the stand-out, quotable character that made S1 such a talking point, they'd all be miserable poets. It needs a little, well, not light relief, but a lead who's not dark and tormented, for a better balance. It was more promising than those initial reviews suggested, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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