MovieChat Forums > Justified (2010) Discussion > This show doesn't have that 'WOW' factor...

This show doesn't have that 'WOW' factor i had hoped for

posted 9 years ago by buffy1234515
14 replies | jump to latest

I don't think it is a bad show - not by a long shot - but i have heard so many good things about this show - people calling it underrated, and it belongs in the same league as Breaking Bad or even The Sopranos but i just don't get what the fuss is about

I bought the complete series for my Birthday and i am 2 episodes into the 3rd season and nothing 'amazing' has happened yet

Season 1 started off great with a good pilot but nearly every subsequent episode after that was pretty poor (until the last 3/4 episodes of the season) - the CotW ruined the majority of it for me (with the exception of that great hostage episode 'Blowback')
I see high ratings for Hatless - and i wonder to myself 'am i watching a different show?' (i really did NOT like that episode)

Season 2 took a while too get going too IMO - again with season 1 the last stretch of episodes made it great - the majority of it was 'meh'

I am definitely not knocking the performances
Walton Goggins makes everything that much better - and Boyd is a great character

Timothy Olyphant is great as Raylan but he just seems like a very toned down version of Jack Bauer - someone who goes beyond the law to do what is 'justified'

Margo Martindale - wow what a powerhouse performance, now i know why she won an Emmy

Jeremy Davies - although i preferred him in LOST (because, you know, Daniel Faraday is just amazing) he gave another brilliant performance

But the majority of main characters are just 'meh'

Winona and Ava are really NOT at all interesting (Ava is the worst IMO - just an annoying Hick)
Art is funny at times however Tim and Rachel - i don't even notice when they don't appear because they are non-entities

I just hope the rest of the series picks up and gives me the 'WOW' Factor because so far the stories are not good enough to gain this much attention - the acting (and Boyd Crowder) are the big draw IMO

I see people say it is better than SoA but SoA grabbed me from the start and didn't let me go until the (AWFUL) final two seasons (oh and season 3 wasn't so great either, with the exception of the finale)
And compared to The Shield, it downright sucks

I have noticed a trend with the first 2 seasons - it starts off decent, gets a bit boring for the rest of the season, then picks up again during the final episodes

[–] WaySheGoes 9 years ago

My favorite season is either 3 or 4, a lot of fans say 2 is the best overall.

The acting is great and the dialogue is even better. But Ava, I grew to dislike her more each season and (for me) becomes insufferable later on. Hope you stick with it

[–] buffy1234515 9 years ago

Oh I will stick with it, i didn't pay £50 just give up on it

So far, season 3 has held my attention (5 eps in)

And if season 2 is a lot of fans' overall best season then that doesn't say much for the rest of the series does it?

Good to know Ava get's more annoying :/ ugh

[–] WaySheGoes 9 years ago

Forgot to mention season 4 is brilliant. That actually may be the best overall. Starts a little slow but episode 4 or 5 it picks up and doesn't slow down

[–] cardinalsfan27 9 years ago

I disagree, Justified I'd brilliant outside of the middle of the first season and parts of season five. Season two, four and six are amazing.

[–] buffy1234515 9 years ago

Brilliant is a subjective term

Season 2 is not amazing - it's good, but not amazing, nothing in that season made me go 'wow'

9 episodes into season 3 and i already prefer it to season 2 - WAY better story (just not into the 'this land has been in our family for generations' crap)
Margo Martindale's amazing performance MADE that season good - not the story - which was below average IMO

Neal McDonough is just amazing BTW

I've seen a lot of crime dramas and Justified is definitely not up there IMO

Like i said in my OP, i don't dislike it, but i just don't see anything special about it outside of the performances - but then again, this is coming from someone who thought Breaking Bad was nothing special (like Sesame Street compared to The Sopranos) and thinks Game Of Thrones is the most overrated show of the past decade (because, it IS)

[–] cardinalsfan27 9 years ago

Like you said, brilliant is a subjective term. I think it is, you don't. I guess we just have to agree to disagree.

I do agree that Neal McDonough is amazing.

I also agree that Game Of Thrones is overrated but I loved Breaking Bad. It took a while to hook me but I loved it once I did. Justified is better than both IMO.

[–] buffy1234515 9 years ago

I don;t love BrBa but it's a good show - especially the final season but compared to the AMAZING The Sopranos - it's really not that good

I'm glad you agree about GoT - i'm clearly in the minority so it's to see someone on my side about that show

[–] cardinalsfan27 9 years ago

I still haven't watched The Sopranos, it just doesn't seem to interest me.

You aren't alone on GoT. I don't hate it but I don't care enough to make sure I watch it either.

[–] sawfan1414 9 years ago

Seasons 3-4 and 6 are my favorites, hands down. I feel like season 2 gets a little overrated, in no way is it the best season of this show. Sure the final 4-5 episodes are phenomenal but people forget that it's waaaay too slow at times, it has that stupid Winona plot with the money that should have been a self contained episode and not stretched over 3 episodes. Every season after 2 does something better, Season 3 has the best villain in the series IMO, 4 has a better story, 5 is more fun, and 6 is probably the best season of the show. With all of that said, Justified is one of the most thoroughly entertaining shows I've ever seen. Definitely a favorite of mine, always been a huge fan of Walton Goggins.

6
3/4
5
2
1

[–] BulmaPunkRocker 9 years ago

I have seen a lot of episodes (because it used to be broadcasted before a show I liked, so I've ended up watching this too), but here in my country this show is not known at all, and here EVERYONE is crazy about Breaking Bad and The Sopranos, but Justified? No one even knows the show.
I think it has a lot to do with culture. The way of living portrayed in this show looks too cartoonish, maybe in the early XX Century, in rural towns, some people behaved the way the characters of the show do, but it seems so out of place... I have to admit I laughed out loud with some scenes, but I can't see at all any comparasion to the shows that OP mentioned.

Please excuse my terrible redaction, english is not my native language

[–] masurra 8 years ago

As much as I like Justified I wont say it's amazing or great, it's a good but slightly uneven (first half season 1 and season 5) show with the best dialogue on TV.

_______
"if seagal was thinner this could have been a theatrical product."

[–] shuglife 8 years ago

Justified gets a lot of love because the characters were very well fleshed out and felt organic and not forced. The characters were very gray, not all were evil nor all good so the complexity of the characters for me was refreshing.

Dialogue was amazing. I could watch 30 minutes of Raylan and Boyd discussing wallpaper, and would be entertained.

Finally I felt there is no large disparity between the good and bad. Lot of shows theres really good and really bad. Justified there's not a lot of highs and lows, most is good-very good but not real many bad or mediocre episodes.

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Is this Idaho? Because I will not limbo in Idaho.

[–] duaneincali 8 years ago

while I think it was better than buffy states, points are actually close. no real wow factor ala other major cable shows. but it was more perhaps literary, slower build.

[–] duaneincali 8 years ago

while I think it was better than buffy states, points are actually close. no real wow factor ala other major cable shows. but it was more perhaps literary, slower build.