Justified is a series based on Elmore Leonard's novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and his short story "Fire in the Hole". It is about a Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens (played by Timothy Olyphant) who is assigned duty in his native state of Kentucky. The milieu of the story is all about hicks and hillbillies and the various nonsense criminal enterprises that occurs in those parts (mainly drugs and robbery). Raylan's character is like a 19th century gun fighter in the 21st century. He often gets involved in a shoot out with the bad guys.
I enjoyed this series and I found that Season 2 was better than Season 1 and Season 3 was better than Season 2. The series has strengths and weaknesses. Olyphant, as well as his primary frenemy Boyd Crowder (character name), his ex-wife and widow Ava Crowder are all very interesting characters. Olyphant's Southern/Western mojo and accent are likeable as well as his overall coolness. Crowder has a very interesting way of speaking, not just with his accent but with the clever way he expresses himself. The show has a way of generating very interesting bad guys as well and it dispatches them very quickly. That's kind of a strength and a weakness. It's amazing how a show can generate so many interesting and seemingly formidable bad guys for Rayland to fight and then kill them off just as fast. It actually reminds me of the anime Ruroni Kenshin Wandering Samurai in that regard. Each time there is a new bad guy he seems brand new and not just some pussy who's cannon fodder for Rayland. However, watching this pattern repeat several times you know that they're not going to live long.
The show manages to make it not repetitive by having the bad guys often kill each other, rather than Rayland doing it.
The show is unfortunately aired on FX (Fox), but I think it's a great series besides that and if you're looking for a modern day Western tv show, this one is perfect.
Rating: 8.5/10
Reply With Quote
