Mobster Land: Shonda Rhimes dressed as Scorsese, with a 'hard British' style and a boorish sense of humor

In his not-so-small niche, Guy Ritchie is a brand. One that has produced some blockbusters and quite a few more flops in theaters. That Ritchie's biggest hit, Aladdin , in 2019 is more Disney's than his own is as true as the fact that his many missteps have benefited him, as they have built his personality as a creator. Guy Richie's films are neither subtle nor refined, but they have a very recognizable style and themes. That's a brand .

The Guy Ritchie brand is, indeed, a reality. And television has bought it. Netflix will premiere the second season of The Gentlemen this year, and now Paramount+ is launching Mobland . Translated as Land of the Mafia and distributed in Spain by SkyShowtime , this new series, despite being created by others, has the Ritchie trademark: over-the-top characters, intense performances, Shonda Rhimes disguised as Scorsese, hard-bitten British styling, and a dorky sense of humor. Does it work? It depends .

If the phrase "a Guy Ritchie series" means anything to you, Gangland works perfectly. If not, the series may interest you at times, unsettle you at others, and occasionally make you cringe. That's also part of the Guy Ritchie brand.

He was already in his two Sherlock Holmes films (blockbusters), in RocknRolla (flop), and in his approach to King Arthur with Charlie Hunnam (debacle). He wasn't in Swept Away , but we're not going to blame Ritchie for having complied with all the wishes of the star of that film, who was also his wife at the time: a certain Madonna .

Let's stick with what's cool about Gangland : Tom Hardy doing what he does best (which is precisely being cool), Helen Mirren in villainous grandmother mode, Pierce Brosnan being very scary, and a very sexy London, even when it gets down to the lumpen.

Created by Ronan Bennet , screenwriter of the latest The Day of the Jackal , Gangland chronicles the delicate relationships between several British mafia bosses. They are all, as the instruction manual for this type of series dictates, cold and sophisticated, cruel and exquisite, ruthless and stylish.

Hence the call for the highly elegant Brosnan and Geoff Bell , playing two feuding criminal patriarchs after the grandson of the first and the son of the second experience a, let's say, complicated night. This upsets the precarious balance of power in a criminal ecosystem where the slightest hint of harm can get you shot. In the midst of all this, Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy) does the dirty work for one of the gangsters. He also has his own problems.

Mobster Land isn't known for its originality, but it doesn't completely submit to Guy Ritchie 's peculiar universe, either. As the series' executive producer, he has a lot of say in the matter. This isn't a particularly refined piece of fiction, but neither is it the kind of sleaze that its director so loves.

Compared to the inevitable, bloated The Gentlemen , The Gangsters win. It's somewhere between a macho Palomas Negras and a low-life Billions . It's easy to follow and understand, visually competent, and it features Tom Hardy. I'm happy with that. For me, "a Guy Ritchie series" now means "check it out; hopefully, it won't be a tacky romp with thugs more concerned with their jackets and hats than with doing their jobs." Even the most tacky brands sometimes make decent products.