Cinemax's Banshee Season 1 - Review

Banshee is a roller coaster ride from start to finish, plunging you into the depths of action, violence, and sex, with some twists and turns into the drama realm.  The only difference is: there's no slow climb to the peak in the beginning.  You're fired from the start at face-melting speeds and the show remains there until the finale.

Don't crap your pants...don't crap your pants...

Let me explain: There are TV shows that slowly unravel with filler episodes to inflate plots and story lines, making a season stretch into boredom, and you wanting to pick your eyeballs out with a fork.  Others recycle the same episode over and over again, until the story line becomes utterly ridiculous and a waste of good porn-surfing time (*cough* The Following *cough*).  Banshee is not one of those shows.  There's actually a profuse story arc that comes full circle, and dynamic characters that develop along the way.

STORY:

Lucas Hood (protagonist played by Antony Starr) is an ex-con/master thief.  After 15 brutal years in prison, he immediately seeks out the woman he loves in the small town of Banshee, Pennsylvania.  The town's new sheriff, who nobody has met yet, ends up at the wrong end of a gun fight, and on a whim, our protagonist assumes his identity.  Soon, Sheriff Hood’s past catches up with his present, and crazy small-town gunfights and brawls ensue.

Yep, I'm pretty sure I just sharted.

THOUGHTS:

The idea above really is much better than it sounds.  At first, you might think a thief becoming a sheriff is a little farfetched, but it's made more plausible by an old friend of Hood's, who happens to be a hacker.  Also, who really gives a crap?  The point of the show isn't to dwell on the believability; it's to enjoy the ride—and what a frigging ride it is.

Let’s get the biggest issue out of the way first: the sex scenes.  Other reviews online complained that the sex/love scenes are borderline soft porn.  Well, boo frigging hoo.  It's a Cinemax series people—did you really think there would be no nudity?  The reviews made it seem as though people were actually surprised (oh my goodness, Martha, I think they just showed a woman’s breast--do you believe it?).  Do we really still exist in a culture where a couple of naked bodies rubbing against each other—and that's really all they're doing—turns people off?  If that's so, then maybe you shouldn't be watching any TV at all.  Instead, you should get the "Little House on the Prairie" boxed set, and watch it until your eyes bleed.  Yes, there's sex.  Yes, there are fully nude women.  Yes, it is awesome.  But, is it needed?  Not always, but some of the love scenes are crucial to the plot, and need to be shown.  Could they do without showing every inch of the women who get naked?  Yeah, but what fun would that be...if you're going to do something, you might as well push it to the limits, right?  And this show pushes everything to limits.

"Some idiots actually think we're really having sex?  No, you're pulling my leg!"

It's really hard to remember any down time during the ten hour season.  Each episode is one full thrill ride after another, and watching Sheriff Hood deal with the town’s problems is downright hysterical.  Antony Starr excels as the rough and tough, batsh*t crazy sheriff, who'll smash your face in first, and then ask questions later—that's of course if you can still talk, after he's tenderized your skull.  The sheriff has no regard, whatsoever to the law, yet everything he does is justified, and people really can't complain, because he's making the decisions everyone wants too, but sometimes are held back, due to legalities.

"What?  No, I'm fine...it's just a nose bleed.  Happens all the time."

Let’s talk action: it’s here by the barrel full.  I really have to commend the person(s) that choreographed the fight scenes, and the actors for making them look unbelievably real.  These aren't the Kung-Fu-every-motion-has-a-reaction kind of fights.  These are brutal brawls that cause fingers to be broken, faces to be plastered through glass or wood, and any object lying around to become a weapon.  These are fights that anyone could happen to find themselves in, if per chance, you're an ex-con hiding out as a sheriff in a small town.  Not only will you see fights, but the show also has its share of car chases/crashes, gun battles, and explosions.  Everything an action junkie needs to survive.

"Damn it!  I told you people not to play in the bouncy house." 

The show doesn't just thrust action in your face though; it intertwines it with a great plot, evolving characters, and fantastic dialogue.  You know there's good dialogue when characters don't have to recite a novel to get a point across.  For example: there's a scene where a deputy just had something dear taken away from her.  Instead of rambling nonsense, you get one line.  And in that one line, lie years of memories and now, hurt.  Well done.

The characters, whether they are supporting or main, all have background stories and pasts that allow each and every one of them to grow within the action-packed 10 episode season.  The show teaches you, everyone's actions/choices lie deep within the gray and nothing is black and white.  You'll meet people you hate and then end up liking by the end, and vice versa.  The show is carried on the shoulders by the fantastic work of Antony Starr as Sheriff Hood, but every—literally, every character is worth having around in this show.  It would fill this entire review if I named them all, so I'll leave those names to be found on IMDB.  All you have to know is: each actor is worth their weight in gold.

Stop me if you heard this one: 3 misfits walk into a bar.  A white guy, a black guy, and an Asian guy...

Banshee is like a beautiful girl (or handsome guy for the chick version of this review) pulling over on the side of the road and giving you a devilish smile.  You take a peek in the backseat and see open bottles of alcohol and loaded guns.  You know that jumping in with her (him) is going to lead to a life on the run, and probably won't be the best thing for your health, but you just can't help yourself.  You hop in, turn up the tunes, gulp down a bottle of whiskey, cock a gun, do the tongue tussle, and peel rubber away from your boring life.

 

Why...hello.  

Oh, you want me to leave my loving wife and new born behind, to follow you?  Let me just set these groceries down and we can go.

If you have Cinemax, do yourself a favor, stop debating, and watch the first couple of episodes of Banshee.  I guarantee you'll be hooked.  If you don't have Cinemax, that's alright, the DVD's will be coming out soon.  So, here's to waiting for season two, I hope it kicks just as much ass as season one.  *raises glass and then smashes it over some dudes head*

Lucas finally decides he has to stop going to those PTA meetings...they're gonna kill him.

4.5 out of 5 stars (minus a ½ star for a certain outcome during the season finale, and no—I’m not going to tell you what it is and spoil everything)