Sexy Beast

Grim, violent, and slower-paced than the movie of the same name that this series uses as a jumping-off point, this show fails to catch fire. The idea of a prequel for a well-received crime drama from the past isn't a bad one, and Sexy Beast does have one major thing going for it: James McArdle has star power as Gal. Not enough to make those who have seen the original Sexy Beast forget about Ray Winstone's simmering performance, unfortunately, and Emun Elliott as Don is no substitute for Ben Kingsley's Oscar-nominated turn. These two characters are the most vivid, but there are so many characters (most of them 20- or 30-something White guys with dark hair), that viewers may get confused as to who's on screen and why.

The plot, too, moves in fits and starts: We don't get a heist scene until almost the end of the first episode. Another, better drama would spend its time world-building (and one would imagine that the 1990s criminal underground in London would be an interesting world to see); instead, we spend most of our time with Gal and Don, together and alone, and the two characters aren't finely drawn enough to make that compelling. We can see that they want money and success, and that both are turned off by the lower-class ordinary lives of their friends and family. But Sexy Beast doesn't show us what motivates either to seek their fortunes in the criminal world, or allow us to feel the subversive fun of their capers. This prequel lacks the spark that made the original a cult favorite, and as such, it's just another crime drama that's kind of a bummer.