Ganglands (2021– ) User Reviews

Looking forward to see season 2!

[info-980-527623 · 8/10 · 23 April 2022]

I like this serie very much being a dark no-nonsense story. Though some reviews mention bad acting for me it was very good acting but I guess that some people prefer a more mainstream hollywood approach which is not in this serie but just makes it so great.

I would also mention a 10/10 for the visual effects team because they are great! Gun sounds, impact of bullets are well thougth and very realistic.

Looking forward to see more!

Hidden Gem

[ronaldmpofu · 8/10 · 13 October 2021]

This was an amazing show , don't listen to the bad reviews , people have become so idiotic in their comments that they think they can write better scripts or direct better yet they are useless binging punks.l who have nothing good to say .

This is a very good show...

[spikeypoet · 8/10 · 29 October 2021]

This is a very good show, but there are holes.

The main hole for me was the main female LGHDTV character. She has ZERO redeeming qualities; she's INCREDIBLY MASCULINE, self-centered, arrogant, egotistical, disrespectful, irritating and puts those around her in danger because she's completely oblivious to the concept of actions having consequences and repercussions. I cannot stand her.

SHE IS DETESTABLE!!

She spends most of the series furious with others over messes that she'd caused herself, mainly getting people killed.

When the baddies would show up, I'd be shouting at the screen, "kill her, she's well past overdue!!"

She's the main hole, for me: the baddies had plenty of opportunities to dispatch one of the most anger-inducing characters to date, yet she's always managed to come out unscathed, like a cockroach. I cannot stand her.

At least give her some redeeming qualities, so that we don't all want her to get what she's long overdue😬

Gallic hyper violence.

[gilesadhamilton · 7/10 · 24 September 2021]

More over stylised Gallic hyper violence improbable enough to make Game of Thrones look like a documentary. A multi ethnic cast of brooding menace causing mayhem and making ridiculous choices in the Antwerp drug trade. It's diverting enough but if you've seen Braquo etc you've seen this. It certainly isn't Spiral.

Great watch!!!!

[guilfordtavion · 9/10 · 5 October 2021]

Had me locked in from start to finish!!! I loved the pace of this show and how the characters were mainly developed through action instead of all the extensive talking like some shows do. One of the main characters "Mehdi" was my favorite. Loved how they didn't have him do too much talking. Also this show did not have a generic happy ending like every other show. The complexity of the plot made this show elite!

Waiting for Season 2

[laduqesa · 6/10 · 7 October 2021]

There were some huge holes in the plot. Some of them were the usual ones - the good guys can kill a dozen bad ones with just a pistol when the bad guys are using machine guns, a hitwoman fails to kill a driver who is about to run her over even though she has the time, evidence is dropped by accident so that people can be traced by the baddies.

There are some dichotomies too. One of the "good" gangsters says that they would refuse to kill a guy they capture as they are "not murderers". However, in the first scene that opens the series, their heist involves killing plenty of the muscle of a rival gang.

I also had difficulties with Liana's character too. She's too wilful and stupid to have made a convincing partner for the professional gangsters. Indeed, her actions lead to disaster and tragedy on more than one occasion.

Having said that, the series was immensely enjoyable, especially the dreamboat Saber played by Salim Kechiouche. In fact all of the cast was attractive, particularly Nabiha Akkar as Sofia Djebli. They moved the action on at a cracking pace. One other thing I appreciated was that the writers weren't afraid to kill off likeable main characters.

There was no cliffhanger, but an open ending that is sure to presage a second season. I can't wait.

Very good action Thriller

[jryujuico · 8/10 · 14 October 2021]

I enjoyed this series very much. Anything I have seen with Sami Bouajila has been very good. I enjoyed his acting in The 2015 Movie, The Crew.

I would suggest you ignore any bad ratings and watch this movie series. The actors are all very good, and it was an exciting action movie that was well filmed and well directed.

Way better than expected

[kanyinsola-01041 · 7/10 · 7 October 2021]

First things first, it's a Netflix show, don't go into it with the expectation that it should match the quality of a HBO Emmy-nominated show. I don't know if other reviewers expected that. Limit your expectations. That being said, I found it very engaging and had many moving parts. Lots of fast action and was definitely worth the watch. Saw it all in one seating. It's not the highest budget show but it really came out well given what it had. I could draw a slight comparison to it with Gangs of London.

PS: Don't be thrown off by the action sequence in first 5 minutes.

Don't blink or you'll miss it

[patherwill · 8/10 · 11 October 2021]

Absolutely loved this series, dubbed into English. Fast moving, non-stop action virtually all the way through. Most of the cast are new to me except the guy playing Mehdi. Basic story involves a drugs heist, a drugs war and double crossing is standard, plenty of action and even where there isn't any, the storyline is interesting. The viewer can't see what's coming next in this try as he may, unlike some movies where you can see what's going to happen 10 minutes before it does, There's a high body count, plenty of hand to hand fighting also. Well worth its 8 points!

Enjoyable nonsense

[jackfield-61059 · 6/10 · 30 October 2021]

Men dressed in black with heavy artillery and all the latest gadgets, carrying out heists, robbing drug dealers, multiple shoot outs, massacres and double crossing. In a strange land where cctv doesn't seem to exist and the police don't really investigate anything much. Watch so many of these things especially on Netflix, i do wonder why no one says this has all been done before and is extremely unrealistic. Saying that i kind of enjoy them.

Action packed entertainment

[bwgood77 · 9/10 · 28 October 2021]

If you're expecting Godfather: The Series, this isn't it.

But if you want some action packed entertainment? Watch this. Is it perfect? No, of course not. No action movies or series with gunfights are. I mean Die Hard, one of the best action movies of all time, is ridiculously unrealistic. Any revenge movies, John Wick, Taken, etc, those types are far from realistic...but you know what you are getting into

Someone complained about one crew (they refer to as "good guys") being able to kill plenty of guys, but you are talking about guys who were obviously military special forces wearing bulletproof suits, highly trained, sharpshooters with state of the art weaponry, against a bunch of drug dealers and their hired help. I mean of course these guys will be hard to take down, just like they are in wartime.

It's not for the faint of heart either. No the acting isn't great but there are a few solid characters you want to pull for even if they may have created their own messes.

If you like to pick things apart that may seem unrealistic, this may not be for you but if you just want to watch something full of action and some good real characters, it's definitely worth a watch. I did see a mention of Snabba Cash. That was a solid one too.

Good acting, constant action, let down by inconsistent writing

[hibiki_to_ikari · 7/10 · 28 October 2022]

Belgian (French-language) crime series about drug gangs and professional thieves fighting it out in Brussels

Good The acting is mostly good. Tracy Gotoas was particularly good as Liana Non-stop wall-to-wall action. Very high-paced and adrenaline-filled Good locations - particularly the scenes at the port, which is an underutilized location in crime dramas (despite their obvious relevance to drug smuggling)

Bad The writing... the characters are totally inconsistent and act in baffling ways that constantly break immersion Eg. Why does Medhi - portrayed as a meticulous planner - fall for such an obvious trap when going to get back his niece?

Why does Mehdi go to deliver Hassan alone (despite otherwise always acting with backup?) Why does Saber forgive Sofia so easily - okay he didn't like his father either, but she plotted with his rival to kill his father and take his business, then... he doesn't care?

Why does Liana not take any precautions going to the hospital and the funeral - two places where it is obvious there is a high chance she would be caught? Okay her character is sometimes brash, but even for her this was too much ...and countless more

Despite the inconsistent characters and hundreds of plot holes, I still enjoyed it because it was so fast-paced and full of cliffhangers and thrilling moments. Would watch again.

Could have been good without the kids

[ajhoward-57037 · 5/10 · 22 February 2023]

This could have actually been good if they didn't choose these characters and write them the way they did. First off 2 amateur nobodies would have NEVER been able to rob somebody for 8 kilos of cocaine and with no plan to even get rid of it. The way they wrote the main female chatachter in this is so frustratingly annoying. Disrespectful, arrogant, ignorant, self centered, blaming everybody for your mistakes and constant screw ups is so unbelievably annoying to watch and it happens over and over again. Then we're supposed to believe one guy took these annoying screw up kids and made them basically professional street ppl and killers over night is a joke. I don't understand how people write shows like this. At least make the plot and characters believable please is that so hard to do. Without some serious plot holes and annoying kids this could have been good.

Very good, but with few cracks

[MAD_PIGE0N · 7 October 2021]

The TV series has nothing to do with the movie.

The show is good, above the average good which goes around 6 stars - it has a very good music, decent acting, nice camera and picture format (it is very stupid to film something that will go straight to a TV-release in a cinema format, but it is a common practice). More or less, it is a standard gang story, but twisted at max and the cool thing is that there are no good ones here as it should be because it is a criminal world. There is a lot of shooting, violence, after the main problem gets to a resolution, then it all goes deeper and there is the problem: it is because of two stupid girls, two kids and it is inadequate for such a high-level and ruthless criminals to fall for their actions. So I understand the reviewers who are dissatisfied by, but I think it is all so well done, that it can be ignored as you otherwise risk to miss a good show.

I can't miss to mention that the nature of the love story that is becoming more and more often without being essential for the scenario, but as for nowadays, that is how the things are going (down).

entertaining and watchable

[wdaliangiup · 6/10 · 5 October 2021]

Good beginning but like some have already pointed out: many holes in the plot. The character Liana basically caused all the mayhem simply because she is stupid, careless, criminal, and spoiled. In face of danger, her attitude is "I will be ME". While others are all like, "well, young people make mistakes". But hey, those mistakes killed the entire family. If I were the uncle, I would have just killed her immediately and saved his own family.

Great netflix serie Ganglands complex gritty violent one of the best netflix serie

[playtoyer · 8/10 · 25 September 2021]

Great netflix serie Ganglands forget formulaic TVshows Ganglands is violent, raw and gritty. Gandlands shows how the genre should be done. This excellent netflix French serie is complex and trap the characters into ever more convoluted situations. It,s either good & bad here just the law of the street maybe some naively directed situation but it,s feels real and and possibly could happens among thugs. There is no honesty here it,s strictly business forcing the mean characters even deeper into dangerous situations and which forces him to make increasingly hard choices and decisions. The initial episode is underpinning the entire series and then unfolds plenty new dangerous situations with gritty violent raw action scenes. Ganglands is a compulsive TVshow for thrillers serie fans but it,s not for everyone.

Great cinematography althought in colour, the drab and simple settings often give the impression of black & white european style movies,till a gritty violent scenes bring us back to reality. The mood is edgy and challenging and particularly outstanding performances from all the cast. Although Ganglands is uncompromising in its presentation of violence it,s gritty and raw. Despite the graphic violence & action scenes the dialogues scenes are also entertaining it,s one of the best TVserie produced on netflix. More frequent French and european series on netflix is also entertaining and interesting for netflix subcribers.

Interesting, entertaining, just do not think too much

[True_Reviews · 6/10 · 20 April 2023]

This is one of those shows that is very violent, entertaining, and at times over the top and predictable. You just have to avoid being a thinker and watch it. The acting was quite good, but there are times where the story is a bit too much to be believed. There are some parts where with all the bullets flying around no one gets hit, which to me (I think too much) makes no sense. And some dumb parts where you watch and say, "Are you kidding?" But in the end it is at least better than most. Drugs, double crossing, action, and of course the European PC that seems to be in every show from Europe these days.

Hohoho

[mariani-84097 · 10/10 · 20 November 2021]

Hohoho what a great series non pretentious gritty and realist just wha5 you want for this genre ; great story too and the characters are solid ... o nuclear bombs here no end of the world or save the world just pure plain vanilla.

Crimes never pay!

[Guanche48 · 7/10 · 16 March 2023]

By the way, the series is filmed in Belgium (Antwerpen and Brussels) and in France.

I go straight to the point, the music during the action scenes is great, it makes the heart beat faster. In just 10 minutes a lot happens, especially during moments of action. Very well made, realistic and of high quality. And this is what it is really about.

The photography, filmimg in the port of Antwerp is fabulous.

I don't know which season I liked the most, that's the truth, the first season is somewhat more realistic... it also depends on which characters you like the most. In the second season, a pity they use a Latin American cartel, again,.... is becoming something cliché, Los Carteles, despite this, the series is worth it!!!, tense, entertaining and it goes by very quickly.

I guess the second season reaches the 100 heart palpitations per minute.

The woman chef police inspector in the second season is so stupid!! Right? No spoilers here...see for yourself. I had to vent and say it 😬

There are inconsistencies with some of the characters and events...but I love the humanity of the main role, Yahni Mehdi, great skills and a big heart!

Violence without forgiveness, and injustices that will almost make you cry and get angry. Worst than Pablo 😕 The stories are unrealistic, especially the 2nd season, despite this I recommend it without a doubt!!!

Great series

[alfieosullivan · 9/10 · 29 September 2021]

This is one of the best series I've watched in a long time. Non stop action. Not sure why it has such low ratings - they must've been watching something else.

The good the bad the ugly

[gangex · 6/10 · 28 September 2021]

The head role and suspense The accuracy and science of things The dialogues.

the kids in this were the weak link and lame

[tearitdownner · 10/10 · 11 October 2021]

Lesbian kids who are so stupid in this was a terrible thing to add into this. I wanted them both to get killed just because they were so stupid. It was very lame and ruined the movie for me. The main guy does it thing well like in other films but he should have spoke up before taking this part and said no way will i be in this with this lame part written into it..

A good quality show but with unlikable main characters

[torpanovich · 7/10 · 22 August 2023]

I did enjoy the show.

The actors are (mostly) quite good and the casting works.

Cinematography and even story telling is good.

Overall a very good show, trust is enjoyable to watch.

My only issue with this show is how it treats the value of a life.

The "Heroes" go off killing innocent people in almost every heist or operation they do, but it's not impactful.

It leaves me routing in the end for them to be caught, although the show expects me to root for them to get out of every pinch.

So I think by giving the main cast some kind of conscience or at least a notion of good and bad, it would have made the show feel more impactful and real.

Besides that, still recommend the show for people who love action, gangsters and heist shows.

Implausible plot

[ajaymisra-20574 · 3/10 · 28 September 2021]

It starts on a good premise , lots of slick action , brooding main character, impressive. Plots start turning into an implausible asinine, when instead of making attempts to rescue his kidnapped niece from Saber, which would have been more sensible , the main character Mehendi, gives into the absurd demand of stealing another 300 keys of coke or heroine as a ransom for the release of his niece , from another gang . It is absolutely absurd and difficult to watch after 3rd episode.

One drive-by shooting too many

[eric-mills-to · 6/10 · 8 May 2023]

Certainly an engaging series, though (typically) ultra-violent with a lot of unlikely goings on. The characters are well drawn and well acted, with a range of emotions.

But one aspect was odious: the labelling of the drug cartel operator as a member of the Venezuela government. This is straight-up U. S. propaganda contradicted by the government's own data. U. S. Maps depicting drug routes into the United States show an awful lot coming from Colombia and very little from Venezuela. The little that does (allegedly) come from Venezuela is from the northwest tip near the border with Colombia.

Why did the movie's producers join the propaganda war against Venezuela?