12 February 2015

Bosch S01E01–03 (Amazon Studios, 2014)

The guy who played the antagonistic D.A. from The Good Wife. The guy who played the up-and-coming kingpin from The Wire. The kid from Iron Eagle. A truckload of faintly recognisable character actors. Even behind the camera there's heavyweights from Wire, Homicide: Life on the Street, and Law & Order.

So why is this procedural so goddamned boring? Lead Welliver is stoic in his portrayal; sidekick Hector has fun being a clothes-horse detective partner; Gedrick shines with an understated performance as a serial killer. The supporting characters provide welcome moments of levity and wit that are sorely lacking from the eponymous lead's interactions with everyone.

Could it be I'm so used to Welliver playing dicks that I'm just having trouble buying him as a hero? Or could it be his channelling of Gary Cooper's High Noon performance is just one-note and tiresome?

Guh.