Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Gangs of London: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

A bit of the old ultra-violence.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 3, 2021

Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery's Gangs of London is a visceral new crime drama series first shown on the UK channel Sky Atlantic, but has been picked up by AMC for a forthcoming second season. Following the trend of recent years, its story unfolds as a serialized ten-episode run that plays like distinct but connected parts of one long movie, with strong performances and production values to match its sprawling, big-screen ambitions. Gangs of London's main catalyst is the death of crime boss Finn Wallace (Colm Meaney); he's assassinated by low-level enforcer Darren Edwards (Aled ap Steffa) under false pretenses, which spirals Wallace's billion-dollar umbrella of international gangs into a fierce struggle for control of London and the surrounding areas. Its dense layers of street-level thuggery and high-rise business deals are punctuated by absolutely brutal acts of violence similar to Evans and Flannery's work on The Raid series, creating a potent and almost numbing atmosphere that should impress genre fans and outsiders in equal measure.

The first two episodes of this season, which originally aired back-to-back on Sky as a feature-length production, get the ball rolling in a big way: after an unforgettable opening scene in which Sean Wallace (Joe Cole), youngest son of Frank, murders an unknown man for a connection to his father's death, we rewind exactly one week to witness Frank's final hours during his nighttime stop at a seedy apartment. The assassin Darren, under the impression his target was a local pedophile, quickly realizes his mistake after Frank's death and flees the scene with accomplice Ioan (Darren Evans) after mowing down the Wallace family's driver John (Emmett J. Scanlan). At Frank's wake -- attended by friends, family, and high-raking mob associates in equal numbers -- the lines are clearly drawn: Sean is out for blood, much to the dismay of Frank's long-time business partner Ed Dumani (Lucian Msamati), whose son Alex (Paapa Essiedu) was also a contender to inherit the throne. Several suspects, most of which are high-ranking figures of international gangs formerly under Frank's control, are quickly named and it's not long before Sean begins the hunt. All the while, his mother and Frank's widow, Marian (Michelle Fairley), struggles to keep the family together, which also includes her heroin-addicted older son Billy (Brian Vernel) and estranged daughter Jacqueline (Valene Kane).

What follows is a tangled web of violence, betrayal, and occasional detours that collectively explore several facets of the Wallace family empire, taking us to various locales including the dark underbelly of London, luxury high-rise buildings, a gypsy camp, Turkish Kurdistan, and a picturesque farmhouse (custom-built on a backlot of Dragon Studios in Llanhara, just outside of Cardiff) that's reduced to a smoldering rubble during one of the season's most intense episodes. But almost every one of these season's ten outings could be a contender for runner-up, with our sorta-main protagonist Elliot Finch (Sope Dirisu) serving as a participant in most of them. Elliot, a low-ranking member of the Wallace crime syndicate, gains favor with Sean's family after a series of heroic deeds, but not everyone in the Wallace inner circle is convinced he's telling the truth about his identity. Whatever the case, Elliot makes for a very effective leading man in a series that keeps us on our toes by changing perspective regularly, with almost each and every episode focusing on new environments while still feeling like cohesive parts of a whole. It's excellent world-building that occasionally feels a little too big for its britches, but the confident and well-oiled structure of its story make this first season feel like the start of something truly great. Here's hoping it doesn't go on too long like that other AMC series.

All told, Gangs of London serves up a very potent cocktail of Eastern and Western influences that makes for intense entertainment, and it's not for the squeamish. Although most of its more gruesome moments are rarely glimpsed for more than a split second, it's the kind of over-the-top bloodsheed that still lingers in your memory for hours afterward, if not days. Still, for the most part these chaotic scenes serve the story and stand in good contrast with the show's rawer emotional moments, which deftly blend pathos and personal drama with a few very well-placed bits of pich-black comedy. Not bad for a new series based on the same property used to develop a middling 2006 video game.

RLJ Entertainment is handling the release of this first season (along with future installments, hopefully) and, keeping in line with their other film and TV releases, it's a fairly well-rounded set that favors rock-solid A/V specs over loads of extras. All 10 hour-long episodes are squeezed comfortably on three dual-layered discs, which makes for a low-priced release that mirrors the show itself: slim but surprisingly dense, and certainly worth looking out for. Stream an episode or two beforehand if you must, but assuming you're not the squeamish type I'd say it's worth a blind buy.

Gangs of London: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The gritty Gangs of London puts its dynamic visual style at the forefront; after all, director Gareth Evans co-created it with his long-time cinematographer, Matt Flannery; they've collaborated since Evans' first film, 2006's Footsteps. The series covers a lot of thematic ground, with the visuals following suit by depicting no shortage of beautiful and gritty locals that, regardless of their appearance, often serve as centerpieces for its graphic fight scenes and shocking twists. Carefully staged and practically lit, these visceral sequences often took days to complete and routinely deliver Gangs of London's most immediately gripping moments: from the unforgettable first shot onward (an inverted cityscape that transitions in a terrifying first-person view and, finally, a brutal death captured from a distance), the series outright commands attention more than simply asking for it, and RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray is more than up to the challenge. This great-looking series has been treated to a rock-solid 1080p transfer and gets plenty of room to breathe on three dual-layered discs, suffering from virtually no signs of flagrant compression artifacts or edge enhancement -- only a few slow fade-ins show any kind of banding, but these moments are hardly lengthy or distracting. Skin tones, textures, fine detail, and black levels are all very good to excellent, from the sun-baked exteriors of Nigeria to a deadly nighttime showdown in Chinatown, luxurious building interiors, back alleys, and seedy apartments; everything's captured in style and looks great here. Aside from a physical 4K release, there really isn't much room for improvement.

Gangs of London: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Gangs of London carries a lot of emotional impact during all 10 episodes, and the majority of it stems from the clever use of some pretty interesting sonic flourishes along the way. Its hard-hitting action scenes obviously deliver most of these key moments, with lively bursts of surround activity, punchy levels of LFE during shootouts and explosions, and music support that occasionally overtakes traditional sound effects for stylistic reasons. Some of the more brutal and squishy moments come through with all the disturbing clarity you'd expect, for better or for worse. Other moments, such as Elliot's ear-ringing after a particularly surprising (and unseen) gunshot, envelop the viewer with a disorienting sonic fog that's extremely effective in the moment. Elsewhere, the quieter dialogue-driven stretches sound crisp and clear... providing, of course, you're fluent in British accents and slang. But if you're not, don't worry: the included English (SDH) subtitles will come in handy and, like the audio, they're synced perfectly.

Gangs of London: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This three-disc set ships in a hinged keepcase with moody cover artwork, a matching slipcover, and no inserts of any kind. A handful of short but interesting bonus features can also be found on Disc 3.

• Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes - Five brief production featurettes that offer a quick (and mostly promotional) overview of this season, its story, and the characters. It's a little clip-heavy but includes comments from key cast and crew members such as director/co-creator Gareth Evans; executive producers Lucas Ochoa and Thomas Benski; director Corin Hardy; actors Joe Cole, Lucian Msamati, Michelle Fairley, and Sope Dirisu; and more.

• The World (5:11)
• The Families (6:25)
• The Soldier (4:27)
• The Power (4:45)
• The Action (5:10)

• Anatomy of an Action Scene - Breakdowns of two of the season's most memorable fights -- one from the first episode, one from the second -- which briefly touch upon filming techniques, differing moods, visual effects, and stunt work. Both also feature forced audio commentary by co-creator Gareth Evans.

• Pub Fight (7:16)
• Elliot vs Len (8:36)

Gangs of London: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery's Gangs of London is a dense, extremely compelling crime saga which, like many of its ilk, depicts the brutal fallout from a single tragic event. It starts small and expands in scope and complexity as this ten-episode season pans out; though some of these expansions feel a little superfluous, almost every twist and turn creates a viscerally emotional impact that, for most viewers, will keep their eyes glued to the screen. Another main factor is its extremely hard-hitting violence, which might be a turn-off for some but, in most cases, serves the story rather than distracting from it. All told, Gangs of London's first season is pretty exciting stuff and I'm glad to see it's been renewed. For now, RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray offers rock-solid A/V support and a few decent bonus features, which makes this compact three-disc set as good a blind buy as any in recent memory. Highly Recommended.