Justified: City Primeval (TV Mini Series) Kokomo (2023) User Reviews

It was fine....

[Dadjokes17 · 7/10 · 4 August 2023]

This episode, like most of the series so far, was just fine. Not great. Not terrible.

The storyline continues to lack an edge or sense of urgency. I appreciate focusing it in one main villain and story but in order for that to work you have to have a dynamic villain. Clement Mansell is not that. Boyd Holbrook is overacting in order to make up for a lack of character depth.

The dialogue is inconsistent and does not have the great exchanges that were a trademark of the original series. We are only getting glimpses of the "old Raylan" and no sense of how he has changed in the years sense the events of the original series.

I keep waiting for it to get better...

Forty three minutes of scenes shot in near darkness

[juliankilmartin · 6/10 · 11 September 2023]

The new style justified is satisfying and Timothy Olyphant does his thing well. His daughter in episode three less so.

Supporting cast including Vondie who is his usual cool self is very good.

What has disappointed me is the director choosing to shoot virtually 42 out of 43 minutes in near total darkness.

It's a cliche amongst modern directors and it does no favours to this episode which I strained to work out what was supposed to be seen on screen and I may add I am lucky enough to be watching the show on a 65 inch Sony.

It may be just me getting unhinged at the supposed atmospheric style scenes but it's basically like watching a black cat in a coal cellar.

Kokomo

[bobcobb301 · 19 August 2023]

As soon as Clement said "Aruba" I knew where he was going to go, because my mind went to the same place. Kokomo by The Beach Boys does not really fit in the song playing over a montage of bad actions bit, but I guess there could be worse musical decisions.

At least we got a sense of danger in this one and for the first time since the season premiere we actually learned a little bit about what these characters are capable of. Turning to the Albanian mob, a group that so many other TV shows have used in the last few years, just felt like a strange move though. There are plenty of other countries they could have used.

Another Wild Episode, Classic Justified

[jlehnerer · 9/10 · 2 August 2023]

We are getting Raylan in full form now, smooth as could be, per usual. I wasn't sure if the show would be able to catch the classic Justified feel, but it certainly has and some. The part I like the most is that Clement Mansell is just as smooth as Raylan is, just in the complete opposite way. They are actually very alike, always keep their cool, killers, smooth talkers... it is setting up an epic showdown between the two. I think it is going to end up being a sad ending for the lawyer and Sweetie, based on the foreshadowing in this episode. But all Justified fans should rejoice, the show is back like it never left, with thrilling episodes one after another, just like we remember the original. Still hoping for a Boyd Crowder cameo somehow!

Justified has jumped the shark...

[OCbeachdude · 1/10 · 3 August 2023]

Having an already sparse storyline combined with barely capable actors that compensate by overacting, I am left to wonder why Tim Olyphant decided to go along with this "project". Maybe he was just lucky to have been involved with the original show and doesn't realize what he's doing. Even when assessing this on its own merits, it's awful. The original is one of my favorites of all time, and this "thing" taints it's lineage. And then we have Kokomo. Progressing the absurd narrative of a budding romance between the lawyer Carolyn and Raylan, Olyphant is simply mailing his in performance, week after week.

And then we have the scene in which the episode, and the show, jump the shark. Clement is selling Sweety on where they'll go to "getaway", and mentions Aruba. Then Jamaica, and then, yes, you guessed it, sings to Sweety "ooh I wanna take ya. Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama Key Largo, Montego, Baby, why don't we go?", as the music swells with The Beach Boys song . I seriously thought that the cast was going to go into a syncopated dance routine! This not only bears absolutely no resemblance to the original "Justified", but is also one of the worst series I've ever watched.

Shaking my head... too bad.

People got paid to write this episode

[KryssAnderson · 2/10 · 4 August 2023]

Unbelievably bad. The casting of Terry Kinney wasn't even enough to add anything worthwhile to the episode.

Anything having to do with the Albanians is just a stupid attempt at a B-Story. The tooth extracting was excruciating to watch because of the "acting" and not because of the subject matter.

Timothy Olyphant deserves better. Feels like a woman wrote the script but men punched up the dialogue. The character's make decisions with absolutely NO SENSE or reason behind them, minus Givens. Maybe that's the point of the show.

This season will already be rough on fans without a proper villain, maybe don't make the water murkier by making every side character dumb, too.