MobLand Season One (DVD Review)
Coming in just ahead of the season 2 premiere, Paramount releases Ronan Bennett’s MobLand Season One in a 3-disc DVD clear case. Just when you thought crime dramas may be tapped out, Bennett bursts onto the scene by telling a fresh psychology-focused London-based family drama mob story
Season ★★★★☆
Bennett was smart to bring in excellent talent onto the project, whether it’s actors Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, and screen legend and crime queen Helen Mirren to headline the cast, or director Guy Ritchie to establish the tone in the first two episodes. MobLand quickly establishes its tension with a first scene that evokes Heath Ledger’s pencil scene from The Dark Knight, but goes off in a much darker and more dangerous direction. The season only escalates from here.
Hardy is the cool center grounding the show, which lets all the other characters be more… colorful (aka leaning more campy, over-the-top or melodramatic), whether it’s Brosnan, a gloriously unhinged Mirren, or supporting stars Paddy Considine, Toby Jones, Anson Boon or others. Between the dialogue and actions, this show has moments; the overall humor offsetting the graphic violence is a welcome touch.
While the plot of the first season is a bit derivative regarding family drama, rival gangs and trust, the sheer entertainment factor of it all more than makes up for any generic shortcomings. The twists and turns from episode to episode all culminate in a rather explosive season finale that leaves lots of intrigue for where season 2 will go.
Video ★★★★☆
Encoding: MPEG-2
Resolution: 480i
HDR: N/A
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Clarity/Detail: Even as a DVD, that show has excellent clarity and details, such as fabric texture and people’s faces. Hair and blemishes are notable and sharp.
Depth: Whether for interiors or exteriors, depth is clear, with no major compression or other issues. Background foliage looks good in the distance.
Black Levels: Blacks are nice and solid for DVD. Good contrast on shadows and clothing, particularly as a decent amount of the show uses shadows and stylized lighting.
Color Reproduction: Colors are accurate and look great on DVD, easily distinguishing different hues. Granted, the general palette is on the cooler and muted side, but still is saturated in a way that gives the visuals a nice pop for non-HD content.
Flesh Tones: Flesh tones are accurate for the natural, cooler color palette. Distinct, subtle differences in skin colors stand out.
Noise/Artifacts: No noticeable noise or grain in the picture, but the low resolution may impact general picture quality depending on one’s TV.
Audio ★★★★☆
Audio Format(s): English 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English SDH
Dynamics: Overall, MobLand Season One has a nice 5.1 mix where music, dialogue and SFX all sound good. Audio may be the best technical aspect of the discs, shining just a bit higher than video.
Height: N/A
Low Frequency Extension: Most noticeable during the more… explosive moments in the show.
Surround Sound Presentation: Surround channels are used nicely for music and background noises, such as birds, as well as more action-packed moments.
Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is clean, if largely center channel.
Extras ☆☆☆☆☆
There are no extras on the discs, but the inside of the case does have a nice image on the reverse of the cover art that does list the 10 episodes on the 3 discs.
Summary ★★★☆☆
MobLand Season One may not exactly move the needle for the crime genre on TV, but it does have enough interesting characters, performances, and storytelling choices to establish itself as something to check out. Paramount’s barebones season one DVD set offers solid audio and video at an affordable price.
