"We opened a dark door and the devil stepped in," a cowpoke says in the confession booth, in the opening moments of AMC's filmed-in-Alberta period western about the building of the Union Pacific Railroad through the Nebraska Territory of the late 1800s.
Hell on Wheels is a western, but it's no Wagon Train. Anson Mount, the rapper Common and Colm Meaney - utterly convincing as an Al Swearengen-style railroad baron determined to tear up the rolling prairie no matter the cost - are the main players in a period tale that plays like a Shakespearean tragedy played out against a bucolic backdrop of grassy plains and rolling thunderclouds.
Hell on Wheels won't suit all tastes - it's dark, slow-burning and not exactly brimming with optimism - but for those who like their westerns gritty and realistic, they don't get much better than this.
Inevitable comparisons with HBO's late, still lamented Deadwood are a little unfair: Hell on Wheels is its own tale, and set in a different time - broader in scope, more eye-filling and closer to the pioneer TV westerns of yesterday, but with a modern sensibility. Social issues of the day, such as lingering racism, aboriginal land claims, rapacious greed and unchecked capitalism, all come into play, but thankfully not in an obvious, beat-'em-over-the-head way. Hell on Wheels is unlikely to single-handedly revive the TV western, but it's a heckuva start.
Source: The Vancouver Sun
Hell on Wheels - Episode 1.01 - Pilot - Short Review
23 Aug 2011
Hell On Wheels
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This one sounds pretty much like what I epect to hear about an AMC western. Also makes me glad to hear that Meany seems to deliver a convincing performance.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I recently read a comment about the pilot saying that sometimes it looked like it was shot for Lifetime.
And here's a related article, that some might find interesting: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/movies/westerns-back-in-the-saddle-but-with-angst/article2135480/
I'm glad somebody is finally making a western tv show. Thats something I have been missing since Deadwood was cancelled....
ReplyDeleteTNT also has a western show in development, one of the Band of Brothers writers is writing a script for it. And I think CBS also has one in development.
ReplyDeleteThats great to hear, I look forward to checking them out.
ReplyDeleteI kind of expect any series to not be a hit with large masses of fans, but to connect with critics - the one exception being The Walking Dead which has huge numbers. So many of AMC's series are slow-building and dark, plot and character driven serials.... all 3 of those traits are huge positives to me but for large numbers of people find each trait each is a deterrent.
ReplyDeleteIt worries me a little that more than a few critics have been luke warm about Hell on Wheels' pilot.... but I am still hoping I guess.
From what I've read so far it seems to be the weakest AMC pilot so far.
ReplyDeleteBut as I said before I want to like this show and hope it's going to be pretty good because I like historical dramas a lot and the premise would be quite interesting. We have to wait and judge the pilot ourselves, but AMC has earned enough trust for me to watch it even though they had a lot of negative press recently.
thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm really excited about Hell on Wheels. Eespecially now, reading a sensible review (one that's NOT comparing it to Deadwood).
ReplyDeleteI can already tell that it'll be an improvement over The Killing and The Walking Dead, by far the weakest shows on AMC.