True Detective - Série 3

The third season of True Detective is definitely better than the season two, but it is not as dark as the first season. On the other hand, the course of investigation is more interesting in this one. The investigation takes place in three different timelines, which become bombastically intertwined. It gets most beautiful in moments when the different timelines mingle in the same scene. It’s simply a joy to see that. Nevertheless, the actors were interesting as well and they worked really well with the entire show. Stephen Dorff and Maharshala Ali make a good team. In both cases, I am still getting used to them as actors, but in the case of True Detective they could not have made a better advertisement for themselves. If HBO manages to keep up a similar pace, I will be satisfied. Still, they could make the next season a bit darker again… (28/02/2019)

If you enjoyed the third season, you’d better stop reading. If you haven't seen it yet, stop reading and go form your own opinion. I'm actually writing this review just for myself to vent the frustration that came over me after finishing all eight episodes. The opening made me look forward to a crime series full of suspense and great atmosphere. Instead, I got a weird mixture of a crime series and Memento. Some of the episodes were mysterious, others even more mysterious, but the fairy tale/soap opera-like conclusion spoiled all the mystery there was. 3*- (20/11/2019)

The second season of the series, after it was discovered that a) Marty and Rust, as audience favorites, would not dominate the new case, and b) the atmosphere would be different, was met with reservations that quickly turned into categorical rejection. I consider it one of the greatest injustices of the television industry because, in my opinion, the sun-drenched and corruption-ridden California series was excellent and would have received a disproportionately warmer reception as a standalone project without being connected to the cult status of the first season. Nevertheless, it happened and Pizzolatto was faced with the demand to continue in the same style and atmosphere as the first season while also maintaining artistic uniqueness and not creating a mere copy. In terms of the screenplay, he can be satisfied. The emotional aspect works perfectly, and the typical characteristics of True Detective, focusing on the psychology of characters, an atmosphere of "uncertainty," darkness in human souls and actions, and the intertwining of timelines, have been preserved. The third season will appeal more to viewers who prefer a more intimate nature, rather than those who need it to be bloody and flashy. The series deviates from its gloomy and slow storytelling only in one brief segment; serial killers, diabolical psychopaths, and action scenes are nowhere to be found. What falls a bit short compared to previous seasons is the directing. After a promising start, it loses momentum and quickly falls into routine. The entire time, I had the feeling that this time I was watching a four-star series, but the cunning and manipulative Pizzolatto once again got me where he wanted me with the resolution. It may be subjectively weaker than the previous seasons, but considering the characters and their fate, I have to give the series an overall impression of 90%. (08/08/2019)

This attempt to achieve the broadest possible scope somewhat misses the mark. What was at first a welcome refresher in a format reminiscent of the Vietnam flashbacks fades away when Wayne starts talking about war with just about every male character, and likewise the storyline of a tested marriage never reaches a satisfying catharsis, only timidly brushing off most conflicts. Although I would classify this case from West Finger as better than its two predecessors, it wouldn't be by much. Ali and Dorff, with their stubborn expressions, are the ones effortlessly carrying the entire investigation (even though Nic Pizzolatto again relies on uncovering plot twists from slightly unfair directions), and for the third time, albeit just barely, allows the concept of a whodunit to play out – wandering, searching, examining, and only then perhaps finding or, god forbid, revealing something. My patience didn't desert me this time either, but I wouldn't try my luck on another one. 70% (20/11/2019)

Another case branching into three time planes. Pizzolato already knows that just a little experimentation is needed and puts together a story more about partnership than about dead bodies, with lost kids, lies and money playing the lead roles. Ali is great as Hayes and the part is ingeniously written. A tough guy who wanted nothing and that nothing led him not to an obsession, but to a life that he is forgetting, slowly but surely. One of the most powerful moments of the series is when the time planes intersect (Viet Cong in the bedroom!). There’s a return to quality conversations in the car and partner quarrels that cut close to the bone. The ending is realistic, but quite pleasant this time round. True Detective still delivers quality that is worth waiting for. (25/02/2019)