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- Sundance
- Mar 1, 2016
- Sundance
- Mar 1, 2016
- Sundance
- Mar 1, 2016
- Sundance
- Mar 1, 2016
Where to Watch
Season Episodes
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
73
89% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
11% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
73
89% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
11% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Purefoy and Williams are standouts throughout while Hendricks pretty much settles in. The bloody goings-on apart from their fractious triangle can be jolts from out of the blue. But there’s always some cauterizing banter just around the corner.
There are times when it’s a little too relaxed for its own good, and it has trouble reconciling its wit and sexiness with bursts of harrowing violence that feel imported from a Quentin Tarantino movie (or a film by one of Tarantino’s imitators). But the sum total is so beguiling and unusual--for television as a whole, if not for Sundance, which specializes in this kind of storytelling--that it’s hard not to become entranced by it.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 52 User Ratings
7.0
73% Positive
38 Ratings
38 Ratings
8% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
19% Negative
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 52 User Ratings
7.0
73% Positive
38 Ratings
38 Ratings
8% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
19% Negative
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
I greatly enjoy Hap and Leonard for the superb acting from a great cast, a fairly unconventional and refreshing plot as well as the setting/ambiance. I was hooked from the first episode. Would definitely recommend!
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SEASON 1
A terrifically offbeat caper, serving up a sultry, sexy brew of wry humor with flashes of psycho suspense. [29 Feb-6 Mar 2016, p.17]
The drama starts a little slow as we’re introduced to Hap, Leonard and Trudy, but once Trudy recruits the men to help her, the show kicks into gear. The fun becomes watching the two men make the most of the bad situations that seem to befall them.
It doesn't all make perfect sense, especially where the action departs from or adds to the book, and the players, as talented and likable and natural as they are, sometimes seem to be actors on the job rather than people whose fate has brought them to such and such a pass; the script keeps them busy, without (so far) bringing them to life. They're good, but not compelling company. But it's always wonderful merely to behold.
Its narrative moves very slowly in the three episodes made available to critics, with a third-episode revelation that anyone who’s seen a thriller before will know is coming way before it registers with the folks on-screen. The show has atmosphere aplenty--that’s one excellent quality it shares with Mickle and Damici’s Cold In July; Hap and Leonard could use more of that film’s tightly-coiled suspense.
This show should be a swampy, escapist saga with poignant overtones, but that version of the tale can only occasionally be glimpsed amid the overwritten dialogue and the stilted pacing. For the most part, there’s not much of a spark here.
After losing his job, ex-con and former activist, Hap Collins agrees to help his ex-wife finding a car full of stolen money from the bottom of a river in the Deep South. With the help of his buddy Leonard Pine, a Vietnam War vet with a bad temper, they set about their task. Of course things don’t quite go according to plan.
The writing isn’t always great, and some of the characters are a little “cartoonish”, but the chemistry between James Purefo and the always watchable Micheal K. Williams as the lead duo do save things somewhat and the rest of the cast (including Christina Hendricks of Mad Men fame) make the most of the script to ensure everything remains watchable throughout.
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SEASON 1
A pretty stellar cast and an interesting first couple of episodes fails dismally to live up to its promise. The flashbacks irritate more than they inform, the fifth episode was TV torture porn, and to waste talent like Michael K Williams, James Purefoy and Christina Hendricks on this drivel is a crime, ya'll. And can no one, please no one, hire Jimmi Simpson again until he learns to act?
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SEASON 1
I really thought that over all it was terrible. It quickly turns sad and sappy. An odd choice for an action noir. The reveal near the end that a politician killed Hap and Leonard's fathers with no consequences only highlights that there was a more interesting story to tell, than the one that was told. Also, San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) should never be used, for anything, ever. The music choices were the worst.
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SEASON 1