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Critic Reviews
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Though imbued with epic sweep, Hell on Wheels is a western at heart, even if that heart is cold.
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I don't know if it will catch on - westerns can be a hard sell - but it's another fine AMC choice.
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This drive for revenge is what makes the pilot spark, smoke and go chug-a-chug-chug. [14 Nov 2011, p.45]
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Solid cast, intriguing premise, and--best of all--the Old West. Should easily be another winner for AMC.
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Where it diverges [from many trappings of a Western] is the lack of white hats and black hats. The axis of good and bad is constantly shifting, which is part of what makes the story intriguing.
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Co-creators Joe and Tony Gayton have turned out a solid series that got stronger with each of the five episodes I watched.
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Hell on Wheels is a big and ambitious stab at the genre, with a lot going on and much to recommend.
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[A] new and intriguing Western.
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That's a lot of stories to tell, and the sweeping Hell on Wheels does a good job of chopping them into bite-size pieces.
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Stick with it through the second episode: it gets moving quickly in the subsequent episodes, and turns into a grim frontier revenge saga, with intriguing personalities and interconnecting storylines.
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As familiar as this tableau may be, Hell on Wheels finds enough beauty, danger and emotion to make some part of every episode seem fresh and worth waiting for.
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Most of these characters are by-the-numbers denizens of any Western. Thankfully most of the actors make them more interesting than the sometimes atrocious dialogue should allow.
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Hell on Wheels didn't turn into a great drama, but it settled into a distinctive groove, growing more relaxed and confident by the week.
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At the end of the day, Hell on Wheels is beautifully-filmed project that offers exceptional attention to detail on everything but the main character.
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I found parts of this series I could get invested in. You might find even more. Just don't go in expecting more than heck on wheels.
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Still, for all the unlikely things the Gaytons make happen in order to get their characters into place, and the dogged refusal of a couple of those characters to become interesting at all, the show gathers steam as it goes on.
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In a way it's as paradoxical as its subject: a big, lusty but surprisingly timid look at the bold pioneers and profiteers who ravaged nature to build a nation.
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Not content to exploit their subject's inherent themes, the series' fraternal creators, Joe and Tony Gayton, have adhered them promiscuously, pasting neon Post-it indications of symbolic import in a way that obscures moments of straightforward drama.
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Hell's greatest sin? It's often laugh-out-loud funny.
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It's not quite good (other than The Swede), but it's also not especially bad (though it has occasional terrible moments.
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Like Durant's ideal route, the five episodes I've seen of Hell on Wheels tend to meander a bit.
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The Gaytons have created declamatory cartoons. What they needed was a lot more John Ford and a lot less Cotton Mather.
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While the diverse mix of characters could work to the program's advantage over the long haul, jumping to and fro among them creates a diluted, herky-jerky ride in the early going.
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There's a nagging suspicion that Hell on Wheels, created by Tony and Joe Gayton, doesn't quite know what it wants to be, which may explain why after four hours it seems like a collection of ideas that haven't quite gelled.
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It's a sprawling story, and within that sprawl there are evocative scenes, sweeping vistas, and moments that grab you.
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Hell on Wheels is not a bad show, but it's also not engrossing.
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AMC's sprawling but heavy-handed attempt to revive and redefine the Western (a newly hot TV-development trend) is solemn business indeed, with precious little wit or originality.
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It's good at being tedious.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 169 out of 193
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Mixed: 11 out of 193
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Negative: 13 out of 193
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Nov 6, 2011
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Nov 8, 2011
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Oct 10, 2013