Review by C.J. Bunce
The new Hulu series Culprits proves that the heist isn’t always the most exciting part of a heist story. Beginning at the end, the thrills come with the aftermath of the heist, as its select band of thieves see their lives unraveling when they begin to get picked off by an unknown professional killer. The key driver of the tale is Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Doctor Who) as the Muscle, an ex-mob bodyguard recruited for the team by its mastermind, played by former “Bond girl”-turned-action star, Gemma Arterton (The King’s Man, Quantum of Solace, Prince of Persia, Clash of the Titans, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters).
This is a different kind of heist story, chopped up and rearranged frenetically to deliver a different kind of experience for fans of the genre. The back-and-forth is clunky, but it’s mostly worth it if you can stick it out to the end. Arterton plays Dianne Harewood, a legendary criminal whose very presence, fueled by a secret history and mysterious wealth, commands the respect of the select group of elites she taps to pull off a high-valued heist. She’s the biggest name of the cast, but unfortunately she is absent for big chunks of the series. When she’s there she’s fantastic as the woman in charge. But the focus is on the other characters, and what happens to them after the heist is complete.
Members of the team include Veronica Mars’ Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Officer. Hired for her persuasive skills, she shares most of the screen time with Muscle. She is the weakest and least believable of the characters. The rest of the diverse band of thieves includes Mark Field (The Crown) as Fuse, Tom Mothersdale (Overlord) is Right Hand, Laura Morgan (See How They Run) is Soldier, Amara Karan (T.I.M.) is Doctor, Vincent Riotta (Justice League) is Driver, and Karl Collins (Attack the Block) is Fixer.
But the best characters–and best creations–of this series are two other elite criminals. The best and baddest is Irish actress Niamh Algar (Raised by Wolves) as Specialist aka Psycho, a Jill-of-All-Trades sharpshooter/soldier/warrior who jumps off the screen like Sarah Conner in Terminator 2 or Ellen Ripley in Aliens. She’s such a fantastic creation that she is actually better than the story and the script. In fact the writers clearly don’t realize what they created, or they wouldn’t show her the disservice they deliver in episodes five and six. The mishandling of her character is infuriating. Forgetting the promise of the early chapters, she’s dismissed with the rest, consigned to doing things that don’t fit the nature of her character, which tanks the show’s momentum. The other great character, similarly mishandled, is the safecracker, a young woman named Azar, played by Tara Abboud (Rebel). When someone close to her is murdered and she has the murderer in arm’s reach for literally episodes… she does nothing. You just know too many writers got hold of this story. The actors are all brilliant, despite the disjointed script, which still manages to provide some great suspense and thrills.
Some interesting thespian street cred talent comes from one of England’s best actors, Eddie/Suzy Izzard (Ocean’s Twelve, The Riches, Valkyrie, Mystery Men) as a corporate titan, and Ned Dennehy (Glitch, Rogue One, Luther, The Peripheral, Dublin Murders) as his henchman–who is actually too vile and violent for the story.
The high points of the series come as surprises. That begins with the powerhouse of Specialist and Azar. But Joe aka David aka Muscle and his fiancé Jules, played by Kevin Vidal (The Boys), bring some great chemistry, more than most couples you’ve seen portrayed on television. You want these two to stay together through all the gunfire despite Muscle’s lies. Their kids are great, too.
Unfortunately a script that never settles in, a slow pilot, and a fifth and six episode with poor writing choices all serve to keep the series out of top-tier status. J Blakeson, Claire Oakley, and their writers certainly are ambitious, and the production at times reaches James Bond movie level with settings and cinematography. The ending is satisfying, too. But Culprits is an argument for focus groups or test audiences. I think even the average viewer could point out where the story goes wrong to the creators. It could have left an opening for a second season or spin-off featuring Algar as Specialist. Yes, a second season is still possible, but oh what that second season could have been.
This is a really good series that borders at times on great, with a fantastic group of badass women characters. Fun for fans of heist stories, don’t miss all eight episodes of Culprits, now streaming on Hulu.
