Series 5 Part 2 Review
As we bid adieu to the Professor and his charismatic gang, I have no qualms in admitting that this was the best possible ending one could have hoped for. Part 2 of the ending season is even more stylish than the previous installments and after all the seasons, this is arguably the most convincing one. The backup plan of the backup plan is possibly the trick that wins your heart. I am not going to reveal much as that would be a spoiler then, but I must admit at times I started feeling it was over and there was no further way of escaping for the gang. But the mastermind Professor had already planned how he was going to react once everything has failed. And that was the masterstroke. The English version has some brilliant dialogues. Raquel Murillo as always was breathtakingly beautiful. The Professor needless to say was at his suave and classy best. The role of Alicia was the biggest surprise of the show. Thankfully, in this part, no one had to die and in the end, it was a happy ending. As I have already discussed the pros and cons of the series at length, I am not going to reiterate those here. But take my word, the Grand Finale of the most loved web series ever will not disappoint you. By the way, was it only me who thought at the end that the series may not be over yet and we may see our favorite characters again?
Whole Series Review
When Money Heist was first aired in Spain, it did not have too many admirers. Made on a shoestring budget, the show had a very average outing and the makers had to withdraw the show after the first season. From there its journey till date has been phenomenal, owing to the outrageous popularity of the characters of the show. Ever since the day Netflix undertook the uphill task of carrying the show forward, Money Heist has been gaining cult status. With every passing season, the fan following has seen a meteoric rise in popularity.
Reviewing total forty-one episodes spread across four and half seasons is not an easy job. Money Heist today is not just a mere web series. It is a celebration. It is a festival. It is an extravaganza. It is a cult you want to be part of. It is a guilt you want to nurture within you.
First thing first. Money Heist is in no way a perfect work. It is indeed full of goof-ups. It has countless loose ends. In fact, there is a problem with the continuity of the series. The storyline was never made at one go. The script was developed while the shooting was going on. This has jeopardized the pace of the story on numerous occasions. Certain scenes have been so poorly inserted in the main story that you tend to get deviated from the baseline. There is a problem with editing, too. On many occasions, the episodes have been deliberately protracted without adding any new dimension to the main story.
The ideals promoted on the show live on thin grounds. The communist innuendos are inconclusive, vague, and suffer from a lack of subtlety. There are numerous references to the anti-capitalist nature of the heist, but none of the actions of the protagonists justifies such belief. The exorbitant use of red was one way to show its lenience. But the actions did not go well hand in hand with the color-coding.
The outdoor scenes bring the necessary relief from claustrophobic, stifling sets of the heists. Camera works inside the banks have drawn inspiration from the likes of the Godfather or Scarface. The use of color in the entire show has been meager and therefore unappealing at times.
Character portrayal is another area where the series suffers miserably. Important characters like Palermo, Arturo, Suarez, Angel, Stockholm are very poorly portrayed and they deviate from the Arctic to Antarctica in seconds. At times, the character development is so thin that it borderlines annoyance.
The Spanish forces have been portrayed as clowns throughout the series. The imbecility of the police, army, national intelligence will make you laugh at times. In so many scenes, science was the last thing the makers had on their minds. The tents built for investigation look ludicrous and so are the protestors outside the bank. I am not mentioning bloopers like the entry of Tokyo into the bank or the numerous bullet shots which even touched the men but could not harm them as they were necessary to continue the show.
With so many flaws, any other show would not have lasted more than two seasons. But Money Heist after four and a half seasons is still ruling over the hearts of the audiences across the globe. Even though I am a staunch critic of the technicalities of the show, I cannot wait for December to come when the show is expected to have a Grand Finale. Actually, in certain areas, Money Heist scores so many points that it succeeds in overshadowing the weaknesses. Let us discuss the brighter aspects.
Alvaro Morte as the Professor and the mastermind behind the heists is brilliant. He is suave, restrained, and exuberates the right dose of emotional punches the series needed. His mannerisms are magnetic, his personality charming and his emotions are raw. You cannot but love this man, so powerful are his appeals. From the moment he restrains from killing the mother of Raquel, you actually start loving the character and that love grows with every passing moment. Itziar Ituno as Raquel Murillo is likeable. Her smiles stay with you even after the end credits of each episode start rolling. The moments where she adores the Professor are scintillating. The chemistry between Professor and Raquel aka Lisbon is one of the cardinal binding forces of Money Heist. Ursula Corbero as Tokyo is fascinating and she is the powerhouse of the abundant energy the show boasts of. Pedro Alonso as Berlin, Najwa Nimri as Alicia, Alba Flores as Nairobi, Jaime Lorente as Denver all have something or the other to love or hate their respective characters. It is their relationships that keep the show afloat.
Death is periodic and meticulously timed throughout the series. Each season sees one of the protagonists bidding adieu. This maintains the necessary momentum of the show. In fact, some of the death scenes are so beautifully crafted that it becomes difficult to keep the eyes dry. It is this feeling of letting go that helps Money Heist score maximum points. The emotional octane is so high that it supersedes the technical glitches of this iconic web series and it is the cardinal reason for its gigantic success. The interpersonal relationships of the principal characters are so delicately dealt with that you condone the makers for the faults they made elsewhere. This celebration of relationship touches the right strings of the hearts of its viewers so much so that you forget the difference between good and bad, right and wrong, just and unjust and you start rooting for the robbers. Money Heist is a celebration of love, friendship and brotherhood. And this celebration is what gives it the iconic status. The show is laden with brilliant music and amazing background scores and the melodies stay with you long after you have completed all the episodes.
Overall, Money Heist has something for everybody and even though it lacks brain, its sensuality intermingled with an adrenaline rush is going to captivate you.
Bella Ciao…
P. S- I just can’t stop loving the origamis made by the Professor. So cool…
8 out of 10.
Read the review of Mare of Easttown here
