Justified: City Primeval

This is a Tivo special to watch with the folks!

Wait’ll they hear the language they can use meow!

I know it would break all logic and continuity, but can we trade Boyd for Boyd?

I love "Justified" and was happy about this when it was announced. Thinking back to the original series, Raylan's portrayal of his character reminds me so much of Clint Eastwood. His mannerisms, the way that he walks, the drawl in the way that he speaks, his sardonic sense of humor mixed with menace. How he's a little bit laconic, but what he does say is quite impactful, his strong sense of justice, the way he doesn't seem to quite fit into the contemporary mores of the times in which he lives. It all seems inspired to me by earlier Eastwood characters, such as Clint's character in Coogan's Bluff, where he played an Arizona lawman transplanted to New York City, or "Dirty Harry". I recall that the show even mentions Eastwood in passing at least once, if not moreso. It reminds me so much of Eastwood that I feel like this has to even be a conscious influence for Olyphant and be intentionally done. What does everyone else think? Does the way Timothy Olyphant plays the Raylan Givens character remind you of him?

Totally. You probably already know this, but Olyphant was who they used to "play" Eastwood in Rango:

Not a huge fan of Eastwood & can’t say Raylan brought him to mind. I’ve always thought Tim completely original in his rôles such as Deadwood.

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I’m not a big Eastwood guy, but that never crossed my mind. Ray G has always had almost a feminine and feline sensibility that I can’t explain.

He never seemed intimidating, always resourceful. A creativity that results from a life of being underestimated.

And let’s be real. The hat does all the heavy lifting. You would never get that glare without it.

I'm avoiding all the previous posts in this thread for now, since I haven't yet started this new entry in the Justified universe. I have a question before I dive in: How far back should I go for a rewatch in order to make a smooth transition into City Primeval? (And don't just knee-jerk into "Watch the whole series again!" )

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If you've already seen "Justified" and are familiar with the Raylan Givens character, I think you can just start right into the new series. So far, there have been two episodes, and with the exception of him having an older daughter than he did when the first series ended, there aren't any continuing stories or characters.

I don't watch animated movies, so I actually didn't know this. This is pretty amusing, and if they chose him to play him or one of his characters, others in the industry obviously also saw similarities between the Raylan Givens character that Timothy Olyphant is most known for, and Clint.

Yup, I've seen the whole original series, so this is great news! I might rewatch the last few episodes of the original, though. Just because!

As for the new series, after two episodes while of course it is magnificent to see Olyphant back as Givens, right off the bat they have killed off one character who had potential to be very interesting...


...and I found the main villain to be too bold and over-the-top. Plus Raylan's daughter is a touch annoying.



Clement Mansell is so quick to kill folks that he would already be either long dead, rotting in prison, or king of a small island somewhere. That somebody that psychotic could just walk around causing havoc isn't especially believable or compelling, even in genre terms. Boyd Crowder's malevolence was rooted in his charm and that he was a byproduct of that relatively isolated community. Mansell walking the streets anywhere for more than a couple days and he'd have hordes of criminals and law enforcement after him non-stop. Boyd Holbrook's performance is fine, it's just the writing I am worried about.



As for Raylan's daughter Willa, while I get the function of a scene like the one where she walks around downtown Detroit by herself is supposed to show how independent and unafraid she is which may pay off later in the series, it was more annoying to me and so irresponsible that I kinda didn't care if she got killed. I know when she sees how Raylan reacts to Mansell at the hotel it clicks for her that this is a dangerous person, but she was too detached and blasé for me to invest in her as a character.

I do like that Willa is played by Olyphant's real-life daughter, that was a fun and potentially interesting casting choice, but as for how the character is written thus far, I don't inherently care what happens to her.

Of course these are just the initial impressions after two episodes.

I do like the bulk of the supporting characters thus far including Victor Williams' detective, the always fantastic Vondie Curtis-Hall's bar owner, and clearly the other main character will be Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor's attorney and she was very strong in her scenes. Adelaide Clemens' character is pretty standard but serving her plot function well enough.




I am definitely going to keep watching, but I hope they ground Mansell's menace a little better going forward and that they make Willa Givens as smart as she is defiant.

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When we saw it in theaters (it's quite good! Very grown-up for what's ostensibly a kids movie), we briefly thought it was Eastwood. Maybe our ears weren't as attuned to him at the time, but even so, I think he does a great job.

I agree with Holden. So far, it's nice to see the Raylan Givens character back in action, but I'm not finding this revival series to be as compelling as "Justified". I miss the rural, small town setting. I also agree that they killed off the most compelling new character, and that the villain is so far a bit of a caricature and lacking the humanity, realism and relatability that the Boyd Crowder character had.

Came here to say, “We don’t think it’s the same out of the countryside”. Not sold on Holdbrook, especially after the run Uncle Baby Billy has been on in my mind the past couple weeks.

We are 5 episodes into the 8 episode season, and so far, my evaluation of this series has not changed from my initial impressions. How about you Holden, and others?

Hm! I'm debating buying this season on Amazon for $15, but that last season if the original series was just uninspired, predictable, and so disappointing that I'm wary.


I'll ask this plainly - should I spend $15 to watch Justified Primeval Season 1?

I guess the best way to answer this is would You spend $15 for this season? Any advice would be appreciated.

In a heartbeat.

Not because it's amazing, but just because it's pretty good, and it's more Justified, and it mostly still feels like Justified.

Yeah, it is still very flawed. I still enjoy watching Givens be Givens, but I wish he had a more compelling story to move through with more interesting characters. It took Raylan all the way until the end of last week's episode to realize, geeze, there must be cops and others who are working against me here. I know Detroit ain't his town in any way shape or form, but surely he knows better.

Once again they introduce a decent character, Kevin Anderson's shaggy would-be assassin Lonnie...and he's gone already.

If Olyphant comes back for another round, be it another season of "Primeval" or another series altogether, I hope they put more into it next time.

But I'm still gonna finish this one. Only two more episodes (tonight's and next week's).

GIVENS
There was something fishy about that particular kerfuffle
and I'm strugglin' some figuring out what it was.
Ever since I landed in this town, ever since I come
across this dude, I never seen anybody get so lucky,
so much, in my life. Get him dead to rights, everything
just so...and every time he skates. Cleaner than clothes
on a washline.

GIVENS
Okay, then.

Ok then, I'm all-in!