25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fable for People Who've Never Known Real 1 Percenters, September 6, 2008
This review is from: Sons of Anarchy Season 1 (Amazon Instant Video)
The timing of Sons is obviously gauged to take advantage of the latest mid-life crisis which requires men my age to buy Harleys and spend their weekends pretending to be outlaw bikers.
Sons of Anarchy shows real potential as a worthy successor to
The Sopranos - The Complete Series episodic brand of voyeurism. Sons offers to take us into the lives of those who live outside the social contracts (or constraints) most of us take for granted. However, unlike The Sopranos, the Sons are not a criminal version of royalty (a status bestowed by endless viewings of
The Godfather DVD Collection .) Instead they are, (as described by another reviewer) "relatable." These are, for the most part, average joes, who've chosen to live outside the requirement to be a part of the herd or to "go along to get along."
Whether we actually practice it or not, the American ideal (or myth) is that of the rugged individualists, who band together to oppose the bureaucracy that wants to force these square pegs into round holes. Think of Rooster Cogburn in
True Grit.
And that's the legend that Sons of Anarchy is based on. The basic concept is that the SAMCRO's (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club - Redwood Originals) are latter-day Knights Errant. Following in the footsteps of Jesse James and John Dillinger (if you believe that they were only stealing from the villainous landlord or grasping banker and not the hard-working farmer) these outlaw bikers exist to protect their community from the evils of dope-dealing white supremacists and the rival Mayan motorcycle club. And that's where they lost me, at least a little bit.
I grew up in Fontana, California, with a family full of 1 %'ers (the one-percenter nom de plume arose after the 1947 Hollister riots, when the America Motorcycle Association famously proclaimed that "99% of motorcycle riders were decent citizens" and "1%" were outlaws.) The brotherhood is undeniable - every member was loyal to the patch and would do anything and everything he could to help another brother.
But the loyalty was entirely to the club - if you weren't patched you were just strangers, worthy of no more consideration than the bug that slammed into your teeth as you roared your Harley down Route 66. The idea of them banding together to protect their city, or even their block, just left me a little incredulous. However, I'm nit-picking - this is fiction and I need to be more forgiving.
So now that I've aired my petty grievances, let me tell you what I loved.
This is probably the finest cast on the small screen I've seen in a long, long time. Even though the story is theoretically about Jackson "Jax" Teller (played by Charlie Hunnam), it was Rob Perlman (of
Hellboy fame) and Katey Sagal (finally escaping from
Married with Children) that were the most realistic characters and really made the show. While Jax is an interesting character and was obviously designed drive the main themes of the show, I couldn't help but wonder how this brooding prince (think
Hamlet) was able to rise to the level of vice-prez without committing some horrific act of violence, which the show promises to have a lot of.
Sons was created by Kurt Sutter, a writer and executive producer on
The Shield so you know he's going to keep this series gritty and as realistic as possible.
Sons promises a lot and I'm looking forward to the next episode. Now if only I could convince my wife to let me buy a Harley...
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wow. Where did this show come from?, December 27, 2011
This review is from: Sons of Anarchy Season 1 (Amazon Instant Video)
It was originally the title of the show that made me avoid it and today years after it first aired I just finished watching the first season. The series was consistently intelligent and the characters tend to grow on you. The show, despite it's violent nature, seems to keep growing on you with every passing episode. This is the story of Jax Teller, vice president of the gang called SOA. He is one of the more encrypted slow-burner characters that I have come across. It is the effortless nature of the show to portray characters and storylines effectively to the audience that makes me a fan.
I've often jumped off my chair waving my hands in the air, I've always often just been dumbstruck and at times I've been over eager for the show to be done with because all hell will break lose in just one episode. There are some women in this show but they take a back seat but don't be mistaken there is a queen bee played magnificentally by Katey Seagal who plays Jax's mom "Gemma"
It would be not incorrect to assume that the show is very inspiring and seems to somehow always have a couple of tricks up it's sleeve. My hats of to the creators. I can't even believe I have three seasons left to be watched. I tell you I feel lucky.
PS - Some very solid rock tunes that I have never heard before often play in this show. I also wonder if the next seasons will be even more ruthless.
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