I'm a bit behind and haven't done the necessary research, but here goes nothing. I've been wanting to talk about the new season of True Detective for like 15 minutes or so. I just started episode three and here are my thoughts.
First of all, I was pleased to see that Colin Farrell is getting some heavier exposure. He's the kind of a shit actor when he's trying to be American, so I was displeased to not hear his moan-y Irish warble. That being said, he's doing a decent job. He's got a darkness about him that works well for this kind of show. Also, the 'stache is great. And the bolo ties are clutch. He hasn't really done anything impressive, acting wise, in the show yet, but I'm holding out hope.
Then, there's Vince Vaughn. Kind of a shocking pickup for a show this serious. We aren't getting the fast-talking jabber or the presence of Owen Wilson, which it good. However, it's pretty clear that he doesn't have his real acting chops hones in all the way yet. I mean he's way better now than when he was in that scene-for-scene remake of Psycho which might be the single worst piece of cinema since Manos. But at least he's trying to improve himself, and he's doing a downright decent job of things.
The biggest problem in the show is that it has too many moving parts. The first season was a genius cop duo show. This one has six major characters, at least, all with their own barely connected subplots. It's hard to care about the characters of a show when there are too many to devote sufficient time to any of them. Farrell's role gets by far the most exposure, so he is certainly the most interesting of the bundle. The mustache definitely helps with that too. I'd really like if they would better develop the relationship between Farrell and Vaughn. I could certainly do with less Rachel McAdam's character. The Time Traveler's Wife isn't the best at being gritty. She's just kind of annoying and overly angry. Maybe that's the point. I hope not. Maybe she'll turn it around on episode four, but, again, I doubt it.
In general, I'd say it's not as good as the first season. It feel like everyone is trying a bit to hard and trying to force something that came so naturally on the first go around. At the same time, it's still far better than your average TV. I like it. I like the bold casting choices. Shows courage. Watch it and if you disagree, oh well.
