It’s been 15 years since Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) left Kentucky. He’s been living in Miami, co-parenting his teenage daughter Willa (Vivian Olyphant), who’s gotten into some trouble, punching another girl. Raylan is on a road trip to take Willa to a camp for a couple weeks, but runs into some trouble along the way, and soon finds himself in Detroit, testifying against some men who tried to hijack his car—little did they know who they were dealing with. Raylan just wants to get back home, but the judge in the case, Alvin Guy (Keith David), has other plans. Someone recently tried to blow up the judge, and so he gets Raylan assigned to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, criminal and all around sociopath Clement Mansell (Boyd Holbrook) has come back into town to settle some old scores. He reunites with his old girlfriend Sandy Stanton (Adelaide Clemens), who works at the local casino, and pays a visit to an old partner, bar owner Sweetie (Vondie Curtis-Hall)—neither of whom seems particularly happy to see Mansell. Mansell has this way of getting people to do what he wants just with his unnerving presence. It isn’t long before Mansell is up to his old tricks of robbery, murder and mayhem. He seems to have a knack for getting away with things, and eluding the cops. But he’s never dealt with Raylan Givens before.
Raylan was assured the judge’s case would only take a day, but as the bodies start piling up, he quickly realizes that he’s going to be in Detroit for a lot longer. He needs to find a way to make the charges against Mansell stick, which may require turning some of Mansell’s allies against him, or getting in close with Mansell’s lawyer, Motor City native Carolyn Wilder (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), who finds herself torn between helping her client, and doing the right thing. As Raylan looks into why the judge and other victims were targeted, he discovers that this town is full of corruption, and he may even need make a deal with the Albanian mob, or step outside the law himself in order to close this case.
Justified: City Primeval is the follow-up to the series Justified, which was based on Elmore Leonard’s “Fire in the Hole”, and ran for 6 seasons, from 2010-2015, on FX. This 8-episode limited series is based on Leonard’s novel “City Primeval”, which wasn’t a Raylan Givens story. The main character of the original novel was Detective Raymond Cruz, who is portrayed in this series by actor Paul Calderón, reprising his role from the 1998 film Out of Sight, which was also adapted from one of Leonard’s novels. It is interesting to see this cowboy hat wearing Raylan Givens taken out of the Appalachian mountain setting, and plopped into a more urban city setting. This is a much different kind of criminal and setting than we’ve seen him up against in the past. However, the tone of the series is still very similar to that of Justified, mixing in a lot of humor with the drama, action and suspense. There are a few characters from the original series who make a cameo, but this is very much it’s own standalone story that doesn’t require viewers to have seen Raylan’s previous adventures in order to fully enjoy it. It brings in some fun new characters, like Raylan’s rebellious teenage daughter (played by Oliphant’s real-life daughter) who’s very much like her father. We also get a great new villain—Boyd Holbrook is so good as the menacing Clement Mansell. He expresses no emotion, and will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Many other recognizable actors also pop up throughout the season, including Terry Kinney, Regina Taylor & David Cross.
The series makes a nice binge, with a tight 8 episodes that never feel like filler. There are many twists, turns and surprises, and you’ll find yourself on the edge of your seat one moment, to laughing at Raylan’s banter or antics the next. The series tells a complete story, without leaving things hanging. Though there’s always more stories that could be told with Raylan Givens, and I would certainly welcome seeing more of these characters. The last 10 minutes of the finale set up something exciting for Justified fans that I would love to see explored in another limited series or season.
Sony has released Justified: City Primeval on both Blu-ray and DVD. The picture and sound quality on the Blu-ray release is fantastic—I can’t imagine it looking any better than it does. The video presentation is pristine, with a crisp, clean picture that looks great both in bright outdoors sequences as well as the darker more sinister scenes. There is an excellent level of detail throughout. The audio track provides clear dialogue, and a generally-immersive ambiance. During the more action-packed sequences and shootouts, the track really comes to life. The season’s 8 episodes are split evenly across 2 discs, which are placed on either side of a standard Blu-ray keepcase. The cover insert gives details on the episodes. Unfortunately, there is no bonus material on the discs, and the release does not include a digital copy. Our review copy also did not have a slipcover.
What’s Included:
Episodes: (6:12:06)
- All 8 episodes of the first season
Disc 1 (3:09:46): “City Primeval”, “The Oklahoma Wildman”, “Backstabbers”, “Kokomo”
Disc 2 (3:02:20): “You Good?”, “Adios”, “The Smoking Gun”, “The Question” - 1080p / Widescreen 2.00:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
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Blu-ray:
Extras:
-
No bonus material has been included.
Final Thoughts:
Justified: City Primeval is a great stand-alone series that will please both longtime Justified fans as well as first time viewers. Timothy Oliphant returns as the fun, wisecracking, cowboy hat-wearing Raylan Givens that we all love, but now he finds himself in a new setting, and up against a ruthless killer. At the same time, he still finds time to deal with his rebellious teenage daughter and strike up a romance with the villain’s conflicted lawyer. Sony’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds fantastic, but unfortunately doesn’t include any bonus material. This is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for an entertaining crime drama.
Note: I got the chance to speak with stars Boyd Holbrook & Adelaide Clemens on the red carpet at the world premiere for the series at the ATX Television Festival this past summer. You can check out the interviews here.
Justified City Primeval – Season 1 (3 Discs) – Blu-ray
$23.43 $15.41 (as of April 26, 2024 05:58 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Justified City Primeval – Season 1 (3 Discs) – DVD
$20.99 (as of April 26, 2024 05:58 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
JUSTIFIED CITY PRIMEVAL – Season 1
$14.99 (as of April 26, 2024 05:58 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
