Sons of Anarchy Review

Hellboy fans should be pleased with the new FX drama SONS OF ANARCHY, which stars HB himself, Ron Perlman. Perlman does what he does best – he flashes that tough guy attitude, intimidates, and chews on very large cigars. The role of ‘Clay’ Morrow, leader of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, is a perfect fit as he straddles the line between fearsome gang leader and family patriarch.

For this reason, I liken SONS OF ANARCHY to a West Coast version of THE SOPRANOS, with Perlman in the mold of Tony Soprano. Although the show isn’t focused on Clay – the feature character is Clay’s stepson Jax, played by Charlie Hunnam – the comparison is unmistakeable: The drama centers around a family of criminals who are at odds with the law and rival gangs, while at the same time face their own family drama.

In SONS, Jax is questioning the direction of the club as he deals with his own personal tragedy. His child, born with a critical heart defect to his drug-addicted ex-wife (the SOPRANO’s Drea de Matteo) has him rethinking his violent lifestyle. When he discovers an old journal written by his deceased father, and co-founder of the SONS, Jax learns that the SONS were not meant to be a criminal organization. And so begins Season 1 – with Jax slowly emerging as a voice of change in a diabolical and violent organization.

The show is true to the recent trend of edgy shows on FX. Anyone who watches FX programming knows that this network likes to push the envelope. SONS OF ANARCHY is no different. Expect disturbing images (already in the first two episodes a violent death with an axe, a drug overdose), and lots of course language including a couple of ‘N’ bombs from the skin-head rival gang). This is definitely for mature audiences only.

My early review is that this a show with lots of promise. I screened the pilot episode and the second episode and was ready to see more. The pilot was the weaker of the two episodes, as is usually the case as the writers and actors start to find their rhythm. Kurt Sutter is the creator, writer and executive producer of SONS OF ANARCHY. He is best known for his work on THE SHIELD.

The cast is impressive. Along with Perlman and Hunnam (who co-starred in CHILDREN OF MEN) and Matteo, the show stars Katey Sagal (MARRIED…WITH CHILDREN, THE SHIELD), Mark Boone, Jr. (BATMAN BEGINS), and Kim Coates (BLACK HAWK DOWN, HOSTAGE). My favorite role in the show is the leader of The Nords, a white supremacy group, played by Mitch Pileggi. To see Assistant Director Skinner play a skin-head Nazi just makes my head explode. I love it.

Tune in to FX September 3 for the premiere. Although the show hasn’t found its legs yet, I was impressed with the progress it had made just in the second episode. I expect the show to get better and better and be a hit drama for FX by season’s end.

You can view the trailer below:

Visit the official website here.