'Lucky' series review: Anya Taylor-Joy cons Apple TV crime thriller out of money

Apple TV

Consider her Armstrong and dangerous. Anya Taylor-Joy stars as the titular Luciana "Lucky" Armstrong in Lucky, a new miniseries based on Marissa Stapley's novel of the same name. We link up with the character in Las Vegas, Nevada where she's celebrating a heist with her husband Cary Masterson (Drew Starkey), $10 million tucked in a suitcase. Next morning, she wakes up in their hotel room and finds both Cary and the money gone. That's not all, though, because soon enough, the hotel is being raided under the supervision of FBI agent Billie Rand (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) as the authorities are after the thieving young couple. But that's not enough either; Lucky is also pursued by Harris Dutch (Clifton Collins Jr.), a thug and right-hand man working for Cary's mom and mobster Priscilla (Annette Bening), from whom the money was stolen and who also has someone more powerful to answer to. Naturally, Lucky goes on the run.

Many artists wouldn't begin their TV show with the main character panting and banging on trucks as loud and as often as they can when said character is supposed to be running away, but intelligence isn't for anyone. At least you get a clear warning sign for what's to come. Created by Jonathan Tropper who co-showruns with Cassie Pappas, this crime thriller series is a frustrating one. A part of it seemingly wants to be a frothy, trashy piece of summer entertainment whilst another part longs for a stamp of approval as a hard-hitting, serious crime saga featuring several (self-described) "badass" women. Most of the time, it is stuck in no man's land. There are glimpses of prowess when the writing delves into consequences that are produced by the brutal cycle of greed, wealth, complicated family relationships and bitterness, but that signal is interrupted by lack of focus and uneven execution.

As alluded to above, director Jonathan van Tulleken's efforts here are shockingly incompetent considering the talent and money behind the production. There's no engine—the story is instead driven forward by lousy blocking, lousy staging and plot conveniences. It then undermines the whole strong, complicated and smart female character thing, which we can be sure will be the buzzwords the talent use when they do press and FYC appearances for the show. But in terms of what actually appears on our screens, it is anything but smart and strong.

This wishy-washy oversight affects the actors most prominently. Taylor-Joy is watchable but not multifaceted enough. You don't buy Bening, Timothy Olyphant (as Lucky's con man dad John) and William Fichtner (as Wayne Whittaker) at all in these roles, and Bening in particular gives a truly terrible performance. Ellis-Taylor's frustration with her hollow and generic detective character can be felt, and her scenes with Mo McRae (as Eli Gates, Billie's colleague) are underwritten and contrived.

Collins is really the only one to leave an impression as he's in a much cooler, more prestigious project than those mentioned earlier, which is the piece of art we should be getting. You have zero trouble believing that Harris exists in this dangerous world. Collins isn't completely alone thankfully since other supporting players upstage those above them on the call sheet. Starkey turns the show's internal empathy machine upside down in a scene or two a few episodes in, and Alanna Ubach does solid guest performer work in the second episode as Sylvia, your friendly desert lady who Lucky runs into during her escapades.

When it comes to the technical side, there's nothing egregious to be found. The series looks damn good, it chugs along nicely—meaning that it's never exactly unbearable—and there's even some stylish stunt work in several episodes (and if there's more digital artistry than usual, kudos to the VFX crew as well). However, that is also a case of the second unit and stunt team upstaging the showrunners and director.

Ultimately, the series is neither an exciting thriller nor good, fun trash TV. It is just another so-so star vehicle and it is destined to be forgotten within weeks. The word on the street is that the graveyard for those types of projects is getting pretty full now. C'est la vie.

Smileys: Clifton Collins Jr.

Frowneys: Direction, acting

To these artists we say: better luck next time.

2.5/5

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