Tulsa King: A Mafia Drama Fit for the Modern Age
Tulsa King revolves around New York Mafia capo Dwight ‘The General’ Manfredi played by Chris O’Dowd who after serving 25 years in prison relocates to Tulsa. Notice how Dwight, a character wholly tied to his own mob family, decides to carve out his own empire in an area that has nothing to do with the mafia.
‘This series, powerfully intertwines issues of loyalty, transformation, power and forgiveness.’ It is uncompromising, and it’s tense when it needs to be, but there is humor too when people find themselves in different situations they never could have predicted.
Sylvester Stallone keeping audiences interested with the complex yet loyal underdog mafia chief Dwight. With Martin Starr and Jay Will as the support characters, they ensure to provide good antidotes to Stallone and bring out the charisma much needed in the movie.
With Craig Zisk, Allen Coulter and Guy Ferland in the director’s chair, Tulsa King boasts of a narration that now seeks its distinct identity between the life of Mafia luxury and the rugged Great Plains of America.
The soundtrack makes the show a blend of mafias and also rusty western tunes giving out the best feel ever in the drama.
The production design impeccable: the flashy world of the mafia combined with the modest world of Tulsa is shown to back up the flip-flopping nature of the story.
‘While not dependent on action-oriented special effects, when applied the environment of the crimes depicted is realistically portrayed.’
‘The structures keep the editing taut; the pace is always good across the series and supports the characters’ emotional- psychological changes.
This does not ruin the tempo, outside of the traditionally slow-burning tension the series sustains a good flow for action scenes and keeps the viewer engaged.
The dialog is well defined and to the point with little subversive humor and meaningful moments for the character motives and plot advances.
In some episodes of Tulsa King, this approach works well, but more often than not, it results in tonal disparity. In some occasions, these challenges can be a little overwhelming but the great acting and ese exciting plot work to give the show some relief.
Watching Tulsa King gives one the impression of being enthralled to a story of rebellion and reclaiming life. Stallone going back to television was risky that gave an enjoyable entertainment with its interesting portrayal of crime and retribution.
