Synopsis:
A daring diamond heist in the south of France bears the hallmarks of the supposedly retired “Pink Panthers,” a gang famed for their bold daylight raids and movie-style getaways. It seems like the perfect crime—until a young girl is killed in their escape. This sets a British insurance-loss adjuster (Oscar nominee Samantha Morton, In America), a former MI-6 officer (Oscar nominee John Hurt, The Elephant Man), a French-Algerian cop (Tahar Rahim, Day of the Falcon), and a Serbian soldier-turned-thief (Goran Bogdan, Number 55) on a dangerous collision course across Europe. What starts with diamonds leads to guns, drugs, high finance, and corruption at the heights of power.
Shot in seven countries and five languages, this “thrilling reinvention of the heist drama” (The Independent, UK) was inspired by the real-life Pink Panthers, who terrorized Europe’s jewelers for a decade. Directed by Johan Renck (Breaking Bad), it features the theme music “Blackstar,” written and performed by David Bowie especially for the series.
What We Thought:
The Last Panthers is a pretty solid crime drama. It takes place over many countries, but never feels lost or out of sync.
It opens with a pretty good diamond heist and chase. One guy has a gross yet clever way of hiding the diamonds. Then it gets into gun running and gets very layered.
It’s smart without trying to outsmart itself. There’s just enough layers and thought provoking characters without it getting too complicated. You aren’t quite sure if some of the good guys are good and if the bad guys are all bad because of politics and power.
The acting in it is quite good as well. John Hurt is and will always be a fantastic actor. Even in a smaller role here, he’s great. Samantha Morton reminds us that she’s equally as good. I’d like to see her carry more series/miniseries like this. The international cast is also stellar.
The show looks great on Blu-ray. The various locations provide different backdrops that look great in HD. The diamonds in the beginning literally sparkled. The audio is top notch with full score and easy to hear dialogue. Plus the Blu-ray has a 25 minute behind the scenes featurette that was quite entertaining.
The Last Panthers is smart and entertaining. It’s a solid crime thriller with some spy type drama as well. It reminded me of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy crossed with a decent heist film. Because of that it is…
RECOMMENDED!
Bonus Features:
- Behind the Scenes Featurette (25 minutes)
- Photo Gallery
Cast & Crew:
- Samantha Morton
- John Hurt
- Tahar Rahim
- Goran Bogdan
Recommended If You Like:
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- Crime Thrillers
- Luther
The Nerds Templar 