Sons of Anarchy Review

  Sons of Anarchy

Being a student, I tend to spend large portions of my free time watching movies and TV series on the internet. I started watching SoA as soon as I came to Buckingham, and I'm still ridiculously engrossed almost three seasons (out of seven) in to the show. Often when watching a new series I won't be able to properly get into it, but this one is really quite incredible. 

The series is set in a fictional town in California called Charming, and despite the gruff machoness of the main characters, Charming is the word I'd use to describe these testosterone fueled mad men. They simply get what they want, however the hell they want, but usually in a slick, or perfectly executed way. The initial plot sees the guys selling guns and ammunition to surrounding gangs, and they try to ensure there's no backlash that leads back to them, which is clearly never going to be the case. 

There's something I've always been intrigued about with biker gangs, I think it's the fact I rarely see any real ones cruising around on Honda's or Harley Davidson's through the streets of England. 

Back to SoA - In terms of depth and character likability, no other series comes close (except Breaking Bad, which almost everyone agrees was one of the best television series of all time) Every character has unique aspects that make them enjoyable to watch. My favorite three characters so far are as follows:

 Jax  - (Charlie Hunnam) the main protagonist. Young, reckless, and seems to possess no fear. He's clobbered in baggy jeans and hoodies, and doesn't initially seem to fit the stereotype of a biker gang member, but after a few episodes the story unwinds and you realise how deeply ingrained the biker mentality is into his unstable brain. 

Clay - (Ron Perlman) the 'father figure' in the show. Jax's Dad was killed representing the Sons when Jax was a young child, and Clay is now dating Jax's mother. This leads to intense moments in which her loyalties are divided between her son and partner, and creates a very powerful underlying plot. Ron Perlman does a fantastic job as a big bad biker, with his ridiculously manly voice and ego. He's the current leader of the Sons. 

Chibs - (Tommy Flanagan) the loyal Scotsman. Chibs has been a member of the Sons for decades, and he's the most down to earth character in the show. He thinks logically, and remains loyal throughout so far, bear in mind I'm only just arriving at series 3, anything could happen. His Scottish accent sounds strange when surrounded by dozens of Americans, but I feel this makes him one of the more unique heroes, with links to the IRA and all kinds of crazy shit, Chibs is a sweet character that I hope stays in the series until the end. 

It's very difficult to go into proper plot details without giving anything away. Sons of Anarchy is like a testosterone soaked, gun filled water park, with twists, turns and bullets flying everywhere. Not the place you would take your children for a family day out, and likewise not the kind of show that's intended for family viewing. All I can say is start watching it, and you'll hopefully get hooked like the crank addicted prostitutes that frequent the show.