Apple TV+'s New Crime Drama Dope Thief Has 84% on RT, but Is It Really a Must-Watch?
Big budget and spectacular, but still a failure that neither justifies its running time nor its chosen setting.
Like most Apple TV+ series, Dope Thief looks too good to be true. The leads are played by Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura, two talented and charismatic, but always in the background, actors.
The showrunner and screenwriter is Peter Craig, whose track record proves that he knows how to write stories about damaged men, their strong friendship and survival no matter what. Finally, the series was produced and the pilot was directed by Ridley Scott himself.
It's a shame that the number of talented people doesn't always translate into quality.
What Is Dope Thief About?
Ray and Manny come up with a plan for easy money: the duo dresses up in the uniform of the Drug Enforcement Agency and raids small drug dens. Dealers and petty criminals don't look closely at the fake documents – the men take the money and leave.
Luck turns away from Ray and Manny when they enlist the help of Rick, who has just been released from prison. The newcomer advises them to rob someone bigger.
The first robbery ends badly: Rick and some other people are killed, the men escape with a bag full of money, but they hear phone threats from a mysterious authority. Moreover, the only survivor of the massacre turns out to be a real undercover DEA agent.
Dope Thief Could Have Been Twice as Short, so the Series Lacks Dynamism
Despite the perfectly chosen variables, Dope Thief does not give the desired result. The main problem is not specific at all – streaming platforms management still adheres to the rule that more is better.
Dope Thief simply does not have a story for a full eight-episode season, or nearly seven hours of running time. This is an adaptation of a 300-page novel that could easily fit into three or four episodes, ideally a feature-length movie.
The First Episode of Dope Thief Is the Best of the Whole Series
The first episode, directed by Ridley Scott, remains the best of the season: the raids are filmed with tension, the action surprises with its cruelty and realism, and the plot promises a pile of problems for the characters.
After that, the creators slow down considerably and drag out the rubber until the last two episodes. Even the finale, which in its scope, plot twists and unexpected rescues resembles an ordinary episode of a police procedural, does not save the situation.