Gang Related

The writing is sharp, the atmosphere thick with tension from, among other things, car and foot chases.

It’s a fast-paced shoot-’em-up/blow-’em-up affair (with the usual ridiculous disregard for actual public safety), but beneath the noise and oozing machismo, it’s not half bad as a deeper emotional story about family and trust.

Clunky dialogue, clichéd relationships, and an escapist action-flick aesthetic combine to subvert the ambition for gritty realism. It requires stronger vision and voice, as well as more distance; it can't decide whether to be likable or prickly.

The pilot episode, airing Thursday, is less than promising, but once you get used to the cliches, the loudly telegraphed plot developments and the unrelentingly phony look of the set, the show becomes watchable in subsequent episodes, thanks to a few of the key performances and some well-directed action scenes.

Pulp hooey with a comic book vitality and earnestness that manages to keep it (usually) on track.

A couple of hail-Mary maneuvers and a lucky coincidence come to the rescue. But it’s clear that Gang Related already has dipped deep into a well that only holds so much water.

In Fox’s instantly awful Gang Related, it’s pretty clear right away that you’re dealing with a pile of clichés that, pushed together and financed, can never be more than dreadful.