Ironside (2013)

There's an interesting psychological drama to explore here, if Ironside's writers and its seasoned cast can resist the easy, repetitive lure of cop-show pro-forma.

This Ironside starts out as a good cop show that Underwood could turn into a very good one.

Despite Underwood's compelling presence and a good-looking cast, this is a rather standard police procedural. Handsome looking, but unremarkable.

Too bad [Blair Underwood's] talent is wasted on this Raymond Burr reboot, which casts him as a wheelchairbound cop who dangles bad guys over buildings and delivers hacky dialogue. [4 Oct 2013, p.60]

It’s all so tired and warmed over that the show feels like it’s stuck in a rut almost from the get-go, which doesn’t bode well for it either commercially or creatively.

Ironside is an exercise in cynicism, a safety-first raid on the vaults with not a shred of respect for either the its prospective audience.

It’s just manipulative drama that hopes to make you stand up and cheer by reminding you over and over again how tough its title character remains.