Critic Reviews

There’s nothing very sophisticated about “The Westies,” few pretensions of prestige. And that’s part of why it works. It’s a well-executed, pulpy crime drama, and in Eamon it delivers a convincingly divided antihero.

This plays like a well-crafted, B-movie version of Scorsese—elevated by electric performances from a stellar cast led by J.K. Simmons and Titus Welliver.

There's plenty to see here, but little to feel. Much like Eamon, it's cold beneath the surface no matter how hot the action gets. That doesn't really get in the way of The Westies working as a compelling crime drama, however, and Simmons and Welliver are especially magnetic whenever they're on screen

The collective casting and acting choices are the primary reason why the series has a firm, albeit somewhat suffocating, sense of immersion, and why The Westies season 2 should be a no-brainer for MGM+.

If you like your crime stories with a bit more bite, this one will probably leave you unsatisfied. However, if you're a fan of tough men doing bad things and traditional tales of underworld crime, then you'll likely have a good time.

The Westies is a servicable crime drama thanks to the performances of Simmons and Welliver and the potential for their stories to yield interesting drama. The rest of the show is OK, but nothing that will stick in our minds after we watch the series.

With some sturdy players in the cast, The Westies is … OK.

Its relentless action keeps things moving relatively briskly—barely a scene goes by in which someone isn’t being punched, kidnapped, killed, shot at, or brutally tortured—and its cast displays a worthy commitment to the material that the show’s larger story doesn’t always deserve. But its superficial exploration of a tumultuous time period means it won’t linger in viewers’ minds once the final credits roll.

Strong on personalities, a bit thin on poetry and overly fascinated with a shamrock-infused version of Irish America. Jayzus, one wants to say, stop scraping that fiddle.

The Westies settles for retracing the familiar tropes they’re built on.