Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man

After hearing plenty of good things about Peaky Blinders over the years, I finally decided to watch the series in anticipation of this film. And I really enjoyed it!

I certainly don't love it as much as some other people seem to, but I can't deny that it's a fun, engaging, and entertaining show. One that is well-written, beautifully shot, and filled with plenty of fantastic performances. But the wild and crazy characters are what make the show feel memorable. So it's a shame that most of these characters aren't even in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.

In this film, Tommy Shelby's estranged son, Duke, gets involved with a Nazi plot that forces Tommy to come out of his self-imposed exile. With the future of his family and his country at stake, Tommy must face his own demons, and choose whether to confront his legacy, or burn it to the ground.

Now, you may remember Duke from Season 6 of the series, but Barry Keoghan has taken over the role from Conrad Khan. And he's great! Which should come as no surprise since, as is the case with the show itself, the casting in this film is incredible.

Every new actor feels like a natural addition to the show's cast. Barry Keoghan does a solid job of taking over a pre-existing role, Rebecca Ferguson is obviously great in whatever she appears in, and Tim Roth seems to be having plenty of fun as the film's main villain.

Unfortunately, while I do like all of these new cast members, their presence doesn’t make up for the fact that I miss all of the cast members from the show.

Helen McCrory couldn't return to play Pol due to her passing, but Paul Anderson doesn't reprise his role as Arthur, for some reason, and Tom Hardy doesn't make a brief but memorable appearance as Alfie Solomons. And, without all of these characters, the story being told here does seem to lack something.

Thankfully, Cillian Murphy does a great job of carrying the film. Tommy Shelby may be a lot older now, but he's still a captivating character to watch. Especially since, every time he thinks he's out of the crime game, someone pulls him back in!

But, while Tommy is at an interesting point in his life here, his story doesn't really provide us with anything that isn't already in the show's finale. There's nothing being said here that hasn't been said already, and that, unfortunately, makes most of the movie feel rather uneventful.

Plus, since the film essentially acts as one long episode, the movie definitely drags on longer than it needs to. Which is a shame, since this story is also too thin to stretch out into a full season of television. And that should probably tell you how unnecessary this story really feels.

To be fair, I'll admit that the final scene of this movie hit me like a ton of bricks. But that has more to do with how I spent the past few months binge-watching the entire series, and less to do with how effective the movie is on it's own merits.

The best thing I can say about the film is that it is technically well-made. But without the characters that made the show feel so memorable, The Immortal Man doesn't feel as engaging or as necessary as it should.

So, while I'm glad that I finally got around to watching the Peaky Blinders series, this movie doesn't really act as a satisfying conclusion.

Which means that, whether you're a longtime fan of the series or not, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man would not get a recommendation from me.