Review of Iron Hand, a thriller that takes place in the port of Barcelona directed by Lluís Quílez and starring Eduard Fernández, Natalia de Molina, Chino Darín and Jaime Lorente. Premieres March 15 on Netflix.
Netflix continues to bet heavily on its own and local production. It's a magnificent showcase for a story like Iron Hand, which unfolds over eight one-hour episodes (some even a little longer).
The series is 100% ascribed to the thriller genre, choosing as ulocation of the action an incomparable and until now unexplored framework as is the internal part of the Barcelona sea freight port, where thousands of containers pass daily, therefore becoming a focus for illicit activities such as those shown here.
It is a fictional series that is not based on reality and that shows a clan based in the port that has grown stronger until it is part of a drug trafficking network that links Mexico with Europe.
The patriarch is Joaquín Manchado (Eduard Fernández), a man of humble origins who challenged the system in the past until he became the master of the show with the help of his brother Román (Sergi López). Despite having lost a hand, he is the undisputed leader pulling the strings of the Civil Guard, the customs police and anyone who stands in his way.
His daughter Rocío (Natalia de Molina) is the ship traffic controller, which makes it possible to control the unloading of products from all over the world that, in a single year, can hide more than 30,000 kg of cocaine.
If someone wants to use the port to import illegal cargo, they must have the collaboration of the Manchados and the support of the entire criminal network that has formed around them. A whole barn of grateful stomachs willing to follow the voice of his master.
However, an unexpected accident temporarily dismantles the clan, to which is added the disappearance of an important shipment of cocaine that will trigger a ruthless war full of murders and revenge while the police try to catch them by infiltrating an agent.
Quílez demonstrates his passion for the genre and has a generous budget to put together Iron Hand in a way that honors its title: it is brutal in terms of its hyperviolent tone from the first moment and also those heavy hardware, those disastrous loads and all the The port's own apparatus acquires its mammoth dimension in the plot.
It is clear that the cast is first class, with not only great headliners such as Eduard Fernández, Sergi López, Ana Torrent, Natalia de Molina, Chino Darín or Jaime Lorente, but also with an enviable bouquet of secondary characters: Enric Auquer , Daniel Grao, Cosimo Fusco or Daniel Holguín…
It is a very choral series that delves both into the plot of drug trafficking and into the internal fights within the Manchados, who have a lot to hide, so it also touches on family drama with a few final revelations that change the tables. facing a more than probable second season.
Iron handHowever, it has two big Achilles heels: the explanatory flashbacks, which really don't provide anything that we can't read between the lines from the present and feel somewhat forced, and the length of the episodes. There are chases that last 20 minutes during which it is impossible to maintain the pace and narrative tension.
The action is well shot with a great wealth of shots and a very successful setting. The locations make it very easy to immerse yourself in the “underworld of Barcelona” and all the resources are put at the service of a story that is perhaps too elaborate but equally addictive.
The concept is also very exportable in such a way that an international success can be predicted, especially given the general interest in narco-series that continue to flourish on digital platforms with different approaches: The Immortal, Griselda, Operación Marea Negra …
Here drugs are more of a trigger than an issue in themselves, but it is still present and is one of the businesses that brings to the surface corruption and violence of great significance (we mentioned this above, but we also remember now that it is not suitable for delicate stomachs).
In sum, Iron hand It works and has a future, although by reducing the length of the episodes and avoiding trips to the past it could flow much better.
VALUATION:
Quílez is committed to a forceful and super-violent thriller in which the heart of the story is a family of gangsters in a dead end. The door is open to a continuation.
THE BEST:
The means available to the series, explore the seaport and interpretations.
WORST:
The flashbacks, which chew up too much information and the duration of the episodes, which makes the rhythm suffer.