'FBI: Most Wanted' review: Julian McMahon is in top form as tough cop Jess LaCroix in this fun pilot episode
There's no dearth of gritty crime dramas on televisions these days. You know the usual drill with variances--- a skilled team tracking down murderous criminals, who are most likely under their noses. The felons have their own family entanglements, and the cops usually find themselves knotted up in these twisted tales. In short, this is pretty much the same format in most of the shows. Don't get me wrong, it's enjoyable and thrilling, even if it's quite predictable.
Thrown into this heap of crime series, 'FBI: Most Wanted' does not exactly do much to stand apart, yet it still manages to be quite entertaining and good fun. The first episode of the show 'Dopesick' released on CBS. Determined and ruthless Jess LaCroix (Julian McMahon) leads a skillful team, who need to crack down on a particularly murderous doctor who is involved with the world of drugs. The episode is straight-forward, we follow the team's investigations as well as Dr Brock's antics. There's no mystery as such in this episode, let alone suspense. But clearly, that's not what the writers intended. They don't wish for the viewers to expect a Sherlockian story with twists, and the full grand unmasking pf villains. It's almost a police-thief tale with family drama along the way. We uncover Brock's lies and witness his cold-hearted murders (that you can foresee, if you've watched enough crime dramas). Jesse and his team find his daughter Meghan, who refuses to believe that her father could be capable of murder, that is, till the proof is shoved in her face. The ending is the typical set-up, with Meghan taking the reins, albeit momentarily.
A few tearful scenes, some emotional conversations and a lot of action----this episode had a lot packed into it. While McMahon's tough-cop behavior was one of the better parts of the episode, none of the other characters had entirely distinguishable personality traits about them yet, though Kenny struggles to make his presence felt. The bad guy was just your normal unidimensional bad guy who enjoyed murdering people, and of course, almost tried to take his daughter hostage at the end of the episode. Hopefully, there will be more character development in the next few episodes.
Yet, all said and done, 'FBI: Most Wanted' makes for a light and breezy watch. It's for those who enjoy something midway between dark and psychological thrillers and a good old-fashioned cop drama, or so it seems for now. Well, let's see what the next few episodes show.
'FBI: Most Wanted' airs on CBS.
