'Gangs of London' Season 3 Review: AMC's High-Octane Crime Drama Has Never Been More Brutal

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Jeff Ewing is a critic, entertainment journalist, interviewer, and screenwriter in LA with a life-long love of horror and film history. He has an M.S. in Sociology from the University of Oregon, and a B.A. in Philosophy from Eastern Washington University. He's been writing about horror and sci-fi film and TV for fifteen years, with bylines in Collider, Inverse, Slashfilm, Looper, The Playlist, Forbes, and elsewhere.

Jeff also has contributions in a number of Pop Culture and Philosophy books, and co-edited two books: Alien and Philosophy and Stranger Things and Philosophy. In this track, he founded, hosts, and produces the monster podcast Humanoids from the Deep Dive, which digs into the history, themes, and meanings behind favorite monsters and monster movies/TV series.

Video game adaptations have had an upgrade in both reputation and popularity over the last few years, especially on television. Fallout and The Last of Us have received awards and high acclaim, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has hit well over $1 billion at the box office and A Minecraft Movie almost achieved the same. When Gangs of London, based on a PlayStation exclusive, was announced at the UK's Sky Atlantic, it immediately set itself apart with its sleek production alongside brutal, high-octane action. (It helped that it was co-created by Matt Flannery and The Raid director Gareth Evans.) Despite these atypical origins, it maintained stellar quality for a show that's always been worth the watch. Gangs of London has never been more complex, uncompromisingly brutal, surprising, or intense than in Season 3, a stellar showcase for Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù elevated further by a memorable introduction from series newcomer Andrew Koji.

What Is 'Gangs of London' Season 3 About?

Gangs of London continues to follow undercover cop-turned-gangster Elliot Carter (Dìrísù), who has a difficult time at the top of the gangland ranks when spiked cocaine kills hundreds at a club during his deal. It puts wind in the sails of efforts to legalize drugs in the city (to undercut the local mobs) and puts major suspicion on Elliot, who has to get to the bottom of who spiked the drugs.

What's worse is that a dangerous new mysterious player (Koji) has just emerged from the shadows. Whoever this is, he's connected to a deadly crime in the present (bad) and possibly the death of Elliot's wife and son (way worse). Suspicions are high, inter-gang tension is higher, and Sean Wallace (Joe Cole) is cooking up new plans from his jail cell. What will Elliot do?

'Gangs of London' Season 3 Delivers Solid Performances and Brutal Action

Gangs of London has always had three elements in its corner: sleek production value, brutal, The Raid-level fights, and a a solid core cast. Season 3 hits high marks on each of those fronts. Intense gunfights and hand-to-hand combat are a major element of the show, and this round delivers bloody, bone-crunching melee early on in ways that are regularly diverse and surprising in construction — everything from tooth-shattering melee to infinite bullets flying, multiple manhunts, a modern fight with an old-timey battleaxe, and a scene with an umbilical cord you have to see to believe. It's wild, and at no point does the action slow down as alliances strain under the crisis.

Dìrísù also gives a series-best performance in Gangs of London Season 3, with Elliot besieged in the aftermath of the spiking and flooded by emotions as the psychic wounds over his wife's death come to the fore. Joe Cole brings considerable gravitas to Sean Wallace, despite his lessened screen time outside the main plotlines. Narges Rashidi delivers exemplary stunts and intensity, as Lale finds herself in yet another precarious situation and has to viciously regulate her way out. Koji makes a stellar, natural addition, capable of strong performances and believably deadly strikes alike, while fellow newcomer T’Nia Miller also delivers additional impact as a new, tough-on-drugs mayor.

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul in Breaking Bad

Conspiracies and betrayals are afoot here, as well as the rebirth of mysteries from the past, and they make for an interesting and twisty ride. At times, twists move more quickly than they perhaps ought to, with details getting muddled in the progression. Some of the season's most interesting new developments are also developed rather late, but altogether, it's full of fresh ideas. The show's new players are interesting and add to the world, and many consequential events occur that fundamentally change Gangs of London's makeup in advance of a fourth season. There's a strong future for this criminal underworld.

London's seedy underbelly has seen a lot of change over the course of the series, and Season 3 dramatically alters the character of Gangs of London going forward. Dìrísù is more than up for the task, delivering an excellent performance that's grounded and heartfelt, while newcomers Koji and Miller are strong additions who light up the screen. It's a season that's packed full of surprises in both well-executed action sequences and in narrative, proving that there's considerable freshness left in the show as it moves forward. My heart's still pounding after watching this strong, adrenaline-driven iteration.

Release Date April 23, 2020

Network Sky Atlantic

Directors Corin Hardy, Kim Hong-sun, Xavier Gens, Farren Blackburn, Marcela Said, Nima Nourizadeh, Tessa Hoffe

Writers Peter Berry, Tom Butterworth, Peter McKenna, Claire Wilson, Gareth Evans, Matt Flannery, Rowan Athale, Kevin Rundle, Danusia Samal, Lauren Sequeira, Carl Joos, Joe Murtagh, David Mar Stefansson, Mary Fox, Tolula Dada, Meg Salter

Pros & Cons

Sope Dirisu provides a strong emotional grounding and anchors positively stellar action this round.
There are genuinely unexpected surprises that reveal a show at its creative peak moving forward.
Series newcomer Andrew Koji is a stellar addition, adding significant danger, angst, and complexity.