Justified: The Complete Third Season

Justified: The Complete Third Season

Rating: 4/5

Reviewed by Dave Lancaster

Summary: Witty, brutal and literate, 'Justified' makes for compelling television.

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It should probably be noted that at Cinemas Online we weren't fortunate enough to have seen the previous two seasons of 'Justified', so reviewing the third series was somewhat daunting.

while the recap on the DVD did little to help identify some of the characters, the strength of the writing and the efficient nature of the TV medium in such capable hands allowed for 'Justified' to be an easy show to pick up and get stuck in with.

We follow a wisecracking, strong-willed but also occaisionally vulnerable US Marshall named Raylan Givens. He's played by Timothy Olyphant who did so well in a similar role in the shortlived western show 'Deadwood', of which this owes a little to. There's a similar mix of vagabond, down-and-out characters to contend with - all of which are steeped in sin.

As season three opens, Raylan is recovering from a shootout that left him wounded and due to his weakness a few new villains (two great character actors: Neal McDonagh and Mykelti Williamson) have attempted to form a stranglehold around Harlan County.

More than just a sassy cop show ala 'The Rockford Files', 'Justified' has some serious writing chops: the series is  based on the short story 'Fire in the Hole' by crime novelist Elmore Leonard ('Jackie Brown', 'Out of Sight').

On the extras side of things, there are nine commentaries, outtakes, deleted scenes and a few featurettes. More importantly, spread across three DVDs, the third season contains the following episodes:

1. Cut Ties
2. The Devil You Know
3. The Gunfighter
4. Harlan Roulette
5. Thick as Mud
6. Loose Ends
7. The Man Behind the Curtain
8. Watching the Detectives
9. When the Guns Come Out
10. Coalition
11. Guy Walks Into a Bar
12. Measures
13. Slaughterhouse

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