jfcthejock
Underbelly is Australia's answer to The Sopranos, obviously due to The Sopranos being a HBO show with a much larger budget and scope, Underbelly is always going to seem lower-budget to it. Underbelly however, with its smaller budget has more to go by in terms of value and authenticity. Whilst The Sopranos is based on a real Mafia Crime family based out of New Jersey named the DeCavalcante Crime Family, however it only uses this as the basis for the show and not follow real-life events of the its real counter-part.Underbelly however, does the opposite and tries to do its best following and depicting the real events of the story of Underbelly. The real murders, the real shootings and accounts that have been written in many books about Australian organised crime. Series one of Underbelly, simply "Underbelly" charts the infamous Melbourne Gangland War of 1995 and lasted until 2004. Following accounts, and evidence released the first series portrays the events leading up the bloody turf war over Melbourne's drug trade.This is done well, seeing as this is to date the more current and recent portrayal of the crimes, as the other series portray the 1970's and 1980's. Most of the cast, is obviously veterans of Australian soaps and television dramas so it can be excused if some of these actors and actresses don't match up to James Gandolfini's status in The Sopranos. This is evident with the designated real-life portrayals in the show of the gang bosses, and top men in the underworld. They do air their presence on the show, the power they wield of life and death and even the respect from their men. Particularly the brutal real-life Melbourne gang boss Alphonse Gangitano perfectly portrayed by Vince Colosimo who has gone on to many more projects since even in America.For series one of Underbelly, the Melbourne Gangland War is well portrayed from the brutal murders that fanned the flames of the war, to the arrests, and even the trials near to the end of the feud with a smaller budget for an Australian drama. Then "Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities" was aired, set between the years of 1976 and 1987 showing events of organised crime in the cities of New South Wales and Victoria in Australia. A Tale of Two Cities, portrays the events of the rocky, yet profitable eleven years of organised crime, and partnership of two criminal figures; Australian Mafioso Bob Trimbole and New Zealand Heroin Importer Terry Clarke. A profitable time in Australian organised crime, the show portrays their rise and fall well taking into the account of the change of decades with sets, clothing and filming. A Tale of Two Cities, feels like Boardwalk Empire for Australians but in the 1970's and 1980's.Both characters of Bob Trimbole and Terry Clarke are well portrayed on screen, by their counter-parts and you can see a rise in quality acting that could put even a few Crime Dramas in America to shame. The show stays faithful to the true events of those years depicted, the murders and even government enquiries into police corruption. The police corruption is well portrayed, and even opens an even more interesting sub-plot that brought the real corrupted police officers in Australia down for drug trafficking, and even murder.With a change of scenery, another more recent sequel has been released named "Underbelly: The Golden Mile" portraying the events of 1988 to 1999 around the infamous King's Cross in Sydney. "The Golden Mile" does well to show us events leading up to the original "Underbelly" series of the Melbourne Gangland War, as some events cross over and inter-merge together. Police corruption was rife, and is well documented in this third series with police investigations into money laundering, drug trafficking and murder by Sydney Police Officers.Again characters, real events, murders and trials are well portrayed perhaps to a little extent I feel "The Golden Mile" is second to "A Tale of Two Cities." This is maybe due to having a real feel of 1970's gangland in Australia, and the sudden move to the 1990's with "The Golden Mile." However characters, the acting and writing are still sublime in third season, and may in some areas be better than series one as the police corruption plot is expanded.Finally of television series released, "Underbelly: Razor" has been aired quite recently and portrays the years of 1927 to 1936 and is the earliest portrayal of Australian organised crime in the series. Portraying the events of early gangland in Sydney, and infamous Razor gangs who used shaving Razors as weapons in their fight for dominance. Currently I have yet to get my hands on a DVD release of "Underbelly: Razor" to watch, but from reviews I had heard it is a good addition to the series.As of note, a trilogy of three TV-films were aired and released depicting other events of crime from other parts of Australia. This series continuously becomes larger and ever expanding, which I love and can only hope more for the future. Give it a go, if you have an open mind and want to enjoy gangster films, and shows about other countries.
penguin-60
This is no easy subject to film and is still restricted in its distribution in Australia due to possible legal issues. I found it excellent. The cast is necessarily large and the acting exceptional. The gangsters really look evil and the blend of drugs, excessive sex and violence gives a chilling insight into this nether world of gangland culture. It is shot on location in Melbourne. The case is well known locally and despite it being a dramatization it runs more like a real life fly-on-the-wall documentary. For me it out Sopranoed the Sopranos and is one of the best gangster films Australia has ever produced. See it if you can. I watched all 13 episodes straight through!!
myspunkyone
Just wanted to respond to some people's comments on how bad Underbelly is, well it completely hooked me in! I was quite hesitant at first because I often don't go for Aussie dramas, but saw half of the first episode by chance and am officially addicted.Others have been saying it's like watching an episode of Neighbours, well maybe that's because so many of the actors in it had their starts in Neighbours or Home and Away. That's not to say the acting is as bad as in these soap operas. I was pleasantly surprised with the actor's abilities and portrayals of the characters. I was impressed with how many of the actors looked very similar to the people they were portraying.
laus07
What makes this watching (and I have a few episodes to go) is the real story behind it, not so much the acting and production values (though they vary in their quality).In terms of writing and complexity of character, or the intensity of the acting, this is no Sopranos, nor even the earlier brilliant Australian crime series (also based on reality), Janus and Phoenix.Unfortunately, most of the actors playing the crims, especially Vince Colossimo playing Alphonse Gangitano, draw from standard "bad guy" characterization, and as a result come across as two dimensional and cartoony. In many ways, this could be an extended episode of "Blue Heelers". It's very old school - don't give criminals any redeeming human values, just make them look like pantomime villains. OK, maybe that's harsh, but this is not a series which is breaking any new ground.Putting those gripes aside, I'll certainly watch this through to the end - it is very watchable, and the fact that it is reality, not just "based on a true story" more than makes up for any weaknesses.
