Special Ops: Lioness

Special Ops: Lioness (2023) 

Sheridan! You did it again! I can't remember a time when Ty Sheridan has disappointed me, this guy was born to do his job and he's got it down pat, and here he serves up another dense, spy-action-infiltrative-political miniseries with a Sicario (!!!) vibe that takes our breath away. Zoe Saldana is the head of the operatives, and the amazing Laysla De Oliveira stars as an infiltrating agent who has to get to know the daughter of an oil boss and eventually get to him and kill him. I absolutely love the female cast, they both have something going for them and Zoe as the uncompromising badass commander is great in contrast to the sensitive Laysla, they both build their characters skilfully over time and this mix of gritty action, espionage, family drama (which also has something going for it and thankfully didn't bore me) and backstage political gamesmanship is just fantastic. It's got drive, it's got heart and emotion, the whole team of agents are likeable and each of the eight characters has their own memorable traits. It managed to keep me entertained in the dramatic parts, enthralled in the action and the final 15 minutes when we get to the grand finale and when the agent gets to her destination are possibly some of the most intense minutes in series history in recent years, I sat there with goosebumps devouring every scene. At the same time, it's also a great demonstration of how all agents in the field are just puppets of politicians and high office rats and how emotionally crushing their actions can be for them personally, Laysla delivered this in an incredible authentic fashion. I have no complaints, it might not be an original, memorable life-changing gem, but it held my attention without a problem and I got through it in one sitting. I want a second season right away and even more stealth action with target neutralization, as the authenticity literally oozed out of them here!! (06.09.2023)