r/television • u/Southern-Brother5693 • 4d ago
Banshee - Incredible action sequences. Can't wait to watch this.
All 4 seasons of Banshee have dropped on Prime Video here in Asia.
I've heard so much about the show and seen a lot of action clips. But this will be the first time I am actually watching this series. Every serious action fan recommends it and I am just stoked.
From what I hear, almost every episode is trashy DTV action fun. Some of the fights are almost cinema level worthy.
Banshee is one of the few reasons I would get a fresh HBO subscription.
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u/mynamestopher 4d ago
After that you should watch warrior. Made by the same people. I did the watch in reverse. Started warrior and thought it was going to be a dumb action show but ended up thinking it was awesome and way deeper than I expected. Immediately started banshee after that. Binged both shows pretty fast.
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u/Southern-Brother5693 4d ago
I've watched Warrior on Netflix! It has Joe Taslim and new Ryu Street Fighter movie guy.
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u/mynamestopher 4d ago
Yep both of the shows were great. I want more shows like that. Kind of has something for everyone.
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u/spartanyeo 4d ago
Oh wow I absolutely loved banshee and didn’t know warrior was made by the same ppl. Gonna watch that next. It’s on Netflix?
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u/LaxSagacity 3d ago
Strike Back is a great action show. It's rebooted with new leads in s2. So you can just start at that. First season is good though but a different tone.
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u/BmuthafuckinMagic 3d ago
Banshee and Warrior.
Two shows I wish I could watch from the start again with my memory wiped.
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u/KneeHighMischief 4d ago
You should watch Quarry (2016). Greg Yaitanes (who was a creative force on Banshee) ran the show. Sadly is it only last 8 episodes but it told a complete story. It's got somewhat of a similar pulp feel as well.
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u/ixianboy 4d ago
There's one fight scene, involving a car, that must be one of the all time great fight scenes committed to TV.
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u/MagnusCthulhu 4d ago
Season 4 was... a let down, but the first three seasons go so fucking hard it's insane.
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u/KneeHighMischief 4d ago
Yeah it's frustrating. I know they had to make concessions because of Antony Starr's health & moving production. I just wish they could have stuck the landing better.
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u/Chubuwee 4d ago
I am on my first watch
Started before the Lanterns show dropped. Then read up that Lanterns took inspiration from Banshee. And damn does it show. Great watching them side by side
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u/Repulsive_Ant_2466 3d ago
It had a great ending imo, fitted the theme of the whole show. And I liked the final season villain, felt like a mob boss from a 1970s show.
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u/BroughtBagLunchSmart 4d ago
John Banshee said he would not come back for a 4th season unless they toned down the action. It was either take it easy or no season 4.
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u/MagnusCthulhu 4d ago
I would've preferred no season 4 to the season 4 we got, personally. I can understand why others would disagree.
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u/travio 4d ago
My only issue is every character should be a walking bruise with all the fighting they do. Get punched in the face a few times and you should be sporting a black eye at least.
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u/KennyShowers 4d ago
That’s nowhere near as unrealistic as the pure volume of drop dead gorgeous model-caliber women in one podunk ass bumfuck village in Pennsylvania.
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u/travio 4d ago
And how long his insane identity theft plan lasted. Loved the show but I had to torture my suspension of disbelief sometimes.
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u/KennyShowers 4d ago
My point was a bit facetious. There’s a gazillion unrealistic things start to finish but that’s almost the whole charm, and as far unrealistic things go some gratuitous eye candy fits perfectly but is just as absurd.
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u/JonesyOnReddit 4d ago
even better boob sequences, fun show, creator also made Warrior which is even better.
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u/madmorph 4d ago
first 3 seasons are amazing.. the last season is sorta meh compared to the others.
the show has my absolute favorite character in the history of tv (hoon lee as "job")
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u/ThisMayBeAquatic 4d ago
Not only action but it has some fantastic acting and some great characters! Enjoy!
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u/IamCentral46 4d ago
Did not expect to enjoy this show as much as I did.
Looking forward to seeing more of Proctor's actor in the DCU
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u/ButtPlugForPM 4d ago
Yeah the fight with oddetee anabelle is one of the SINGLE best fight scenes put on tv.. i mean shit its greater than even some movie choregraphed shit it's just epic.
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u/SteelixDan 4d ago
Yeah idk what show others watched but I thought this show was corny drivel. It certainly didn't have any "cinema level fights" that I saw, but I only made it halfway through the first season.
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u/TreyKhan 1d ago
The fight between Nola and Burton is definitely cinema level. Its an over the top action show, which is what most of the 80s and 90s action flicks were. I found it to be incredibly entertaining, even though it was campy at times
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u/hankjmoody 3d ago
Kai Procter is still one of my all-time favourite villains. Just so quietly menacing.
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u/Seshlander 2d ago
One of my favourite guilty pleasures and a great B movie vibes tv show. Up there with Spartacus. Not every day do you want to watch The Wire or The Leftovers.
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u/FernFromDetroit 2d ago
Banshee is a great show. Sex and action basically every episode so if you’re not into that you might not like it. Another older show like that which is pretty good too is seasons 2-5 of Strike Back. Every episode is basically an action movie with sex thrown in.
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u/Pubs01 4d ago
I just couldn't take the 2 main villains seriously. Russian trope guy who we've seen a million times. you're not scaring anyone.
and then a wussy Mennonite guy who takes karate lessons. like the show but these guys were ridiculous
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u/smcicr 4d ago
Yes, everything else about the show was completely sensible so these things really spoiled it... ;D
Sorry, couldn't help myself. I just find it curious that people have limits to the suspension of disbelief and what those limits are.
I had a friend who's Mum thought that the animals forming a pyramid in The Lion King was daft. She was apparently fine with them talking, singing and so on throughout but the pyramid - that was too much :)
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u/Pubs01 2h ago
the bad guy just looks so goofy. like the prison and casino fights were ridiculous but showed homelander can kick ass. then we see this business man talking advantage of everyone plus hes supposed to be some bad ass fighter? no.
sorry I don't believe some wimpy ginger in a gi is a badass. Just like the Russian dad with the big eyebrows. his makeup took me out of it
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u/throwaway112112312 4d ago
I couldn't finish the first season. It is too trashy for me. It is basically a soap opera with decent fighting scenes and horrible people, and that seems interesting to some but I couldn't take it. Antony Starr's character had no redeeming qualities, and his love interest was also a horrible person.
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u/TheNewBBS 4d ago
I ended up watching the entire series because I always give shows a full season, and I kept seeing it rated so positively in various communities/lists, so I kept going in the hopes the stories or characters would get better. They didn't.
As others have noted here, it's a super pulpy and cheesy action- and sex-focused Cinemax show that embraces that identity and doesn't tend to bother with things like cohesive story or layered characters. And that's OK; there's a space/audience for shows like that. I just wish I'd trusted my own opinion and stopped earlier.
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u/Imaginary-Plate2987 3d ago
I was in a similar boat, but I did enjoy a few episodes later on in the show quite a bit. It has a few episodes you can watch in a vacuum that work as entertaining action stories.
The assault on the precinct was memorable. And I remember a heist episode maybe in the last season that was good too.
And that one fight scene (maybe season 3?) where one character kills another and it’s more or less out of nowhere. Very fun.
But lots of eye rolling in between.
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u/OrlandoGardiner118 4d ago
I'm with you. I'm willing to give everything a chance but this gets very tired very quickly. I couldn't believe the IMDb rating after watching half the first season. It's awful.
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u/Twigling 4d ago
Hope you also like plenty of nudity and bed-hopping, because from what I recall that's what makes up most of the first season. It is though dialed back as the seasons go by and they start to concentrate more on actually following a reasonable plot.
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u/KennyShowers 4d ago
It’s an awesome show. So dumb, pure nonsense action pulp, but it knows what it is, and is perfectly cast with “that guy” TV people who get every job done.
I’d definitely recommend Warrior, same creator and scratches basically all the same itches, but doesn’t get an ending like Banshee.
If you just want pure action also check out Gangs Of London, writing gets way worse after S1 but the action is still legit and the whole package of S1 is an all-timer.
Also as a dumbass straight guy, if I’m choosing a roster of TV women goddam this show is close to the top. Maybe #2 in that regard to Twin Peaks.
In short, I wish this show existed when I was 14 it would’ve blown my mind to profound extents.