Danny Boyle has decided to take on the story of one of the largest UK punk bands of all time. Across six episodes, we get an insight into the Sex Pistols. These episodes are very full-on and contain a lot of action.
The Sex Pistols may have only released one record, but it has become a class hit to listen to. After their release, two and a half years later the band completely fell apart in the late 1970s. A lot happened to this band and it's interesting that Disney+ decided to pick the show up. However, due to the amount that happened to them, these six episodes feel much faster than expected.
This story is told through the eyes of the guitarist of the band, Steve Jones. Pistol may be directed by Danny Boyle, yet this story is an adaptation by Baz Luhrmann who used Jone’s memoirs as inspiration. This is why the show is mainly from John's perspective. However, by having the show portrayed through Jane's eyes it gave the skewed focus of the overall story.
The first episode is largely about Jones (Toby Wallace), otherwise known as Jonesy in the series. We get an insight into his quite traumatic childhood and his life as a thief. Yet he is caught by the hilarious and charismatic Malcolm McLaren (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), when he tries to steal from his shop called Sex.
When finally Johnny Rotten (Anson Boon) makes an appearance, he spends almost two episodes trying to write some form of lyrics. Some of his lines become lines of the very few songs they did create. It does take a long time to introduce Rotten into the series, an entire episode actually. However, when he does appear, he definitely makes his mark. Boon does well as Rotten. He makes it really interesting to watch, and it's an enjoyable performance.
After that, we spend another episode, which shows the audience what was the inspiration behind the song named Bodies. We see a fan stalk Rotten and hide various secrets around him. This series is truly about the power your image can have.
On the surface, Pistols is quite a fascinating story that is spread across six episodes. In these six episodes, we get to witness the whole birth, rise, and fall of the Pistols. As if this wasn't enough, these six episodes offer plenty of time for romance as well. The romance is between Jonesy and Chrissie Hynde (Sydney Chandler). Hynde is frustrated with the attention the boys are reciting. Yet, Jones is suffering and combating his own demons.
There is no denying that a lot of the story is crammed into these six episodes, and yet it feels just a little flat. There was plenty of potential due to such a rich story, and yet it didn’t sit right. Possibly everything was too rushed for only six episodes. Some scenes were far more energetic than others, thus watching this season was difficult.
Overall, Pistol could have taken things much further, and it is a shame that we have to view this world from one person’s eyes. On the surface, this show did well in looking back on punk rock with the Sex Pistols that swept across the UK and the world. However, when you take a closer look at these high-energy episodes, they don’t feel complete. They were good, but they could have been so much more.
Performance | 3/5 |
Enjoyment | 3.2/5 |
Overall Rating | 3.1/5 |
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