Gangs Of London: 8 Issues That Hold It Back From Greatness

7. It Leans Heavily On Cliches

Gangs of London
Sky Atlantic

Gangs of London is a weird mixture of original and unoriginal elements. The action sequences set it apart from all the other similar TV shows out there and the set-up of the different gangs feels quite unique, but some other elements really do feel derivative.

The biggest display of this is Elliot Finch (Sope Dirisu), the undercover cop who infiltrates the organisation. In spite of Dirisu's strong work in the role, he is a very familiar character is pretty much every single way, while his romance with Shannon Dumani (Pippa Bennett-Warner) is particularly cliched.

Meanwhile, it also feels like some of the characters are going on fairly predictable journeys of betrayal and corruption, so Gangs of London is definitely over-reliant on established tropes right now.

Contributor

Film Studies graduate, aspiring screenwriter and all-around nerd who, despite being a pretentious cinephile who loves art-house movies, also loves modern blockbusters and would rather watch superhero movies than classic Hollywood films. Once met Tommy Wiseau.