MAGIC CITY Lacks Magic

Article first published as MAGIC CITY Season 2 Premiere Review on Seat42F.

Grade: 84%

Starz’s MAGIC CITY second season premiere, “Crime and Punishment,” picks up right where season one leaves off. Ike (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is still in jail for murder, and various people want him out for various reasons. Will Ike make someone’s fears come true before he can be released?

Eh, it’s hard to care, to be honest. As in the first season, the characters just aren’t that compelling. We’re talking the Mob and business dealings with Cuba and hotels, casinos, and houses of prostitution, and yet none of it holds that much interest, or magic, if you will, making the series unfortunately named.

What is wrong with MAGIC CITY? It’s hard to pinpoint the issue. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a fine actor, as proven in Watchmen and Grey’s Anatomy, and perhaps he just isn’t given a lot to work with here. Instead of capitalizing on his brilliant knack for human interaction, he is often isolated, such as while sitting in a prison cell, and when he is around others, the million things he has going on in his head keep him from true connection. Ike can never be in the moment, which fails to provide the window viewers need to attach to him, too.

Maybe the stakes aren’t high enough. Ike is charged with killing someone, but we know the charges won’t stick. He’s the main character, and him getting convicted this early in the show’s run would run him out of business and kill the story of glamorous life at the beach. If one of his sons were arrested instead, that might be more uncertain, but that’s not the path the writing takes. Even Ike’s wish to risk his beloved hotel in “Crime and Punishment” to go run Cuba’s vacation industry doesn’t seem like a real threat, knowing it’ll never happen.

Similarly, Vera’s (Olga Kurylenko) turn in the boardroom isn’t compelling. The hotel is Ike’s life. As much as Vera’s involvement may temporarily strengthen her bond with her husband, we know Ike will return to run things soon, and so she feels like little more than a placeholder. A plot point that she is going to perform again to bring in guests and make them money is interesting, but barely addressed here, instead spending her time on something that doesn’t really advance her story.

And then there’s Ben Diamond (Danny Huston), the villain of the piece, who seems to have been de-clawed. He doesn’t make Stevie (Steven Straight) pay for sleeping with Ben’s wife, Lily (Jessica Marais), because Ben likes to watch. He doesn’t aggressively go after Ike because assuring Ike gets out from behind bars, something Ben makes happen, keeps Ike’s mouth shut. Instead of raging or worrying about Ike, we see Ben cavorting with hookers. So the teeth aren’t bared.

Now, there is a little bit of drama present. Jake Klein (Matt Ross), the State Attorney for Dade County, is determined to take down Ike and / or Ben, and doesn’t seem to be willing to stop until he does so. But his utter, complete failure to gain any traction in “Crime and Punishment,” his efforts swiftly rebuked, despite his crossing of the line to destroy evidence, makes him seems like little more than a joke. He’s a pesky annoyance, but he has neither the power nor the brains to strike an actual blow.

MAGIC CITY needs to be unpredictable. The title implies flash and spectacle, and instead we get slow-burn period drama, like in Mad Men, but without the outsize personalities, clever twists, or hidden meanings. What you see on the surface is what you get, and there’s a lot more attention given to the boring reality than the things that would set the people and locale apart.

Can MAGIC CITY recover from this? I think it can. The cast is solid enough. But it needs to ditch most of the supporting players and bring in some challengers who will really shake up Ike and Ben. Whether Ike or Ben gain alliances to use against one another, or they have to team up to combat an outside foe, anything that takes the two series’ leads and knocks them out of their comfort zones would be welcome. Jack may have been an attempt at this, but it’s time to drop him and move on. Bring in the bigger guns.

MAGIC CITY continues much the same as its first season played out Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Starz.

Magic City fails to spark

Starz's Magic City brought its first season to a close this weekend with "Time and Tide." Ike Evans (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is arrested for murder. Vera (Olga Kurylenko) has to try to save Ike's business deal, after he is escorted out of a meeting in handcuffs. Mob boss Ben Diamond (Danny Huston) catches Ike's son, Stevie (Steven Straight), having an affair with Ben's wife, Lily (Jessica Marais). Victor (Yul Vazquez) and Mercedes (Dominik Garcia-Lorido) deal with the death of a loved one. And none of this really excites.

There is something lacking about Magic City that is hard to pinpoint. It certainly isn't the sets or costumes, because the series presents a rich, vintage environment that looks stunning. It isn't the acting. Jeffrey Dean Morgan deserves the Emmys he won for Grey's Anatomy, and he is surrounded by a believable cast. And it's not lack of plot twists, because there is murder, intrigue, sex, and secrets aplenty. Then what exactly is it?

The simple truth is, even with all the right ingredients, television shows can still come out lackluster. As mentioned in my review of the first episode, there is just an utter lack of depth. Everything feels false, or slightly off. The tone and mood presented in each episode don't quite add up.

Take, for example, the Ben Diamond story in "Time and Tide." This is a truly murderous man, who thinks nothing of piling up the bodies in a quarry. There is some serious suspense when naked pictures of Lily and Stevie begin circulating. But there is little chance that Stevie will be killed off, at least not so early in Magic City's run, not the way the series sets itself up. Then, Ben actually does see the pictures! Instead of killing Lily and Stevie, though, he makes them have sex while he watches. Now, seeing as how he gets off on this, it's an interesting twist for a complex character, even though this is something Lily's character should have touched on before. But the Ben Diamond that has been presented would then kill these two afterwards, rather than risk his secret being exposed, or allowing them to get away with the betrayal. He doesn't.

Another thing that's odd is when Mercedes decides to quit her job as a maid and become a Pan Am stewardess. Besides feeling like she's about to spin-off into the canceled ABC series Pan Am, it's something not set up for her character. Then she sleeps with Danny (Christian Cooke), even though she's about to leave. And instead of leaving before the end of the hour, she stays and grieves her mother's death. So her entire store in "Time and Tide" is just convoluted and nonsensical.

The best representation of what I'm getting at is when Ike is arrested. Vera takes over the presentation, in a show of strength for her character. But then she is asked if she is seriously going to continue with this, after they all just watched Ike be led away. It's not like there's anything else she can or should be, but the entire thing is surreal, and just doesn't add up to a gripping, driven scene, as it should.

These false notes are what kills the series. It's still interesting and somewhat entertaining, despite an often slow pace. But it just doesn't quite resonate the way it should, or the way its peers on other networks do. Magic City could be something great, and because it's been given a second season, it may still be. Yet, the lack of risk taking and true authenticity are hurting it, and there needs to be some reworking if it is to be great.

Will I tune in next season? Yes. There is a slight draw here, and it's one that will hopefully be built upon.  And it's still better than a lot of what is on TV. It just hasn't met expectations yet.

Magic City will return next year to Starz. If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter! Article first published as Magic City fails to spark @TheTVKing.com

'Magic City' fails to cast a spell

Starz's newest series is Magic City, which officially premiered last night with "The Year of the Fin." Ike Evans (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Grey's Anatomy, Watchmen) runs a successful hotel in Miami Beach. But on New Year's Eve in 1958, his business is threatened by striking workers. Refusing to meet their demands because, after all, Ike has Sinatra coming, he turns to a mobster named Ben Diamond (Danny Huston, John Adams, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) to clean up the mess. Ben does so, however, what is the true cost to Ike of such an arrangement?

First of all, the setting looks fantastic. Period buildings, cars, and clothing come across as pitch perfect, really helping to capture the spirit and tone of the piece. All of the cigarettes and cigars being smoked add to the atmosphere, and there is no shortage of eye candy, both males and females, often nude. Morgan is great as the complicated protagonist who is essentially a good man doing bad things when pushed into a corner. Huston chews the scenery like a pro, making his villain deliciously evil.

Unfortunately, there are also a lot of negatives about "The Year of the Fin." For one thing, most of the dialogue and music points to a cheesy noir style. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, except that Magic City takes itself way too seriously for cliché or goofiness to resonate properly. Many of the characters aren't distinctive or layered, especially the women. This may change in time, but that's not how they appear in the first episode.

It's tempting to give Magic City the benefit of the doubt. Like Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire, the pilot is slow, setting things up with a few tasty bits to entice, but overall, not much movement, story-wise. And yet, those other series have established themselves as excellently made period pieces that grow in excitement, popularity, and quality with each season. Thus, one might expect Magic City to follow that path.

However, what's working against Magic City is the overall sense of a lack of depth. Much like the world the story takes place in, there is plenty of glitz and magic, but is there anything beneath it? Like hearing Sinatra but not seeing him, Magic City is like a facade of something great, but look behind it and you will see the sound stage. This is a first impression, and is subject to change (or not) depending on future installments.

Watch Magic City Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on Starz.

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