colonnesel Review of Blood & Oil

Blood & Oil (2015)

Disappointing follow through after a strong start

[6/10 · 26 October 2015]

I don't want to give out any spoilers but if you must watch only one episode of this show, make it the pilot or the second episode because as of episode three the whole thing takes a turn for the 'warmed up' used and reused routine. Originality is at a high at first but drops quickly. It's too bad because I'm a huge Don Johnson fan since Nash Bridges, which was a far superior show. The soundtrack of Blood and Oil is not good, the cinematography is hit or miss: There are either too many lens flares, some of the camera placement choices are seriously just strange. For example they'll shoot the actors from a weird view under a porch but the background is too bright so now they either overexpose the scenery, or you can't see the actor's faces which is never a good idea. The crane shot budget must be incredible for this show, I don't have official statistics but I'm thinking about 1/4 of the shots are taken from a crane. The plot itself is more predictable than the phases of the moon and at a certain point you start expecting all the plot twists, cliffhangers and supposed surprises.