Glory Review: Following a fractured family tied together by revenge and boxing, this Netflix series aims to merge sports drama with a crime thriller. Although riddled with genre cliches, the series is an engaging watch, mostly thanks to the dedicated performances from Divyenndu, Pulkit Samrat and Suvinder Vicky.
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Glory Netflix Cast
Divyenndu, Pulkit Samrat, Suvinder Vicky, Ashutosh Rana, Sayani Gupta, Kashmira Pardeshi, Vishal Vashishtha, Zakir Hussain, Yashpal Sharma, Jannat Zubair Rahmani
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Glory Series Directors
Karan Anshuman, Kanishk Varma
The series has 7 episodes, each with a runtime of around 60 minutes.
Glory Review
Plot & overview
Ambition, boxing and buried secrets, along with a ton of revenge, are what push Netflix’s Glory forward. From the get-go, the series makes it clear that it’s more than just a sports drama as it immediately jumps into an intense mu*der that pushes brothers Ravi and Dev to leave their lives behind and find the culprit. Already reeling from a fractured family, this decision tests their bond with their father, legendary boxing coach Raghubir Singh, even further.
The show stands out for creating a hopeless, fast-paced and thrilling atmosphere where the brothers have to investigate their past to get what they want. Picking up boxing gloves after suffering from a traumatic childhood, they have to put everything into this quest if they want to get out alive. This trauma and hidden truths drive the narrative, as both Ravi and Dev are hotheaded and tend to jump the gun at every opportunity. This mix of intense and morally ambiguous characters, with good action sequences and unearthing hidden truths, makes for an arresting watch, although the narrative feels a bit too familiar… at first.
Performances
The series is made better thanks to its believable performances from all spheres, but it’s Divyenndu and Suvinder Vicky who make the most lasting impression. There’s a jaw-dropping twist in the end that will catch most viewers by surprise, and all the actors do a great job of nailing that execution and making us feel equally distressed. Meanwhile, Samrat is great in the boxing sequences, and it looks quite realistic. Considering he has trained for quite a while before the series, that seems to have worked in his favour.
Themes & tone
The series’s themes surround revenge and the madness of sports, while exploring the downfalls of extreme ambition. It starts with the showcase of two people’s desperate attempt at finding their sister’s killer, but eventually ends up being a very interesting dissection of how desperation and ambition shape a person’s life and corrupt it from within. How far are people willing to go to stay relevant and find “glory”? What does glory even mean?
The audience will also find themselves questioning what success truly means and how moral compromise changes its meaning. As the truth is revealed in episode 7, viewers will connect the dots and wonder how far people are willing to go to stay relevant, in a twist that will truly leave you shocked and heartbroken.
The series uses these themes and amplifies them using a dark and introspective tone, and the brooding atmosphere mirrors the characters’ internal ups and downs. The horrifying reality that Dev stumbles upon is opposite to Ravi’s trajectory, and it’s then that the series leaves us on a cliffhanger. The series also introduces some interesting themes that are extremely relevant in today’s times. It’s added mostly for the shock value, but it does a good job of shocking the audience!
Direction & execution
The direction leans into stylised visuals and fast camerawork, with the action sequences complementing this messy narrative that makes us question every character we have ever seen, and by the end, it turns everything on its head. While one brother celebrates a historic win, another can’t help but look at the dirty path that led to it. However, the series tends to lag in the middle. While the opening and ending are well executed, there are so many unnecessary subplots in the middle that it drags for far too long and doesn’t pay off either.
What works & what doesn’t
The series is an interesting and emotional watch that tends to get a bit dragged in the middle, especially with some unnecessary characters and bloated subplots. However, it delivers a rather shocking twist in the end that will leave viewers shocked, as it makes us rethink the entire journey to the end. The performances are great, and when it focuses on interpersonal dynamics and moral conflict, it shines.
Final Thoughts
Glory is an enjoyable watch whose ending makes for most of the engagement. Although it’s not flawless and it did require some reigning in, it’s gripping and enjoyable overall. This one’s a character-heavy drama that requires viewers to sift through a lot of family drama to understand the weight of some decisions and is for anyone who likes something with a darker edge.
What are your thoughts on Glory? Let us know in the comments below!
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