Iron Reign Review: Familiar Revenge-Drama Makes For a Lukewarm Watch

– No Spoilers –

Set in the port of Barcelona where only Joaquin Manchado’s ‘iron reign’ rules supreme. As the owner of one of the main terminals, he knows the trafficking game and the other party knows that without his good graces and networks, nothing gets into the country undetected. Unfortunately, even with precaution and his eyes everywhere, a precious cargo of cocaine goes missing and an unfortunate accident sets him and his family on a destructive path.

Iron Reign requires you to sit tight through the first few episodes in order to get to the bottom of the thrill and the mystery later on. Of course, we see backgrounds, connections and Joaquín Manchado’s hold over the people in his port at first as we get an idea and set the base for the action. As the situation gets trickier and more terrifying, the backstory helps to make you understand why people behave the way that they do.

The series thankfully keeps things moving for a good part of the runtime although, at almost 60 minutes per episode, it tends to get a little slow sometimes. The series does bring the mystery to the table after long pauses where people tend to threaten each other quite a lot and there are long moments of dialogue that can get on people’s nerves. Joaquín Manchado is the best part of the series and whenever he is on screen things truly are tight and shocking. However, it’s when he is not there that things fall apart, quite literally.

Most of the runtime is spent trying to figure out who backstabbed the family. While the wild goose chase is entertaining and the situations mysterious, it’s still not 100% effective all the time. The hot and cold moments tend to make us feel bored and, in the end, that results in losing interest to the rest of the runtime. The betrayals and family disputes are interesting and you keep wondering who could’ve been the culprit behind the mess but every possible suspect turns out to be a red herring… or is it?

The story picks up steam when a betrayal close to home shatters the Manchado family and steers the storyline into difficult territories. However, even then, the story is not able to hold on to the intrigue right after, getting into side characters’ quests and showcasing their sexual history and whatnot. The problem isn’t a break from the tension it is that the tension becomes the break. Thus, it’s neither thrilling nor tense and gets you out of the intrigue the moment it showcases something remotely thrilling.

I think I enjoyed the human stories and connections the most, which made me take an interest in the plot progression a little more than expected. You understand the circumstances of some of the characters because we are given a great understanding of them. Thus, when push comes to shove and everyone points at everyone, you are left to make your own assumptions because you feel like you know them in a way. Unfortunately, Iron Reign doesn’t know how to moderate itself and goes overboard with the side stories, which is the problem.

On a somewhat similar storyline to Narcos, audiences will find themselves invested thanks to the fantastic production quality and the talented cast who do a fantastic job of bringing their characters to life. The drug life is full of thorns and betrayals and genre fans will enjoy it in that regard. Apart from Eduard Fernández, who looks and feels the part of Joaquín Manchado, Jaime Lorente, as Néstor, his son-in-law, is also quite impressive and gritty, along with Chino Darín as Víctor Julve and Sergi López as Román Manchado.

In the last two episodes, things finally open up and the mystery is solved. Unfortunately, by then you would’ve worked out who could’ve done this and how since the series’ focus on some people makes things clear about who could’ve been motivated enough to do this. It’s not the best ending, but it is not horrible either and makes sense in the context of everything. Unfortunately, it ends on a cliffhanger, so there’s that.

Iron Reign Review: Conclusion

This story showcases the downfall of an empire and family betraying family for the throne. The series has its moments of intrigue but takes too long to get to the point. It paints a vivid picture of almost all of the characters, but, in the end, the twists can be seen from a mile away. But it’s not boring and does definitely keep you interested until the end.

Iron Reign is streaming on Netflix.

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