Thomas Storai 
Untamed is an intriguing, slow-burning mystery that, at its heart, is a moving, character-driven story about the lives and struggles of its leads. This role of a broken special agent suits Eric Bana, who delivers an earnest and multi-layered performance.
Mark L. Smith, the creator and writer of American Primeval is back with a new series! Untamed stars Eric Bana, Lily Santiago, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Sam Neill. The series consists of six episodes. It releases today globally on Netflix.
STORY
Untamed is a mystery-thriller set in the Yosemite National Park. It follows Kyle Turner (Eric Bana), a special agent who investigates a brutal death. This mystery is a slow-burn. It’s an intriguing investigation that keeps you invested as layers are slowly peeled off. This is more than just a brutal death; it sends Kyle into exploring the dark secrets of the park and his past. Things are more complex than they appear.
But at its heart, it’s a character-driven story about the life and struggles of Kyle Turner and the other characters around him, such as Vasquez (Lily Santiago), one of the park’s agents. The duo of Kyle and Vasquez is an interesting one. Kyle is not an easy person to work with, but Vasquez is not someone who gives up. Many seem to oppose them, but that’s exactly what makes this duo endearing. Mysteries can fall flat when it’s a slow-burn because the audience expects the story to deliver something satisfying in the end. But this one surely delivers. There are surprising twists that make it all worthwhile to watch. This denouement is clever writing.
CAST
Moreover, it’s great to see Eric Bana leading a TV series again. This role of a broken special agent suits him. He can make himself rough around the edges while also letting the audience know his character is in pain. It’s an earnest and multi-layered performance. Lily Santiago delivers an endearing performance as Vasquez; she makes the audience attach to her character. Sam Neil is there as a supporting role, but his seemingly calming and controlled presence never goes unnoticed in each scene he’s in. He adds something to the series.
VISUALS
Ultimately, Mark L. Smith enjoys showcasing the American wilderness in his series. Indeed, it was already like this with American Primeval. The American wilderness is vast and represents the unknown. There is a lot of beauty in it. Undoubtedly, Untamed makes the most of this beauty. This unknown is also a place of secrets that the series explores. However, in terms of cinematography and colour, at times the image feels too smooth and too bright, with insufficient depth. It feels like it was shot with a 4K digital camera, but the image was left as it is, without any attempt to alter it. That’s the weak point of the series because the camera angles are great and convey the emotions needed for each scene.
VERDICT
Untamed is an intriguing slow-burn mystery that, at its heart, is a moving character-driven story about the lives and struggles of its leads. This role of a broken special agent suits Eric Bana, who delivers an earnest and multi-layered performance. Like in his previous series, Mark L. Smith takes full advantage of the wilderness to tell a complex story.
Untamed releases today on Netflix. Will you be checking out this new series? Drop a comment in the chat below.
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