On Netflix
Baz Luhrmann’s long-gestating period musical series about a rag tag group of kids in the Bronx coming of age during the late 1970s birth of Hip-Hop showcases the best of Luhrmann and the problems of extending his aesthetic across the many hours of a TV series. The musical scenes, featuring ecstatic dancing and thrilling music, remind you of Moulin Rouge at times, and some of the set-piece dramatic moments have the feel of Romeo & Juliet, but the exposition, getting through the plot and the soap opera, are a bit underwhelming in comparison. Still, it’s fun as hell. The kids are good: Justice Smith is future rap star Ezekiel, Shameik Moore is burgeoning DJ Shaolin Fantastic and Herizen F. Guardiola is a preacher’s daughter who wants to become the next Donna Summer. But the adults, including Jimmy Smits as a community leader, Lillias White as drug kingpin and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as a coke-addled club manager are really good.
