Great from a perspective of someone with Turkish roots

tezarsps

Before I start talking about the series: I do have Turkish roots and speak Turkish fluently, therefore I was able to watch the series in its original language.

The series involves Turkish patriotism (or even nationalism, which is a bit more than patriotism in my opinion) and not everyone might like that. Names, logos etc. were chosen with an intention. The symbol of the Turks, a wolf etc.

A part of the characters are supposed to portray real Turkish commanders that had to waste a part of their life (or even die) in prison because of intrigues (such as Ergenekon, Balyoz). Foreign people might not know the stories behind those characters, therefore they can feel bored and I understand that. However, this is a Turkish series, mainly produced for Turkish people.

I saw people criticizing that the movie pictures the PKK as a terroristic organization (which it is). I understand that media does not always reflect everything correctly. As someone who is able to understand many languages, including Turkish, I can do my own research and have my own experiences, therefore I can tell that the PKK is a terroristic organization and anyone denying that is simply wrong. You may argue as long as you want but it won't change the facts. Kurds are not enemies to Turks, the PKK is. Whatever, let's not get too off topic.

The movie is kind of realistic in my opinion. They do not hesitate to let main characters die in the series. It is not a series portraying 'Rambo soldiers' that simply won't get hurt. Also I know that a part of the actors do dynamic and tactical shooting in real life as well and I can definitely recognize that in the series. The visual effects are enough for me, I am not an expert though. The story is meh, the dialogues are forced sometimes, I can agree on that. The story refers to sensitive topics in Turkey, such as the shooting/rampage in a disco in Istanbul. It is full of 'insiders' and (as I said before) foreign people will not get that. It also reflects Turkish patriotic/heroic thoughts which you can see at the end of the 3rd part for example. That is indeed propaganda but that is how a big part of Turkey thinks and feels. Patriotism is very popular in Turkey and soldiers/police are heroes to the population. Song choice is awesome, especially the Turkish songs match perfectly with the scenes - another point that foreign people might not feel/understand.

Overall I can definitely recommend this movie, however non Turkish people will miss a lot of details and probably get bored by it. People that don't support the army/police and patriotism will hate this movie.
Note: I always try to be very rational and unprejudiced, understanding different sides/cultures - I do not support the hate towards this movie.

score 9/10

tezarsps 24 December 2018

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4531968/