Let's be realistic.

How sad is this?

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Watching the first four seasons of Underbelly was like a fast ride full throttle. Everything about the fast cutting, the pacing, the music, the freeze frame identification of new characters with whimsical captions, was an exhilarating ride, reminding me of a 13 hour MTV video. This series had a STYLE like nothing I had ever seen before! The slightly skewed reality resembled European films I have seen. As each season appeared, I felt they could not get any better, but they did. I particularly enjoyed the different locations and the new faces from Australia's remarkably handsome pool of talent. Chelsie Peyton Crawford's portrayal of the chain smoking brassy platinum blonde tart with no heart in Razor was tour de force. She wrote the book on common trollop. The sets were good, lots of location shooting, which made you feel as if you were right there, and watching the Sydney Harbor Bridge construction progressing in Razor gave the series added authenticity. My only complaint was too much nudity and graphic sex, which would rule it out for US network viewing and lose out on a lucrative market. They should have saved the more graphic sex and skin for extended edition DVD's. Unfortunately, Season 5 ran out of steam. Where was the music? Where was the fast editing? Where was the location shooting? Where was the full tilt boogie band feel? The slightly off-kilter reality? I watched two episodes and turned off to do the housework which had been neglected while bingeing on the first four seasons. Did the director change? Was the budget cut? Suddenly the best thing and most refreshingly different series in years has turned into a routine cop show. Whatever the reason, they should have stopped while they were ahead.

First of all I am a Sopranos fanatic of the highest order, I've bought all the DVDs for all seasons. Hence with such a "refined" palate for the genre I really didn't have high expectations of this Aussie program. In fact when TV3 screened it earlier this year (or was it last year?) here in NZ, I missed it. I caught up with the recent rerun on the same TV channel (also bought the DVD). And boy! I'm glad I did because it is absolutely fantastic... Now, I saw a few "nah, it ain't all that" comments here but as 1)a Kiwi who is very frugal with any praise directed at anything or anybody Australian and 2)an out and out Sopranos fanatic I'll tell you this is one awesome show, right up there with the Sopranos. If anything, I think it's even better especially with its "life is even more mind-bogglingly stranger than fiction" story. Full credit to the film crew and sound editor; they nailed some emotionally- moving scenes with the cinematography and soundtrack. Underbelly is the only Mafia-style program/movie that has moved me to tears because of its poignant moments of futility, stupidity and sorrow. Bravo!!!

Plenty has been written elsewhere on this site about "Underbelly" so there is no need for me to detail the plot or the relationship to real events. My purpose is to comment on the other commentaries. A few years ago, Screen time produced a mini-series based on the Bryce Courtenay novel "Jessica". It was aired on the 10 Network in Australia, presumably to boost their Australian drama quota. It bombed despite being of excellent quality. The reason was that the Ten Network audience has different expectations from the ABC audience. The same applies to "Underbelly". Though it has certainly rated well and is the talk of the office every Thursday morning, I can't help feeling that it would have been even more appreciated by those whose dials are rusted on to the ABC. Those who have commented here about low production values and those who have compared the show to "The Sopranos" give away their expectations as typical Nine Network viewers. They like slick, tightly scripted programs, typically produced by American networks. Thank heavens "Underbelly" didn't get the "Days of Our Lives" treatment. I feel that I know the characters in "Underbelly". The incidents and the people are straight out of the national news bulletins. This is a dramatised documentary in many ways. "The Sopranos", popular though it may be, is candy-coated fiction in comparison. Give me reality, rough with warts, any day.

OK, Underbelly is banned in part of Australia(Victoria) and I'm not going into any of the details, so just forget the hype surrounding this show and look at it for what it is.For starters, it's only the beginning. This is a 13 part epic saga, which so far only 2 of the parts were played, and I'm already hearing a lot of complaints about this show that there either wasn't enough violence or that it just didn't lived up to the hype. Well I say those people probably don't follow the news, because if you knew anything about the past 10 years of crime in the Melbourne Underworld you would not only want to see more after just 1 episode, but you would have a little more respect and at least let the series play out before you start firing guns prematurely like a mad Alphonse Gangitano. Speaking of which, actor Vince Colosimo was outstanding in his role of the prince of Lygon street. If anyone says otherwise they should go back to watching "Home and Away", because they obviously cannot appreciate a brilliant Australian actor when they see one. You also have a tremendous ensemble of many established Australian actors with a few fresh faces.With only seeing the pilot and with my knowledge of what is about to happen, I know this is going to be an epic saga and will be remembered I hope for being a gem in goldmines of the Australian film industry, and not for its controversy. Of course, so long as the poor Victorians get to see it. Lastly I won't spoil anything so long as you watch the news, so we should all know Carl Williams is the last man standing in the end. But right now he is just the "Underbelly".