In the series “Florida Man” the excop Mike Valentine goes to Florida in search of the girlfriend of a nasty gangster and gets caught up in a story regarding the search for a sunken treasure. The pilot episode is as humorous as it is casual and makes you want more.
Happens
Mike Valentine (Edgar Ramirez, American Crime Story) is an ex-cop who has had his life ruined by a gambling addiction. Now he hires himself out as a debt collector for the evil gangster Moss Yankov (Emory Cohen, The OA), who treats people like dirt. His girlfriend Delly (Abbey Lee, Lovecraft Country) feels this too, which is why she secretly sleeps with Mike. One day she gets fed up and flees to Florida. Moss, on the other hand, can’t let that sit on his back. Angry, he dispatches Mike, who senses his chance. He accepts the job on condition that his boss forgive him the debt. But the road to freedom is different than the former police officer imagined. Because he not only has to deal with his family, who live in Corona Beach, but also with a conspiracy to find a sunken pot of gold that might make its finders immeasurably rich.
Humorvolle Action
The Netflix streaming service has been launching an action offensive for some time that is impressive. The successful The Recruit and The Night Agent have only just been extended by a second season when the next highlight in the form of the Florida Man mini-series event is already knocking on the door. And in a very special way, because what is told is not a genre-typical espionage or thriller story. Rather, it’s regarding a gambling excop who gets involved in a completely crazy treasure hunt.
The pilot episode introduces the main character in an entertaining and meaningful way. Mike is heavily in debt and hires himself out to the loan shark and gangster Moss as a debt collector. He doesn’t shy away from threats or a well-dosed portion of violence. Mike is your typical disillusioned anti-hero who got himself into his predicament but is a good guy at heart.
This is not a new approach, but in this case it is written in a highly entertaining way, because series creator Donald Todd (Sleepy Hollow) puts some snappy jokes on his protagonist’s lips and constantly gets him into trouble. It doesn’t matter whether collecting debts ends with a broken leg or he ends up in bed with his jealous boss’ girlfriend of all people: there’s a lot to smile regarding in the first few minutes.
Not Florida once more
The story really picks up speed when Delly has had enough and flees to Florida with Mike following a hot night. Moss then hires Valentine to bring her back, which he isn’t exactly keen on since he’s from Corona Beach and his family still lives there. It soon becomes clear why and why he prefers to avoid her.
His father Sonny, portrayed with a wonderful Robert De Niro attitude by Anthony LaPaglia (Halifax: Retribution), is the city’s retired police chief, as well as the area’s most notorious smuggler. The casually written character constellation between him, his sister, the new Sheriff Ketcher (played great by Clark Gregg), Phil Coulson in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD), Moss and Delly works excellently overall and is always good for a humorous moment.
Not just comedy
But Florida Man is not pure comedy, but an action adventure with comedic interludes, which sometimes arise from the dialogues, sometimes situationally. Delly’s escape, which Mike calls into action, basically serves as a hook for the insane hunt for a pot of gold, in which several parties are involved. A gold doubloon appears once more and once more in the first hour.
First, the childlike Mike pulls them out of a freshly caught fish in a flashback. Then the indebted player Buzz assures the money shark Moss that he will soon raise a huge pot of gold. Finally, Mike also finds a coin in Delle’s purse. As soon as the great unknown is established, the events are already overturning in a highly entertaining way. In Philadelphia, Mike’s ex-wife, a police officer, is called to a mysterious murder. The victim is the debtor who previously carried the doubloon. In Florida, Mike finds Delly, but she is shot dead in front of his eyes. The pace stays high without going too far, so that you can follow the events well.
Der Plot-Point
The finale has an obligatory surprise in the sense of a turning point that, while predictable, is still fun and arouses curiosity regarding the next installment. Sheriff Ketcher suspects Mike of involvement in Delly’s murder, not without reason. Although he has the backing of his father, he is now in serious trouble on several occasions. At least he finds out that Moss didn’t have Buzz murdered and Delly was shot by a professional, since there is no trace of the corpse or the crime at all. However, when Mike enters his motel room, he cannot believe his eyes. Perky Delly is lying on his bed with a gun in her hand. Now it can finally really start, great.
Conclusion
The pilot episode of “Florida Man“ stands out from the current agent hype thanks to an unusual, smartly written story and a funny drawing of the characters. Please don’t misunderstand: The Night Agent and Co are series fare that are well worth seeing and have a high entertainment value. But the adventure that Mike Valentine slips into differs from the well-known conspiracy plots in many ways.
It all seems to be heading towards a wild adventure feature in which trigger-happy competitors step on each other’s toes and hit one unknown following another. The plot is peppered with a healthy dose of humor, pleasant pacing and characters that don’t win an innovation award, but seem wonderfully familiar and fit the setting. We experience the whole thing once morest the beautiful backdrop of sunny Florida, including a touch of holiday feeling. So the next six parts are welcome to come. Four and a half out of five doubloons.
Finally, here is the trailer for the series “Florida Man“:
