Quick review: Pistol

[Tom Wolper]

It’s an FX 6 part miniseries available on Hulu. It’s a history of the Sex Pistols based on Steve Jones’s memoir and it’s directed by Danny Boyle. It’s hard to imagine that the emergence of punk rock has become a source of nostalgia. The series might strike a note with a fan of punk rock (I’m not) or someone who got deeply into the history of the band and wants a visual version (also not me). My main problem with the series is a familiar one: adult actors playing adolescents. Things that look on screen as adults being stupid are actually teenagers testing their limits.

The first three episodes drag along as they are about Jones’s demons and putting the band together. In the final three episodes it picks up as Boyle does a good job of showing the anger and energy of the concerts and the way the fans react.