Dope Thief Review: Thrilling, Sometimes a Bit Slow

Dope Thief Review | Leisurebyte

Director: Ridley Scott, Jonathan Van Tulleken, Marcela Said, Peter Craig, Tanya Hamilton

Date Created: 2025-03-07 13:30

Editor's Rating:
3.5

In this Apple TV+ crime-drama series, two Philadelphia friends, posing as DEA agents, face the consequences of their actions when they accidentally rob a house that fronts a large narcotics operation. Desperate and now running from their lives, what ingenious plan with these two delinquents come up with to save themselves from imminent death?

The series, based on Dennis Tafoya’s 2009 novel of the same name, has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of around 50 minutes.

Dope Thief Review

In Dope Thief, two delinquent best friends find out the hard way that one bad house call can result in an intense game of cat and mouse, at the end of which only death awaits. Best friends Ray and Manny have a shtick — they pretend to be DEA agents and rob houses that sell/make drugs. Of course, they think that they are getting rid of the world’s negativity but they do still steal. One such bust goes wrong and they knock on the doors of some people whom they shouldn’t have disturbed, resulting in both the police and gangsters trying to end their lives.

The Apple TV+ series is an intense game that showcases two people on the brink of a mental breakdown trying to keep their heads afloat. The series, with over 45 minutes runtime each episode, can feel a bit daunting at first but there are nuances here that will catch viewers by surprise. The series explores their personal struggles in the middle of this bigger issue. I found myself sympathetic to their issues, especially because it is triggered by their childhood experiences. Although both of them want to do better, they somehow don’t know how to.

This push and pull makes up for the bulk of the runtime, making us question their decisions constantly. However, although interesting, the series tends to get a bit slow sometimes, taking forever to get to the point. Sometimes you’d wish for the story to jump to the next scene and give us something extremely thrilling instead of spending minute after minute on a conversation. There’s also law enforcement and the gangsters chasing the men down that forms a thrilling part, but even that tends to slow down sometimes.

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It’s not like it’s an uninteresting part of the series. It’s just that it somehow forgets to be the heart-thumping action that one might expect. There’s more drama than thrill here, which isn’t the biggest deal, but a little more action would’ve made the series more arresting. Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura deliver fantastic performances that make up for some of the disappointing aspects. The two men bring out some fantastic emotions through their performances that will leave most people on edge. As they battle with their inner demons, we are constantly left thinking about what come next for them.

Final Thoughts

This Apple TV+ series brings forth some very interesting topics and social issues throughout its runtime and explores several sensitive themes with nuance and precision. Although it tends to get a bit slow sometimes, fans of dramas will find this one thoroughly watchable at every point, especially thanks to the fantastic performances.

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