Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Iron Reign’ On Netflix, Where A Drug Shipment Gone Wrong Sparks A Gang War In Barcelona

At the start of Iron Reign, the new Netflix series from Spain, paragraphs of information tell the audience about how, since 6,000 containers arrive at the Port of Barcelona every day, and only 2% are checked, the port has become a leading entry point for drug trafficking; over 30,000 kilos of cocaine are smuggled in every year. The main character on this series runs the main terminal at the port, and he’s heavily involved in the drug trafficking business.

IRON REIGN: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A night shot of the Port of Barcelona.

The Gist: A worker at the port nervously gets changed, and puts two small blocks of cocaine in his coat. As he walks out in the rain, he’s intercepted by men working for Joaquín Manchado (Eduard Fernández), who runs the port’s main terminal. He knows the worker, the son of one of a confidant, has been skimming from him, and, after his thugs beat him senseless and force booze down his throat, the hook-handed Manchado tells the worker that he should know, from his family history working at the port, that skimming from the boss is an unforgivable sin.

As we see Manchado work his way through the port on another day, he makes sure that the critically important shipment that’s coming will be brought in without any hiccups. He makes sure his son Ricardo (Enric Auquer), who has a gambling problem, is on his A game for the shipment. His daughter Rocío (Natalia de Molina) also works at the port; her husband Néstor (Jaime Lorente) works there as the head of customs; Manchado makes sure the workers inspecting the cargo are well-taken care of.

There’s a backup because one of the main cranes is down; Manchado wants to make sure its operational when the shipment comes in, and one of the operators, Víctor Julve (Chino Darín), assures him that he can get it running if the part comes back in. In order to expedite this, Manchado asks a competitor to use a part from his crane, blackmailing him with an explicit video when the competitor says no.

It turns out that Victor knows Néstor and Rocío; he’s an old friend of the couple, but they haven’t seen him since their wedding a decade or so prior. They’re happy to see him; Victor his also happy to see his old friends, but he’s working at the port for an entirely different reason.

The cargo ship that contains the important shipment is being guarded by some of Manchado’s people, and they come in handy when pirates overtake the ship. A firefight ensues in the middle of the ocean, with a huge body count. Meanwhile, Victor consults with the judge who has sent him undercover and is determined to end Manchado’s 30-year control of the port and his massive drug trafficking operation.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Iron Reign is essentially Narcos, port version.

Our Take: Created and directed by Lluís Quílez, Iron Reign is the kind of show that you’re either going to enjoy because it’s a fairly straightforward crime thriller, or you’re going to be completely bored by it because it’s violent and doesn’t really do anything that’s even remotely novel.

The most daring the show gets is that Manchado rules the port instead of an amorphous criminal enterprise. He’s been double-dealing for decades; he’s considered a pillar of Barcelona’s business community, as we see when he gets an award at the end of the first episode. But we know pretty much from the moment we first see him that he’s up to no good; there’s no twist there. Everyone who works for him is basically part of his gang, and the guards at the port know to not interfere. In other words, Manchado is a bad guy and there isn’t much about him that would seem to be good; there are no layers there, at least at first.

Victor infiltrating his organization is also some standard-grade undercover stuff. How long will he be able to keep his cover? Will he get involved with Néstor and Rocío, given he’s been away for so long, apparently becoming a law enforcement officer? So far, his part of the story is shrugworthy, mainly because we know so little about him besides the fact that he knows people in Manchado’s gang.

The firefight on board the container ship was well-done, albeit a bit drawn out. And it seems that the shipment will likely be doomed, touching off a gang war that will be another threat the Manchado’s power. But given that all the players involved have as many layers as a sheet of copier paper, it’s hard to really care about who wins, who loses, and if Manchado hangs on to power.

Sex and Skin: None in the first episode.

Parting Shot: Both Manchado and Victor look blankly into space, contemplating their respective roles when this important shipment comes in.

Sleeper Star: Giannina Fruttero plays Lucía Ramírez-Pereira, one of Manchado’s personnel on the ship, and we liked how she’s able handle herself during that firefight. Also, Lucía is an expert at playing five finger filet.

Most Pilot-y Line: “What’s this being shoved up your ass?” Manchado subtly asks his business rival when he pulls out the video he’ll use to blackmail him.

Our Call: SKIP IT. Iron Reign is a pretty standard-grade drug trafficking thriller, with characters that aren’t that interesting and stakes that are high but just makes us shrug.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.