Reina Roja Season 1 Review (Red Queen): You Must Watch The Spanish Thriller From Prime Video Immediately
Cast: Vicky Luengo, Hovik Keuchkerian, Andrea Trepat
Created By: Amaya Muruzábal, Salvador Perpiñá
Streaming Platform: Prime Video
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars)
With more than three million copies sold worldwide, the Reina Roja (Red Queen) literary saga has become a truly international phenomenon. Her story promises to continue gaining followers in its jump to streaming through the new Prime Video series adaptation, featuring Victoria Luengo and Hovik Keuchkerian in the main roles of Antonia Scott and Jon Gutiérrez. The first novel of the franchise written by Juan Gómez-Jurado, on which this first season is based, pits the smartest woman in the world and the Basque police inspector against a complex case in which a murderer will try to play with them. The most ruthless enemies, a secret police project, and a kidnapped millionaire intertwine to form an ideal recipe to make our hearts sing. In November 2015, Juan Gómez-Jurado published the novel Reina Roja (Red Queen). Using the foundations of the detective genre, the author managed to transform his work into a worldwide best-selling phenomenon.
The story of investigators Antonia Scott and Jon Gutiérrez has passed through the hands of over 3 million readers in dozens of countries and it was therefore only a matter of time before it reached the audiovisual format. Amazon Prime Video was in charge of producing the long-awaited adaptation, which debuted on the platform on February 29th in serial format. As we will see in our review of The Reina Roja (Red Queen), in its adaptation to a series, the story of Antonia and Jon, two super-sleuths in contemporary Madrid, is inspired by Moffat, Gatiss, and the BBC’s Sherlock but, as it moves away from the procedural detective story, comes to be enriched with fables about the myth itself, also incorporating the spirit of the adventurous and romantic soap opera which passes through the detective story without muffling it and which creates a strange mixture of violence and tenderness, spectacle and intimacy, realism and fantasy.
Reina Roja Season 1 Review (Red Queen): The Story Plot
With an IQ of 242, Antonia Scott is officially the smartest person on Earth. Her intelligence earned her the title “Reina Roja (Red Queen)” of a secret police experimental project, but what seemed like a gift turned into a curse and she ended up losing everything. When the son of a powerful tycoon is found brutally murdered in his villa and the daughter of Spain’s richest man is kidnapped, Reina Roja (Red Queen)‘s organization is set in motion. The Mentor, Antonia’s former superior, turns to Jon Gutiérrez, a hot-tempered Basque policeman about to be fired, to involve Antonia. The complex cat-and-mouse game in which Jon and Antonia find themselves involved during the investigation will help them discover that, despite their frequent tensions, they admire and complement each other.
The adaptation of the best-seller turns out to be an extremely entertaining series, characterized by a fast-paced pace and, above all, by two characters who are truly dynamite. The chemistry between Vicky Luengo and Hovik Keuchkerian elevates Juan Gómez-Jurado’s well-constructed narrative in a project that Amazon Prime Video has handled without sparing resources: Antonia Scott and Jon Gutiérrez have been able to embody the adventurous and, above all, the human spirit of the book. Anyone who has read the books will recognize his beloved detectives in Vicky Luengo and Hovik Keuchkerian and even those approaching the plot proposed by Gómez-Jurado for the first time will be immediately captured by their radically opposite yet complementary idiosyncrasies. The chemistry they release is unique and irresistible. Luengo, who has already surprised the public in 2021 with her role in “Antidisturbios”, masterfully immerses himself in Antonia’s complex mind, balancing moderation and visceral intensity of the character’s stress with agility.
Reina Roja Season 1 Review (Red Queen) and Analysis
In its translation to the small screen, Reina Roja emanates the spirit of the national crime novel on all four sides, escaping the usual and worn-out Nordic thriller. Thus, this adaptation seeks greater aesthetic luminosity on the trail of the darkest and cruelest murderer, creating a pleasant contradiction and moving away from the usual tone of the genre. However, the great strength of the series lies in its two protagonists, especially in the detective figure of Antonia Scott, a character who takes up the baton of Alice Gould, Amaia Salazar, Virginia Chamorro, and so many key women in the novels and suspense film and television productions in Spain.
Victoria Luengo was born to Antonia Scott. In a very different register than usual, the actress knows how to perfectly adapt the original material of the novels to her movements, masterfully introducing herself to what would be the behavior of the most intelligent person on the planet. Her obsessions, her guilt, or her suffering are printed on the screen, without taking away even a bit of strength from the ingenuity of an extraordinary person in this investigation. But what would the ‘Reina Roja (Red Queen)‘ be without her squire? In the role of Jon Gutiérrez, his partner in the top-secret European police project that gave its name to the novel, Hovik Keuchkerian gives the most passionate and emotional response to Scott, giving us a multitude of hilarious jokes and a tender and delirious relationship with his amateur (his mother). That scene with the potato omelet is unforgettable!
In this way, Luengo and Keuckerian position themselves as a fun and enigmatic duo, offering us an unparalleled friendship relationship that goes beyond the screen. Two characters elevated by other secondary characters who remain clouded – even villains with as much charisma as Ezequiel (Nacho Fresneda), demonstrate the tact and care with which Antonia and Jon have adapted. Reina Roja is characterized by a tremendous fidelity to the literary material on which it is based, even suffering from a lack of originality. This does not prevent the fiction from working extraordinarily for readers of the saga who will find extreme loyalty to the events that occurred in the books, as well as for new viewers. Despite all its virtues, Reina Roja (Red Queen) errs by ignoring the point of view of various narrators as in the books, where we were offered greater background about the agents involved in this case which made us empathize more with them. Always except Antonia, whose mind is impossible to visit.
This affects peak moments such as the explosion of the Kidnapping and Extortion Unit of the National Police, through which the book became known through people’s word of mouth, and which lost steam in the series. There is no doubt about the complexity with which Amaya Muruzabal, creator of the series, and screenwriter Salvador Perpiñá have approached the adaptation of a story in the minds of millions of readers. Hard work is rewarded in the general calculation and that could give them much more play for possible future seasons. With adrenaline-pumping action scenes, carefully crafted visual effects, and a frenetic pace throughout its seven episodes, Reina Roja (Red Queen) will meet the expectations of crime novel lovers through a dizzying thriller. Antonia Scott is here to stay.
The book is carefully adapted to the needs of the television medium; the only flaw could be the dialogues, which are unnatural and less fluid than the original novel. Having said that, the greatest challenge was certainly to show how the mind of Antonia Scott works, the most intelligent woman in the world but also a tormented woman who carries with her a great guilt complex and a responsibility that weighs on her shoulders in every moment. Our protagonist is, essentially, a person afflicted by a severe anxiety crisis that requires drugs to mitigate the flow of her thoughts, which leads her in multiple directions in search of answers to the questions posed to her. This manifests itself in what appears to be “astral travel,” during which one projects oneself outside of one’s body, creating mental reconstructions of scenarios, mapping labyrinthine locations, or making near-instantaneous calculations.
All these abilities are accompanied by a strong rejection of social relationships and human contact and an almost total lack of sense of humor. The production’s subtle work in visually representing the workings of Antonia Scott’s mind is commendable. Reina Roja (Red Queen) is a series that does not hide behind small ambitions and aims to reach a wide audience (being broadcast simultaneously in 240 countries), thanks to its genuineness and playful tone. The primary goal is to offer seven episodes that are, above all, extremely entertaining. The plot presents a universe full of secret organizations, charismatic and friendly policemen, serial killers, and a good dose of action on the streets of Madrid: you can’t ask for more, nor should you. It’s the perfect plan for a weekend TV marathon!
Reina Roja is a Spanish TV series, and it shows. Because where it doesn’t arrive with CGI, with special effects, it arrives with the heart of a narrative that flows clearly and perfectly. There’s the super smart woman, the big (but he says “strong”) right cop, the European secret agency, the hoarse-voiced boss, and there’s a clear case to solve, with a bad guy to catch. The rest is done by the interactions between the characters, with their characters and their jokes. The strange couple of investigators are very well matched, in this sense: she is so rigid, and he is so ironically grumpy, that they immediately enter the heart. Among all the positive things that can be found in this adaptation, perhaps the biggest hook for audiences outside of this universe is the cast. Both Victoria Luengo and Hovik Keuchkerian more than fulfill their mission and are perhaps the reason why you are curious if you are one of those who entered the series thinking that the title had something to do with a board game.
And even the excuse to stay and see how far their versions of Antonia Scott and Jon Gutiérrez go. In addition, Reina Roja (Red Queen) also works as a typical thriller, although it does not have the same darkness or is as bloody as other similar adaptations made in Spain. The series fits with the most classic conventions of the genre, alternating between the colorful vision of everyday life in Madrid and the city’s underground, where horror is housed. It also knows how to present what happens in the mind of its protagonist without repeating itself, provoking what is surely the fascination of fans and generating interest in new arrivals. We are facing what is already one of the great premieres of 2024, a faithful and careful adaptation made with love for those who spent so much time imagining these characters in their heads. They may be the ones who make it the success it needs to continue with the following novels and very soon we will talk about Black Wolf and White King.
Reina Roja Season 1 Review (Red Queen): The Last Words
Watching Reina Roja (Red Queen) we had the impression of watching a series that was a little out of time, but in a good way. Because it doesn’t worry about following trends or emulating styles but focuses on an intrinsically Spanish story that captures attention episode after episode. A perfectly successful operation, which in our opinion will continue in the future. Hoping that he always maintains that chemistry and that feeling that everything goes as it should. The Reina Roja (Red Queen) adaptation by Prime Video will satisfy fans of the novel and has the right potential to attract a large portion of the public: entertaining and with convincing interpretations, it will win you over above all for its mix of atmospheres, including the suspense of the investigative investigation and the funny soap opera dynamics.
Reina Roja Season 1 Review (Red Queen): You Must Watch The Spanish Thriller From Prime Video Immediately - Filmyhype
Director: Amaya Muruzábal, Salvador Perpiñá
Date Created: 2024-02-29 17:32
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Pros
- Intriguing Heroine: Antonia Scott, with her exceptional intellect and troubled past, is a captivating protagonist. You'll be drawn to her journey of self-discovery while she tackles complex cases.
- Unique Premise: The clandestine police unit tackling bizarre crimes adds a fresh layer to the traditional detective story.
- Compelling Mystery: The central case keeps you guessing, with well-paced reveals that unfold throughout the season.
- Strong Performances: Vicky Luengo delivers a nuanced portrayal of Antonia, and the supporting cast complements her well, creating a believable team dynamic.
Cons
- Familiarity: While the core concept is interesting, the crime-solving aspects might feel familiar to viewers accustomed to detective shows.
- Pacing Issues: Some viewers might find the pacing uneven, with occasional dips in momentum.
- Character Development: While Antonia is well-developed, some supporting characters could benefit from a deeper dive into their motivations.
