"21 Thunder" is basically a remake of "Inside Edge," (which centers its storyline around Cricket, rather than Soccer). Actually, both series are listed as coming out in 2017, so I'm not sure which was first. But suffice it to say- Inside Edge is a far better version... much tighter script as well as better casting. 21 Thunder is probably not as bad as many of the review it will receive- but does seem a bit amateurish compared to Inside Edge (which has a more sophisticated development of the business side of team ownership & price fixing operations). 21 Thunder also has some casting issues that weaken the series & also result in a lack of chemistry among the characters imo. (by comparison.. I thought Inside did a good job re casting, chemistry, etc.) If you watch both series I think it will be clear how much of a difference... the solid casting & a tighter script.. made in Inside Edge (Amazon series).
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kevinmaclellan026 November 2017Very bad and I love football. Maybe they should let the English redo the whole damn thing. I could not watch another episode beyond the first.
Bad Writing and bad acting. How anyone rates this more than 1 is beyond me. Watch it if you are very young and.... on second thought just do not watch it at any age. It has no redeeming points. The show has been contrived to take advantage of football lovers. It fails on all points. -
derekkobehirsch5 August 2017Pilot episode definitely kept my interest, especially after the first 10 minutes of character introductions. Suspenseful, good possibility for upcoming story lines, good looking cast, and good writing. Hometown bias because the show's filmed in Montreal, and doesn't shy away from that fact--a lot of American shows use Montreal to film in, but pretend they're set elsewhere.Definitely will watch next episode. Television pilots are almost never this good.
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info-416171 March 2018If you grew up in Europe and played soccer every day of your childhood and in different clubs in your neighborhood, this show is just a big pain to watch.
The training sessions look like they are copied from the better known American Football and have absolutely nothing to do with modern soccer training. There are no separate coaches for strikers and defenders because in soccer they normally play on the field at the same time. In case you didn't know that. -
bstarz-4533730 September 2018Overall, an entertaining series. Not big into football but I love the location in Montreal. The football action scenes are exciting to watch despite my lack of football expertise. The off field storylines are decent enough to keep me intrigued. The characters are all athletes so they all have to have similar traits when it comes to their competitive demeanor. All of the female roles are slightly unbelievable (team owner, coach, team physician). But at least they're all attractive.
Spoken from a non-football fan, I am now more interested in the sport & I would continue watching this series. -
Had to force myself through the 1st episode. The acting was terrible; not sure how they scouted the actors but I think the show would be at least 1 full point ahead if it was cast better. I wish that the writers would spend more time on the actual story instead of it being so generic and forced. It was like some thoughtless writer took soccer, teenage emotions and decided to mash it up in to one contrived story that is a quick cash grab. CBC should go back to doing what it's good at - news. Not TV shows. You lost Hockey Night in Canada for a reason.
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I love football and watching this show is like getting hit on the head from Roberto Carlos. It make me have a concussion and have no idea where am I.
The drama is so cringy I feel like I'm watching Days of Our Live in the shows Friends. And that club logo, who design that eyesore? 6 Years old? Looks like those team in the old PS2 Pro Evolution Soccer game with no license right to the real team name and logo. Montreal Thunder? More like Foreal Blunder. -
RoswellGirl13-124 June 2018I found this show randomly on Netflix. Watched the trailer and I had to start it. From the first episode I was hooked and I finished it in a day. I loved it! I am a huge football/soccer fan and all of the actors are gorgeous and entertaining to watch. I love the characters and the story lines. Of course there are things that aren't realistic but that's television. Overall, I loved finding a show like this and I need more! I can't wait for season 2!
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21 Thunder is a perfect example of why Americans shouldn't make films or tv shows about football. The producers clearly don't know anything about the sport and watching the first 10 minutes made me cringe so much I had to stop. Cheesy dialogues, bad acting, terrible script and of course the unnecessary political correctness all add up to one of the worst tv shows I've seen. Make yourself a favour and don't watch this show.
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janemurdochadams16 August 2017Wow! double AND TRIPLE Wow! I am always watching for female characters, in new shows, who have real agency - who act with ambition and ADVENTUROUSNESS on the factors which make up their world! Lara and Christie are fascinating!!!! I haven't seen women like them before on TV. Smart, funny, super unique. I am not sure what Fatima, who I have only seen so far in episode 3, will turn out to do....but for now i will just say that I love her dancing, and she made a vivid first impression on Junior and his brother!! She looks wonderful! I wonder what she will do/be/become. An amazing new face on national TV. And stunning in the extreme is the owner of the team. PERFECT agency!!! Where do you find these people? All these women are gems.....I will follow their destinies on this series with the greatest interest. And of course the GUYS who make up the team too!!!!
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The story is not good. It wouldn't sell as a novel, you wouldn't read it, so no amount of dressing up with music/cinematography/acting would hide that fact... Except they also didn't dress it well.
The flaws in the story is not because of a "lack fo understanding of football" - (look at Goal 3, currently rated 3.3/10 on IMDb) or the presence of females in the story. The story just sucks. It's more like Grey's Anatomy than anything, but done worse and much later. What worked in 2005 for Grey's won't work now. The standards are much higher. The show creators have to beat the best shows of today, take it to the next level, not emulate and copy a show from 2005. Even Grey's can't do it - they went from ranked 5th in ratings to ranked 32, from 22 million viewers to 8. Why would you emulate that show?
Well, they did, and that's where we are at right now.
The football is sort of peripheral in the story. It's about someone with a disabled mum, someone with a parent in prison, drugs, gangs, gambling, smuggling, missing children, etc. I'm not a screenwriter so I don't know where they went wrong. Maybe too many stories at the same time? Maybe the storylines didn't have enough time to breathe?
One thing is for certain. The events were not believable - they were presented in a soapy, non-serious Grey's Anatomy type of way.
I don't recommend it. -
krissa7528 October 2018I gave this two episodes before giving up. This is supposed to be about a U-21 team in the MLS.
First of all: barely anyone of the players look like they're 21. A fair lot of them look almost 30. It can't be that hard to find some actors to fit the bill especially since some of them are overacting as if their life depended on it. To add to that the over-the-top situations half of them find themselves after just two episodes may fit a soap opera, they shouldn't be in here.
Second: if you're going to make a series about football/soccer at least get some people in there that can actually play. The training sequences are horrible, players can barely control a ball, let alone pass it. Same for the matches: what's this obsession with overhead kicks? It's like making a series about basketball where every other game is decided on a full court shot.
If you're watching this on Netflix, chances are Club de Cuervos is on there as well. Which is much much better. -
llcooldn6 July 2018Go into this show understanding it's low budget and a Netflix show. After watching the she show though it draws you in, gets better with tjme, and keeps your attention. My wife can't wait for me to get home so we can watch together.
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monmoya671 June 2018This show is disrespectful to the sport of football. The actors can't act, its acting is like as if it is intended for 7 year old's but the target audience is 16+. The playing of the sport is not good, any of these actors probably never played football in their life before. The drama is just stupid and too much. When i saw the poster and read that it was going to be about football, i was so excited and thought this show was going to be amazing, but i was really disappointed and if i never watched football before or didn't have interest in the sport, after watching this show i would probably hate the sport for ever.
I can not believe its rate 6/10 -
hazzaisfabulous23 March 2018Not gonna lie, not incredible, but the female characters are amazing and the series intrigues you right to the final credits. A show that keeps you guessing, a great watch if you have time to kill.
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daorestes12 July 2018I do not know that why i watched the full season 1. May be just because of football. But truly speaking, this is one of the worst football related TV shows. Unnecessary sex scene, no mystery, no good plot with football, nothing. Cast are so below average. Average editing and below average direction ! ! There are lots of good sports related TV shows and movies but this one will give you pain in your mind !
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kevinsingleton82 April 2018As a football fan, constantly hearing the word "Soccer" is annoying, the snippets of these apparent players having skill to represent a football club is farcical. Drug tests exist in every stage of a footballers career once they sign for a club so these guys taking drugs & drinking the night before games wouldnt happen. Team nanes are ridiculous too for example "London Crown FC". Nolan Gallard couldnt play amature football never mind professional football. The only shining light on this car crash was David Gunn's Scottish slang but then again maybe thats as Ryan O'Leary was actually a former professional footballer.
All in all lets not hope for a second season. -
Good to see Montreal representing itself. Gives a genuine feel for the city much the same way Law and Order did for New York. Fast paced show with believable characters. High production values and a great soundtrack. Colm Feore is quite convincing as a menacing crime lord. I loved the Davey Gunn character although sometimes we needed to display the closed captions to figure out what he was saying.
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The absolutely worst sports related tv ever. This series, supposedly about a professional men's soccer Team, is nothing more than a soap opera with stupid, wimpy, shallow male characters that can only function with female leaders. The series is a feminist agenda driven load of nothing as the head coach, the club owner, the team physical therapist, locker room attendant, and lead police detective are all females with bigger kahunas than any of the men. This series should be in science fiction rather than sports,,,, The worst ever, I give it a -10.
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tadaia16 April 2020Series starts poor but picks up after epi 4 or so, going from bad to decent. It makes you wonder who the weak link is on the writing staff.
SPOILERS: Overall S1 was engaging but failed in creating characters to root for. Christy and her relationship with Davey seemed like it might serve as a good anchor but that went into the crapper in the blink of an eye. The show seemed hell bent on propping Nolan up as a "former thug turns good guy, in love with nice med student and can play soccer" hero. This was problematic for me because for all of his woeful expressions he is NOT a hero or even a good guy. Nolan admitted to feeling nothing when a man was killed right in front of him. He had still not told Em all she needs and deserves to know about his screwed up life. Em, her parents and her precious little sisters are literally in danger. His thug friends are popping up unannounced at her house and he was even hiding a gun in her family's basement. And I'm supposed to feel sorry for him and root for his succession to the first team?
The head coach left the show, the owner is a cartoon character and most other characters are merely eye candy. There are however a few bright moments throughout the soapy series that provide a good twist or good dialogue. -
I love 21 Thunder because I can watch it without caring about the sport of soccer, or understanding the rules of the game. Like many reviews have said, the best parts of this show are off the field and that's where the heart of the drama works. Sometimes the direction feels a bit lazy and some scenes feel rushed, but these issues never truly take away from the core essence of the show. The thrills keep coming. I think the series needs another season to continue to develop it's potential. Emmanuel Kabongo and Stephanie Bennett are stand outs for their authentic portrayals of anxiety and confidence as both blossoming and ex-soccer stars. Conrad Pla is also superb, especially in his Spanish-speaking scenes, as the sketchy coach of the 21 under team. You can binge all episodes on the CBC website if you're in Canada. Enjoy! 8/10!
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RandyThomasFilm14 August 2017Like "Friday Night Lights"... but set in the world of professional soccer.
To the fans of 21 Thunder, I want to say that this is a very good show. I have worked on several series and I can honestly say that this one special. Give it shot.
.. as "Coach Mike Shields" - I love playing this role. A childhood dream of mine was to be a professional soccer player. That never quite happened BUT portraying professional soccer Coach Mike Shields in this series is almost as thrilling.
Thank you to all fans for watching as well as to the producers, directors, casting directors, cast & crew for making this such an amazing experience for me.
Much Love & Respect ~ Randy -
swenperdok12 March 2018The effort that's been put into the series shows. It's cinematic, the acting is natural, the script is well-written. I am really hoping this show is continued.
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bigraffo5 February 2019I found this while looking for a series to watch on Netflix and I loved it. The ending was quite disappointing but I don't care it was so great I forgot about the bad ending.