Jack Taylor: The Pikemen

Episode two
Iain Glen’s titular gumshoe doesn’t so much eschew genre cliché as elevate it to the level of artform. He’s a drinker, he’s a maverick and he’s a risk taker. But he gets the job done. Tonight, he on the trail of a group of Galway vigilantes who are bothering the town’s criminal population. Along the way, he tangles with a local businessman who’s shacked up with one of his old colleagues.

But inevitably, the trail leads to a missing girl. There’s always a missing girl in noirish indulgences like this. Their innocent smiles make a convenient thematic counterpoint to all the rain, whiskey and kneecapping. Surprisingly enjoyable, even so: the familiar scenarios are at least played out with appropriate relish and conviction and Glen’s excellently gnarly in the lead. Daft, grimy fun.