Product Description
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In the nonstop, slinging third season of the highly accled
hit series, Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant)
must wield his brand of renegade justice against modern crime
like never before. Surrounded by dirty politicians, drug cartels,
murder frames, hidden fortunes and multiple criminal forces
warring for control - including archenemies Boyd Crowder (Walton
Goggins, "The Shield") and Dickie Bennett (Jeremy Davies in his
Emmy®-winning role), a mystery man named "Limehouse," a lethal
mob enforcer newly arrived from the Motor City and in a final
shocking showdown, his own her - Givens finds himself in
everyone's cross hairs.
.com
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The third season of Graham Yost's stellar, Emmy-winning crime
drama Justified trumps any concerns about besting the high-water
mark of its second season with a pair of stellar new villains who
neatly bookend the central conflict between the show's sing
leads and lethal frenemies, Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens
(Timothy Olyphant) and loose cannon Boyd Crowder (Walton
Goggins). Season three also shrewdly extends the storyline that
not only anchored the previous season but boosted the series'
popularity by retaining Dickie Bennett (Emmy winner Jeremy
Davies), sole survivor of the murderous, drug-dealing clan that
served as Givens's primary antagonists in season two; here,
Dickie provides the pathway to season three's twin engines of
mayhem, money launderer Limehouse (Mykelti Williamson), who holds
the Bennett family fortune, and Quarles (Neal McDonough), a
psychotic Detroit mob enforcer who upends the Dixie Mafia upon
his arrival in the show's Harlan, Kentucky, setting. As in
previous seasons, Boyd Crowder is the match that sets the whole
powder keg to burning, ping-ponging between Limehouse and Quarles
in his pursuit of the Bennett clan's money and laying out a trail
of death and destruction that proves the greatest challenge to
date for Givens, who's not only still recovering from a
wound received in the conclusion of season two, but also
experiencing renewed conflict with his ex-wife, Winona (Natalie
Zea), who is understandably reluctant to reconnect with Givens
while under such potential danger.
Season three of Justified continues its tradition of upholding
the principles of author Elmore Leonard, who created the
character of Raylan Givens, and whose taut, detailed examinations
of lives on both sides of the criminal fence receive some of
their best screen depictions in the series. Scripting and
directing (by Michael Dinner, John Dahl, Jon Avnet, Tony Goldwyn,
and Adam Arkin, who also turns up as a crime boss in episode 11)
remain feature-quality, and the rock-solid lead turns by Olyphant
and Goggins are well matched by the regular supporting cast,
including Zea, Nick Searcy, and Joelle Carter as Boyd's livewire
girlfriend turned crime partner Ava, and recurring players
Davies, Jere Burns, Raymond J. Barry (as Givens's addled but
still dangerous her), and William Ragsdale. Guest turns by
Carla Gugino, who essentially reprises her turn as Leonard's
tough deputy marshal Karen Sisco from the short-lived ABC series
of the same name, as well as Michael Ironside and Jim Beaver are
also fine, but it's Williamson and especially McDonough who
deliver the biggest fireworks in season three, with the latter
providing a compelling and repellant villain on par with Margo
Martindale's Emmy-winning turn as Mags Bennett in season two.
Extras on the three-disc DVD set are also top-notch and include
commentary by Yost, Olyphant, and other key cast and production
members on nine episodes, as well as a making-of featurette that
rises above the usual encapsulation/electronic press kit approach
to discuss the challenges of transitioning from season two and
introducing the new antagonists; a tour of Limehouse's home turf
and a look at a car explosion stunt, as well as a brief
collection of deleted scenes (both of which improve the versions
in the broadcast cut) and outtakes, round out the set. --Paul
Gaita