Finally Out of Second Gear

It only took five episodes for HBO Max’s Duster TV show to shift into second gear and reveal some key plot details. 

We know Jim’s brother died “two years ago.” We see the show’s government conspiracy plot line reach all the way to the White House during the Nixon administration in the depths of the Watergate scandal, which places the show in the summer of 1972. I’m wondering how nobody in the show ever looks sweaty, considering it’s Phoenix, Arizona.  

Sidenote, this show has the best Nixon portrayal I’ve ever seen. Spooky good. 

Episode Five Should Have Been the First

This episode of Duster offers more context, character depth, and intrigue for the story than the previous four episodes combined. Granted, there is still a trunkload of questionable actions and writing, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Duster episode five begins with the aftermath of Jim giving away Howard Hughes’ custom Lincoln V12 to Enrique the Blade to save his own skin. That car, according to the show, was worth one million dollars, and Jim’s cover story is that it was stolen, and they got away. Where’s Royce in all of this? Why isn’t he also taking the heat? We don’t know. He does not appear in this episode.

Saxton, in a state of rage, “fires” Jim from the organization, putting a wrench in his work as an FBI informant for Hayes, who experiences verbal consequences for acting like a loose-cannon agent. Of course, this show of discipline only lasts 90 seconds before giving a “48-hour” chance to prove her case.

Gangsters in Phoenix

One would never think of the city of Phoenix, Arizona, as an urban hub for organized crime, but you’d be wrong. This was the town where Miranda Rights were born after the landmark case Miranda v. Arizona of 1966. Moreover, Phoenix has a history of dealing with crime waves and being the set piece for mob types to conduct their business due to its strategic proximity to Mexico, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.

We get to see a bit of this real-life inspiration in Duster episode five when Jim helps Saxton’s daughter break up a wedding for a Greek mob boss. Although Greek sounded too New York, and since the show is fictional, it could have been an opportunity to instill a more culturally appropriate fake mob group like bloodthirsty cattle ranchers or Mexican cartels.

While on the subject of crime, we still don’t know how Saxton made the switch from Philadelphia to Phoenix.

Duster TV Series HBO

The Car Chase – Duster vs BMW

I’m not an accountant or television producer, so I have no idea how many millions were spent to produce each episode or Duster. However, the car chase scenes stand in stark contrast to the rest of the show’s visual aesthetic in terms of budget. 

In episode five of HBO’s series Duster, Jim’s cherry red 1970 Plymouth Duster is chased by armed henchmen in a BMW sedan through the night of a major Southwest town. On paper, it sounds visually exciting, but every scene shows the cars running on empty streets as if they were the only cars around for miles.

You see the Duster burn rubber with the BMW in hot pursuit at speeds that look like 40 mph. A car traveling at a high rate of speed can often look boring on camera, which is why car stunts play such a vital part in the action. 

Capturing Speed on Camera

It’s more exciting to watch a car sliding sideways into a turn at 30 mph than traveling at 150 mph in a straight line. Yet, the car chase scenes in Duster repeatedly show cars traveling for long periods in a straight line, and it is clearly evident that they are not driving as fast as the story is trying to convey.

Not having any other cars on the street also makes the chase feel dull because there’s no perspective of speed. I can’t tell how fast Jim’s Duster is going because there’s nothing else in the frame. This is a mistake I’d expect to see in a college student film, not a full-scale production with millions backed by a major studio.

Duster continues to be a wasted opportunity when it comes to showcasing gritty car action, paying homage to the wild cinematic car stunts viewers watched on their TV screens during 1970s and 1980s.

Three Episodes Left

Only three episodes left in the first season of the Duster HBO Series, and there are still plenty of plot lines that need to be solved and explained. Given how lackluster the show’s writing has been up to this point, I’m curious to see how it plans to tie everything up in under three hours.