Black Crows gave me very mixed feelings. I watched the show while in Syria, at the time when ISIS was going down. I was inclined to watch the show, despite the mixed reviews, mostly to exercise my arabic. Still, since I survived the whole thing, I would love to share a few observations with you guys.
The show is trying very hard to be aesthetically pleasing, with modern sleek direction, textbook lighting, good sound, etc. Still, due to all these elements, everything looks very unrealistic. Syria, especially in the rural areas is very dirty, poorly lit, and noisy. Unfortunately the show keeps reminding you that is being filmed in a nice clean studio.
The cast is suffering from the same issue. It is too "clean". You won't find your average ISIS fighter face within the cast. Covering all their faces with make up all the time doesn't help either....
The script is definitely based on research, albeit one of a sophomore university student. All the characters are like caricatures, very single dimensional. All behaviors and events are barely touched to their root cultural or political causes. The show will help the ignorant see few of the horrors that took place in the IS, but will not help someone who was already informed to do anything than visualize them (and the visuals are also borderline acceptable!). Also, throughout the show, there are so many characters behaving so irrationally (no, I am not referring to religious irrationality) that makes you want to jump in the screen and slap them in the face!
All in all, I would suggest the show to those who have some extra time to kill and are interested in watching an arabic production about ISIS. But... If you want to get a better sense of things, stick to your documentaries. If you are looking for quality ISIS splatter, stick to your bestgore visits.
