The Westies Reviews: J.K. Simmons Anchors 1980s Crime Drama

New York, 1980s. Grit in the gutters. Loyalty measured in blood. The Westies drops you into Hell's Kitchen and doesn't apologize for the grime.

The premise is simple and electric: two childhood friends take divergent paths. One becomes a cop — Glen Keenan, played by Titus Welliver. The other slides into the violent orbit of the Westies, led by Eamon Sweeney, embodied by J.K. Simmons. MGM+ leans into old-school mob mechanics: favors, betrayals, and the slow rot of a neighborhood clinging to its identity.

Critics have been broadly positive, though not unanimous. On Rotten Tomatoes the series holds a 71 percent score from 14 reviews. Metacritic settles around 61 out of 100, based on 11 critiques. In short: praise for performance and atmosphere, reservations about originality and emotional depth.

Voices on the show range from admiration to mild disappointment. RogerEbert.com’s Richard Roeper (75/100) likens The Westies to a leaner, lower-budget Scorsese — elevated by electric performances from Simmons and Welliver. TV Guide’s Keith Phipps (70/100) praises the visuals and acting but argues the series rarely reaches beneath its own surface. Screen Rant (70/100) points to a committed ensemble that creates an immersive, if claustrophobic, experience.

Other takes are cooler. Collider (60/100) notes that viewers seeking a spicier, more provocative crime tale may leave wanting. The Guardian (60/100) echoes that sentiment: capable, but conventional. The Hollywood Reporter (50/100) sees familiar structural clichés at play, while Variety (40/100) faults the show for lacking compelling central personalities.

What stands out is clear: J.K. Simmons anchors the material with a magnetic, weathered presence. Titus Welliver provides the calm, dogged counterpoint. Scenes click when the two are on screen together. Where the series stumbles is in its tendency to rely on genre shorthand — the worn tropes of mob life — rather than digging deeper into character and consequence.

If you crave velvet-voiced narrators or radical reinventions of the crime saga, this might feel familiar. But if you value tight performances, moody production design, and a moral tug-of-war set in a vividly realized Hell's Kitchen, The Westies delivers enough to keep you watching. Pick a side. Who do you root for when the line between law and lawlessness blurs?