Anya Taylor-Joy's 'Lucky' Thriller Divides Critics in Intense Apple TV Review Battle!

Apple TV+'s limited series "Lucky," adapted for television by Jonathan Tropper from Marissa Stapley’s 2021 novel, presents a captivating crime drama centered on one young woman’s desperate struggle to escape a dark and violent past. The series dives into an intricate game of cat-and-mouse, exploring themes of nature versus nurture and the inherent dangers of loving others, while notably taking a sharp twist away from its source material.

The narrative introduces Luciana “Lucky” Armstrong, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, trying to evade the FBI in Arizona. However, her immediate predicament stems from a previous day in Las Vegas, where she and her husband, Cary (Drew Starkey), following the instructions of Lucky’s incarcerated con artist father, John (Timothy Olyphant), stole $10 million from notorious gangster Wayne Whittaker (William Fichtner). After celebrating their supposed final night before fleeing, Lucky awakens to find Cary and the money gone, confirming her premonition of betrayal.

Now, Lucky finds herself caught between FBI Special Agent Billie Rand (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) and Whittaker's underboss, Priscilla Matheson (Annette Bening), who also happens to be her mother-in-law. To survive, Lucky must draw upon all the knowledge instilled in her by her father. The show is replete with heart-racing gunfights, car chases, and intriguing grifts across its seven episodes, maintaining a dynamic pace while striving to remain character-driven.

Key characters reveal complex layers: Billie's obsession with Priscilla imperils her team; John's manipulative nature overrides his paternal instincts; Priscilla, vicious but softened by Whittaker, relies on her muscle, Dutch (Clifton Collins Jr.); and Cary is torn by conflicting loyalties. Lucky herself grapples with the world she was born into, understanding, as Priscilla reminds her, that running from oneself is impossible. Through flashbacks, the series unpacks Lucky's childhood with John, marked by distrust and lies, highlighting how this exhausting existence has fostered an emotional dependency on her father and cost her any sense of normalcy.

While the novel centers on Lucky winning the lottery and facing arrest, the Apple TV+ adaptation reimagines her waking up after Cary's betrayal, forcing her to confront the criminal lifestyle she was raised in. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor's performance as the hard-boiled FBI agent Billie Rand is a particular highlight, serving as a compelling foil to Taylor-Joy’s Lucky and Bening’s Priscilla. Both Taylor-Joy and Ellis-Taylor shine in moments where their characters' complexities and vulnerabilities are allowed to surface, showcasing their natural talent.

However, "Lucky" struggles with certain aspects. Many of Lucky's lines are perceived as stiff or stereotypical, failing to hit their emotional mark, and the series often doesn't delve deeply enough into her inner conflict or the root of her struggles. Timothy Olyphant's John is underutilized for much of the series despite his importance to Lucky's arc, and the dynamic between Whittaker and Priscilla suffers from a lack of on-screen development, often relying on exposition rather than demonstration. The show appears to vacillate between being an action-heavy crime thriller and a more thoughtful, emotional study of life in crime, often missing the mark on the latter.

Despite a strong conclusion to Lucky's relationship with her father, it arrives late in the season, after much of the show has relied on action. The series ultimately lacks the witty humor and charisma typically associated with successful heist and grifter stories, leading to a somewhat lackluster outcome despite its potential. "Lucky" premiered its first two episodes on July 15 on Apple TV, with subsequent episodes airing weekly on Wednesdays.