(CNN) "McMafia" is a somewhat unfortunate title for an AMC series that feels like Mafia Lite, creating an image of assembly-line added on to an existing franchise. Even working from that familiar playbook, the particulars have their merits, such as when Alex balks at a transaction because of its illegality. The problem is that while the characters prove reasonably strong, they all feel like mere variations on what we've seen before. Through four previewed chapters of the eight-episode series, Alex slides farther and farther down the rabbit hole, while providing a travelogue of Europe as he visits various opulent locales -- basically, Lifestyles of the Rich & Corrupt. In the process, his early protestation that "I'm a banker, not a gangster" becomes increasingly hollow, especially with the threat of violence never far away.

Source: CNN February 26, 2018 19:41 UTC