Untamed Review – Streaming on Netflix
Eric Bana stars in a wilderness-set thriller that never quite finds the wild spark it’s looking for.
Netflix’s Untamed arrives with a striking premise: a stoic wilderness ranger, played by Eric Bana, uncovers a strange disappearance in Yosemite National Park, a vast, sprawling terrain where secrets seem to rot under the surface. It’s the kind of setup that promises eerie isolation, psychological tension, and a touch of danger in the great outdoors.
“Eric Bana gives it his all.“
And yet, Untamed struggles to live up to its potential. While the early episodes gesture at intrigue, they’re bogged down by sluggish pacing, underwhelming direction, and a story that seems too content playing things safe. The series feels oddly restrained, like it’s afraid to go full thriller, but too melodramatic to be taken seriously as grounded drama.
Eric Bana gives it his all. His performance is quietly committed, bringing depth to a character who’s written more as an archetype than a real person. You can sense he’s trying to lift the material, especially when the script leaves him with little more than blank stares and brooding silences. Sam Neill, in a supporting role, feels miscast and underused, his scenes lack weight, and he never quite settles into the show’s tone.
Despite being set in the majestic Yosemite National Park, the show doesn’t fully capitalise on the grandeur of its location. In fact, some of the backdrops look surprisingly artificial, overly colour-graded or clearly composited, and it weakens the immersion. The wilderness should be a character in itself, but instead it often feels like digital wallpaper.
Around the midway point, the series starts to find its rhythm. The mystery gains traction, and certain character arcs begin to hint at more emotionally layered storytelling. Then comes the final episode, where the show abruptly shifts gears, introducing a bolder, more unsettling narrative thread that finally makes you sit up. It’s a twist that reframes much of what came before, and it could have elevated the entire series… if it hadn’t been rushed. The show finally becomes intriguing just as it ends.
In the end, Untamed is passable viewing, a middling mystery series with moments of promise, elevated somewhat by Bana’s presence. But it’s also one that could’ve, and probably should’ve, gone further. More grit, more risk, more genuine wildness might have made all the difference.
I’m happy to see Bana back on the screen tho.
Untamed is now available to stream on Netflix
Binge. play. Watch. Repeat.
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