{"id":2044757,"date":"2026-07-15T01:00:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T22:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2044757"},"modified":"2026-07-15T01:00:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T22:00:27","slug":"lucky-review-anya-taylor-joys-plucky-con-artist-will-keep-you-guessing-until-the-final-sting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2044757","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Lucky\u2019 review: Anya Taylor-Joy\u2019s plucky con artist will keep you guessing until the final sting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Anya-Taylor-Joy-Lucky.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"template-id-3332206\" class=\"post-3332206 tdb_templates type-tdb_templates status-publish post\">\n<div id=\"tdi_65\" class=\"tdc-zone\">\n<div class=\"tdc_zone tdi_66  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div id=\"tdi_67\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_68  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_70  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_71 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_71\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"696\" height=\"442\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Anya-Taylor-Joy-Lucky-696x442.jpg\" alt=\"Anya Taylor-Joy in &apos;Lucky&apos;.\" title=\"Anya Taylor Joy Lucky\"><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\">Anya Taylor-Joy in &#8216;Lucky&#8217;. CREDIT: Apple TV<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_72\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_73  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_75  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_breadcrumbs tdi_76 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-breadcrumbs \" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_76\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span>Reviews<\/span><span>TV Reviews<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_title tdi_77 tdb-single-title td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_77\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">\u2018Lucky\u2019 review: Anya Taylor-Joy\u2019s plucky con artist will keep you guessing until the final sting<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_78 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_78\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Annette Bening and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor try to track down the savvy scammer in this seven-part thriller with real bite<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_review_overall tdi_79 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_79\">\n<table class=\"td-review td-fix-index\">\n<tr class=\"td-review-footer rate_stars\">\n<td class=\"td-review-score\">\n<div class=\"td-review-overall\">\n<div class=\"td-review-final-score\">4<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_80 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_80\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> Nick Levine<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_81 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_81\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2026-07-15T02:00:27+01:00\">15th July 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_82\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_83  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_85  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p><strong class=\"dropcap big-read-dropcap\">A<\/strong>fter stealing millions, Lucky (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her husband Cary (Drew Starkey) crack open the champagne on a Vegas rooftop. Tomorrow, they\u2019ll wave goodbye to a life of crime before anyone realises the money is missing. Or at least, that\u2019s what Lucky thought the plan was. When she wakes up in their luxury hotel suite after toasting a successful heist, Cary and the suitcases of cash are gone. Her husband has double-crossed her and left her to take the wrap.<b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: The best TV shows of 2026\u2026 so far!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This seven-part thriller from <i>Your Friends &amp; Neighbors<\/i> creator Jonathan Tropper is a breathless affair from the off. Within the first 10 minutes, Lucky is already ducking and diving through Caesars Palace with the FBI on her heels. You\u2019ll have to accept that she really lives up to her name \u2013 somehow, Lucky manages to slip out of one of the most surveilled buildings in Vegas (and possibly North America) thanks to quick thinking and a costume change.\u00a0 But it\u2019s instantly gripping, filled with twists and lots of fun. Showing off the action chops she honed in 2024\u2019s <i>Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga<\/i>, Taylor-Joy is riveting as Lucky, a gimlet-eyed opportunist with a conscience. Well, some of the time.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>It soon becomes clear that her antihero is in a double bind. She isn\u2019t just running from wily FBI agent Billie Rand (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), but also from Cary\u2019s formidable mother Priscilla (Annette Bening), a lynchpin of the crime syndicate they stole the millions from. Lucky is the fleet-fingered daughter of a small-time conman (Timothy Olyphant), but Cary has ties to a much bigger and nastier operation led by shadowy mafioso Whittaker (William Fichtner). If she can\u2019t stay hidden, it\u2019s a choice between life behind bars or death.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lucky \u2014 Official Trailer | Apple TV\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GAbT5qCTXR8?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>Adapted from a pulpy bestselling novel by Marissa Stapley, <i>Lucky <\/i>doesn\u2019t always escape clich\u00e9, especially in flashback sequences that reveal her itinerant upbringing pinging with her dad from grift to grift. Along the way, the machinations of Priscilla\u2019s crime syndicate are sometimes belaboured by the writers, so it\u2019s a good job that Lucky\u2019s female characters are so compelling. Ellis-Taylor\u2019s single-minded FBI agent is a convincing mix of belligerence and exhaustion, while Bening\u2019s mob matriarch is a surprisingly vulnerable villain. She can be terrifying but she doesn\u2019t hide her pain.<\/p>\n<p>After the first two episodes premiere on July 15, the remaining five will be rolled out weekly. Presumably, Apple TV+ bosses are confident that <i>Lucky<\/i> can charm a large audience, and they probably aren\u2019t deluded. There\u2019s a constant sense of threat here and a smart overarching narrative. Can Taylor-Joy\u2019s savvy scammer find a way to appease Priscilla and evade the clutches of Agent Rand? She should be so Lucky \u2013 but you\u2019ll want to find out how close she comes. Even with some corny and convoluted moments, <i>Lucky<\/i> works all the right angles.<b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i>\u2018Lucky\u2019 is on Apple TV+ from July 15<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_tags tdi_87 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_87\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<ul class=\"tdb-tags\">\n<li><span>Related Topics<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Anya Taylor-Joy<\/li>\n<li>Apple TV+<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_88\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_89  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_91  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"vc_row_inner tdi_93  vc_row vc_inner wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column_inner tdi_95  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-inner-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_97 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>More Stories<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap td_flex_block_1 tdi_98 td-pb-border-top td_module_flex_1--card td_module_flex_1--card--highlight td_block_template_2 tdc-no-posts td_flex_block\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_98\">\n<div id=\"tdi_98\" class=\"td_block_inner td-mc1-wrap\">\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Every song on the\u00a0\u2018Trying\u2019\u00a0season five soundtrack<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Ariana Grande impersonator shares DM she received from singer: \u201cYou\u2019re very beautiful as YOURSELF\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Will there be a\u00a0\u2018Silo\u2019\u00a0season four?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">What happened at the end of\u00a0\u2018Silo\u2019\u00a0season two?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Stephen King praises new TV series that\u2019s \u201ceven better\u201d than breakout \u2018Widow\u2019s Bay\u2019: \u201cIt\u2019s like Hitchcock came back\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">The ending of \u2018Widow\u2019s Bay\u2019 explained: what do the bell tolls mean?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_99\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_100  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_102  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_104 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>You May Also Like<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/article>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p><strong class=\"dropcap big-read-dropcap\">A<\/strong>fter stealing millions, Lucky (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her husband Cary (Drew Starkey) crack open the champagne on a Vegas rooftop. Tomorrow, they\u2019ll wave goodbye to a life of crime before anyone realises the money is missing. Or at least, that\u2019s what Lucky thought the plan was. When she wakes up in their luxury hotel suite after toasting a successful heist, Cary and the suitcases of cash are gone. Her husband has double-crossed her and left her to take the wrap.<b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: The best TV shows of 2026\u2026 so far!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This seven-part thriller from <i>Your Friends &amp; Neighbors<\/i> creator Jonathan Tropper is a breathless affair from the off. Within the first 10 minutes, Lucky is already ducking and diving through Caesars Palace with the FBI on her heels. You\u2019ll have to accept that she really lives up to her name \u2013 somehow, Lucky manages to slip out of one of the most surveilled buildings in Vegas (and possibly North America) thanks to quick thinking and a costume change.\u00a0 But it\u2019s instantly gripping, filled with twists and lots of fun. Showing off the action chops she honed in 2024\u2019s <i>Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga<\/i>, Taylor-Joy is riveting as Lucky, a gimlet-eyed opportunist with a conscience. Well, some of the time.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>It soon becomes clear that her antihero is in a double bind. She isn\u2019t just running from wily FBI agent Billie Rand (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), but also from Cary\u2019s formidable mother Priscilla (Annette Bening), a lynchpin of the crime syndicate they stole the millions from. Lucky is the fleet-fingered daughter of a small-time conman (Timothy Olyphant), but Cary has ties to a much bigger and nastier operation led by shadowy mafioso Whittaker (William Fichtner). If she can\u2019t stay hidden, it\u2019s a choice between life behind bars or death.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lucky \u2014 Official Trailer | Apple TV\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GAbT5qCTXR8?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>Adapted from a pulpy bestselling novel by Marissa Stapley, <i>Lucky <\/i>doesn\u2019t always escape clich\u00e9, especially in flashback sequences that reveal her itinerant upbringing pinging with her dad from grift to grift. Along the way, the machinations of Priscilla\u2019s crime syndicate are sometimes belaboured by the writers, so it\u2019s a good job that Lucky\u2019s female characters are so compelling. Ellis-Taylor\u2019s single-minded FBI agent is a convincing mix of belligerence and exhaustion, while Bening\u2019s mob matriarch is a surprisingly vulnerable villain. She can be terrifying but she doesn\u2019t hide her pain.<\/p>\n<p>After the first two episodes premiere on July 15, the remaining five will be rolled out weekly. Presumably, Apple TV+ bosses are confident that <i>Lucky<\/i> can charm a large audience, and they probably aren\u2019t deluded. There\u2019s a constant sense of threat here and a smart overarching narrative. Can Taylor-Joy\u2019s savvy scammer find a way to appease Priscilla and evade the clutches of Agent Rand? She should be so Lucky \u2013 but you\u2019ll want to find out how close she comes. Even with some corny and convoluted moments, <i>Lucky<\/i> works all the right angles.<b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i>\u2018Lucky\u2019 is on Apple TV+ from July 15<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/reviews\/tv-reviews\/lucky-review-anya-taylor-joy-apple-tv-timothy-olyphant-3956962&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Anya-Taylor-Joy-Lucky.jpg&#8221;] Anya Taylor-Joy in &#8216;Lucky&#8217;. CREDIT: Apple TV ReviewsTV Reviews \u2018Lucky\u2019 review: Anya Taylor-Joy\u2019s plucky con artist will keep you guessing until the final sting Annette Bening and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor try to track down the savvy scammer in this seven-part thriller with real bite 4 By Nick Levine 15th July 2026 After stealing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,78],"class_list":["post-2044757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nme-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2044757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2044757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2044757\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2044757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2044757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2044757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}