Ivan Radford | On 25, Aug 2025

It’s been a quarter of a century since Eric Bana gave his breakout turn in the crime biopic Chopper, a turn that blended comedy and violence to attention-grabbing effect. Since, he’s appeared in everything from Star Trek and Black Hawk Down to Hulk and Dirty John. A natural comic, with an easy charisma, he delivers something much more subdued in Untamed – and his compelling presence grounds the Netflix series.

The mystery thriller takes us out to Yosemite, where a pair of climbers are going up El Capitan – only for a women’s body to fall down from above them. Did she fall or was she pushed? It won’t surprise you that the answer is the latter, and in steps Kyle Turner (Eric Bana), a Investigative Services Branch agent, to confirm that hunch and take over the investigation. Kyle is your cookie-cutter crime drama protagonist: grumpy, rude, unliked and carrying a bunch of trauma, plus a bottle of alcohol to help him with the weight.

He’s paired, as the TV rulebook dictates, with Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago), a young park ranger who has been transferred from a bad job – and an abusive ex partner – in Los Angeles. Kyle’s experienced and quiet, she’s naive and chatty. Both of them are looking to move on from their pasts.

So far, so cliched, but the escape that a National Park can provide brings an added dimension to that urge – directors Thomas Bezucham Nick Murphy and Neasa Hardiman immerse in the stunning natural landscape, a place of remote beauty and all manner of shadowy crevices and corners that can hide secrets, money, weapons and people.

That’s the calling card to distinguish this series from the plethora of similar mystery thrillers, and writers Mark L Smith and Elle Smith sink their teeth into the cultural and geographical identity of Yosemite. But it’s the characters who populate the area that really give Untamed its depth. Rosemarie DeWitt is heartbreakingly good as Jill, Kyle’s ex-wife, who is still processing the same trauma he is, and trying to work out whether the life she’s moved on to makes her any happier. Sam Neill is wonderfully grizzled as the stalwart ranger Paul, who has family ties going back years to the area, plus an added paternal concern for Kyle – and for keeping a clean public image for the Park.

Their joint bedrock of convincing chemistry and unspoken bonds gives our lead duo a platform to build on. Lily Santiago is superb as the plucky investigator who is smarter than anyone gives her credit for – and has a fierce protective streak that makes her a formidable force. Eric Bana, meanwhile, delivers a moving, soulful and vulnerable performance as Kyle, communicating pain through silent staring at the night sky and hardening when he must to carry on with the job. The Smiths serve up shootouts, betrayal, frequent twists and even a bear attack to keep us on the edge of our seats, but Bana’s arc of learning what to hold on to and what to put in Kyle’s rear mirror is an anchor of earthy humanity that keeps you coming back to the wild until the end credits.

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