Money Heist, season 5 review: this pulse-pounding crime caper is still a blast

Bank robbers are not renowned for their subtlety, but even by the profession’s traditional standards the cast of Money Heist (Netflix) are an attention-seeking bunch. In the first several minutes of its fifth and final season, the Spanish thriller packs in gun-play, pulse-pounding stand-offs and glossy shots of robbers in red jumpsuits. 

Before Lupin, Money Heist was Netflix’s biggest foreign language hit. It has a straightforward premise – a rag-tag of dapper anti-heroes led by cash-craving criminal genius The Professor (Álvaro Morte) – but, over the past four years, it has built up reams of arcane lore. For that reason, season five – the second part of which is available in December – is sure to confound newcomers. 

Yet for hardcore fans, showrunner Álex Pina has opened an intriguing new chapter by introducing a new character – an eager computer wiz named Rafael (Patrick Criad), whose father happens to be master-criminal Berlin (Pedro Alonso). How his story intersects with that of The Professor remains to be seen – but intersect it surely will.