Reviews

Please, Netflix stop making movies, just stick to series. I am trying hard to remember ONE decent Netflix movie (and I have watched 100+). I don't know why you bother, seeing as a 6part mini-series is almost the same runtime as a 2h movie but I digress. This is simply an artefact of a different medium, and as Marshall McLuhan reminds us, the medium is the message. It's only natural if the parameters change that the end result will be denatured as well.

This movie has no actual action, there is nothing happening. This is not a qualitative commentary on the part of the action but a quantitative one. All of the action has passed before the movie even began and this is merely a pensive afterthought. No order is upset during, nor is there any restored at the end. There is no actual point to this movie other than to say "there was a serial killer, and he got away" (of which they could have just written a tweet). The only statement this film makes is that police are useless and actually a hinderance to organised society (which let's be honest we all knew from experience but is indeed nevertheless a fact that is pleasing to see acknowledged) 2 stars instead of 1 just for that.

I guess season 1 was borderline ok but season 2 is SUUUCH a draaag. It's like the writer went through film school, learned every rule in the book about screen writing and thought why don't I just consistently go against that. I mean I had to watch it at 1.5 speed because the pacing was so slow, my mind just wandered off because the dialogue presented very little actual relevant information to progress the plot or the characters. And even at 1.5x it was a draaag.

I have heard it being compared to something from Stephen King but it can't be, seeing as it has an actual ending in which the entire premise dawns on you (heh), coming full circle not unlike the Ouroboros. I am not one for horror or non-sense stuff like this seemed at first but it had a certain philosophical quality to it right from the get go, so I stuck with it to see where it was going. Boy, was I not wrong: as it went on, even as SHTF, it still held its colour overall. The blood of Cain, nature feeding on itself, we all stand naked before the light in the end with nowhere to hide, after we've devoured ourselves bare. Thy flesh consumed, I gobbled it all up, mixing metaphors and that. Only watch if you're into all that Bologna, otherwise you're gonna hate it.

The show is alright, I mean it's an ok show but sometimes characters take actions that although being within their character's purview, they don't make sense continuity wise. It's quite off-putting, I mean I'm watching the show because I WANT to suspend my disbelief. That's the first thing you learn to care about when you study film-making. It's clear that they didn't "fail" in the sense that they couldn't do it: I'm sure they could if that's what they were actually aiming for. I mean it's no secret this show thrives on all that edgy money worship one-upsmanship, getting lost in monologues about how one character's gonna crush another. Anyway, i just wrote the review to make fun of giamatti's look.

If not for it, my life choices would remain unquestioned.

I don't know how tf they thought that changing lead actress mid-series with the first speaking Queens English and the second having a thick East European accent or something... What am I supposed to think, this person changed accents in 12 years? I can get with the actress swap, np, but they could have easily gotten away with just using the initial actress with some old makeup on. Don't know, this really breaks it for me, and is not something you can just get over by putting out of your mind, because it's still there and keeps reminding you. Fiction is based on the suspension of disbelief. I'll work with you towards that end because I want to be entertained but this all just goes against that. It's too bad really, because the show is a solid effort otherwise.

It's not LeCarre but if you're into LeCarre, this has a strong vibe to it, in the sense that it's not action-oriented but more grey matter stuff. The only thing that threw me off a bit was the decorum (it didn't feel 60s enough, I don't know, maybe that's just me). All in all, it was an excellent production and the acting is also spot-on. Some didn't like the lead but I think he was a good fit in with the role. I must say I resonated most with the character of Ulrike. Really enjoyed, do indulge!

I just can't care enough about it to call it stupid.... It's all over the place. It tries SO hard, it really struggles but it just can't manage to make me care about the characters, or even the plot for that matter. It's going nowhere and it doesn't even get there. I'm really curious if black people find this show interesting because I can tell you for a fact that if I were black, I still couldn't care about it. In fact I find the way this show tackles racism quite disrespectful to black people.