The Consultant

I recently binged this show over the course of a couple days. I rate it a 6, slightly above average. It is based on a book I believe--I haven't read it for the record. I want to begin by saying the plot just didn't really make sense to me both in terms of how it progresses and how it ends. I am not against leaving stories open-ended or ambiguous. Sometimes leaving it to the viewers to interpret or imagine in their heads is a powerful tool, but in this case it does not work well. There is not enough information provided to the viewer to make sense of the ending in a satisfying way in my opinion.

As I have seen some other reviews mention, Christopher Waltz does a great job and I found his character humorous and well-acted, but he alone cannot make a confusing story make sense. There is one interpretation that the show does seem to hint at, but I don't know how to describe it other than unsatisfying and very surface-level.

Some other slight issues I had were that like the premise that eventually gets explained of why the consultant is there didn't make much sense to me unless the show takes place in a universe full of overly naive people. People committing huge criminal acts and the authorities apparently don't really care. The show is about a video game company, but the game they make look like it's a game from 2010. I could easily look past issues like these if in service of receiving a good story, but the payoff just wasn't there for me. My review may seem harsh but overall, it is worth a watch because it is visually entertaining and it starts off strong.

I'm seeing a lot of negative reviews which is a bit weird because I usually side with the majority of reviews on here. Maybe people were thinking too deeply into this. I saw it as a comedic creepy thriller, with a few laugh out loud moments and a few shocking moments and a few silly moments.

I love Christoph Waltz, he can do no wrong in my eyes! He's a great actor.

The rest of the acting was well done too.

I had no idea what to expect in terms of the story, but I enjoyed it. The episodes are short and I binged it all in one day.

I'm not sure if there will be a season 2 but it should probably stay as a one-off, even though some things weren't answered it didn't bother me.

If you want to watch an 8 part series that:

1. Does whatever it wants with disregard to any cohesive plot 2. Makes no sense what-so-ever at any point 3. Explains nothing that's going on 4. Has no likeable characters 5. Throws weird scenes and events in at any time that are never fleshed out, concluded, or have mush or anything to do with anything.

5. Has a meaningless ending that explains none of the weirdness they injected along the way

Then this show is for you !

I guess this show might be explained by saying it's a parable of the greed of modern people (in the software industry). Thus the characters represent certain stereotypes they want to skewer. But I doubt that was the goal.

The show is good. I binged it until like 2am. It is not a comedy I don't remember laughing at all. A few clever parts but it's a thriller/satire. If you are expecting The Office starring Christoph Waltz this isn't that. It's kinda dark and not in a funny ha ha way. The production value was high, the acting was good. The story wasn't necessarily revolutionary but it was entertaining and fresh.

The complaints are all saying it isn't a comedy or realistic. That doesn't make it bad lol 90% of entertainment is unrealistic. The story is cohesive and consistent the characters aren't "realistic" but they make sense in the world that the story takes place.

I've started watching The Consultant strictly because of Christoph Waltz and his genius of a performer. Since Hans Landa he gave some truly chilling performances over the years but this one has got me really frightened of the man and what he's capable of.

Waltz plays with his whole body and even when he's not speaking he says it all with his eyes, mimics and body language. His Regus Patoff may not be the most scariest of all the villains I've witnessed but the mystery surrounding him is much scarier than any back story on any villain in movie history.

It's especially sad to see such great talent be buried alongside mediocre actors whose characters either don't have enough stamina to face themselves against Waltz or that happens because of their own weak characters. The show plays well on your emotions and fears but it doesn't give you much in return and by the end of episode 8 you're left disappointed to see the characters grow on paper but not in your eyes therefore I rate this little show 7/10 mainly because of Christoph, some nice visuals and a fine choice of soundtrack.