The Consultant

There is nothing believable about this short series. If you accept that going in, you will have a much more positive opinion of it from about midway through to the (thoroughly unsatisfying) end.

Christoph Waltz - his presence, his demeanor, his acting - can only salvage so much and the writers/producers left too much on his plate to turn this utterly forgettable miniseries into something special. Don't get me wrong, the supporting cast does fine; better than average really. But the sum of the parts is just not very compelling.

Now let me throw in that I've heard about the novel and the author of the novel (and his other books - highly touted by Stephen King, a very haughty recommendation indeed), but I haven't read it/them. However, I'm suspecting that the writers and producers of the Amazon series must have missed on something very key to the message in the original story as it was told. Something's just off. In many cases concerning TV shows and movies there's already a need to suspend disbelief, especially if the audience is going to need to accept what they see as a metaphor or other device intended to convey a larger message. And I sense that "The Consultant" may have been such a story in the original print, but it's nothing even remotely like that in how Amazon has put it on the screen.

Obligatory disclaimer - Yes, it's entertaining enough to watch to the end. Yes, it's visually well done. And yes, it's professionally produced. But there is something major missing and by the 8th and final episode, I found myself not caring what happened to anyone involved because, frankly, nothing remotely realistic or believable in real human terms had happened.

"The Consultant" doesn't know what it is trying to be and it's painfully obvious. I trust that more who actually watch the whole thing will agree with me than will disagree.

4.5 rounded to 5 stars on the aggregate.

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.

Pretty good start. I like how they give us the feeling that we have a pretty good idea about what the base of the show is, yet it is completely uncertain. The show managed to only hint at the normal everyday life of the characters before introducing a complete turnaround of things at the very beginning, without making it feel rushed. I find myself in the chaotic atmosphere of not knowing what's about to happen. Because the beginning was so abrupt, someone could flip or be killed in an instant at any given moment - or nothing unusual could happen and we're left in suspense. I have some ideas of what might be in the cards, but none of them seem certain - or at times even likely. I really enjoy this uncertainty. It has a mystic touch to it. On another note, I was concerned about the "comedy" genre of this show but fortunately the humor is rather subtle - sometimes it works sometimes it falls flat, but it doesn't make or break the show. I Enjoy your night!