Cruel Intentions

Three stars for the first four episodes, but it got better after that.

Still not good enough to even come close to rivalling the 1999 Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Philippe, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" movie. (Written as a kid in Year Nine in 1999, and enamoured with a few scenes in that movie in particular!)

Sarah Catherine Hook is the best thing about the show. She is perfectly cruel, devious and manipulative as Caroline Merteuil, one half of the step-brother/sister focus of the series.

If you stick out the first four episodes, it does get better. But by then it's too late for the series as a whole.

Sometimes Amazon should just leave it alone. This and "Roadhouse" are two examples of modern treatments that should have stayed on the cutting room floor, so to speak.

Seriously. What are they doing? What were they thinking? The worst is the guy playing Lucien. Why would the girls think he's attractive? He looks 14 and is neither suave or debonair. In the scene where he got the attention of the VPs daughter, he looks like a child trying to look like Ferris Bueller. There are some redeeming characters, but not enough to keep you watching. I miss the days when a movie or series did not intentionally try to cover all their bases by including every social demographic and sexual preference. Or at least do it in a way that doesn't come off as forced. Maybe they should have visited a few colleges to get some perspective. If they did, and that's what they found... we need help.

As someone who loved the original movie I initially found this really hard to watch as I was constantly comparing the characters to that of the movie.

After a few episodes I was about to stop comparing since in my opinion it's not a remake it's a new series entirely with "similarities". The characters have different names etc. The character I really struggled with at first was Lucian. Even after accepting that it was not a remake I could not warm to his character at all. However, by the last episode he became my favourite.

My advice do not compare - if you do you will be really disappointed. If you can go into it with your eyes open to it being a new show with a sprinkle of similarity then you will enjoy it.

I'll start by saying I don't usually write reviews. However, as someone who typically only watches shows with an IMDb rating above 6.0ish, I felt compelled to share my thoughts. I hope my review encourages others not to skip this show solely based on its current ratings.

This show deserves at least a 6.5 rating. Its main issue isn't the quality itself but the inevitable comparisons to the original Cruel Intentions movie. Remakes or spin-offs rarely live up to the original, and the low ratings seem to reflect that bias. Had the show been titled something else, allowing it to stand on its own merit, it likely would have received a much fairer reception.

I thought the cast was well chosen, with Caroline and Lucien standing out as compelling "villains." Their performances added depth to the story, and I hope the show gets a second season.

Give it a try!

They had me.. and then they lost me. I've watched the OG. I've even watched the many sequels after. They all had one good thing in common.. IT WASN'T DRAGGED OUT. The Greek system was a nice touch but, GOODNESS! I was annoyed with the characters. And no, I don't just mean the many many character flaws they are supposed to have. I don't want to watch 8 hours of the same scenario over and over in a different package every episode and that's what is happening.

This could have been a great mini series or a limited series but 8 episodes with the possibility of a season 2?? Where. Please let these characters have peace.

Also.. WHO IS LUCIAN!?