Out of the Past

After binge watching the whole season in one afternoon evening I can honestly say this is a must see for any sci-fi lover out there, the visuals are breathtaking and the concept behind the story line about being immortal and switching bodies is something any sci-fi lover will fall in love with the storyline is quite complex yet engaging. I am really enjoying it so far and some of the action scenes are amazing in it literally like mind blown and is definitely a blockbuster TV series

There's no doubt that Altered Carbon is one of the most expensive TV shows ever made, with visuals that could easily have come out of big-budget Hollywood productions. The cyberpunk cities have a gritty, dirty beauty to them. The cityscape is overflowing with bright lights and neon signs. The fight scenes are well shot too and fun to watch with jazz music playing in the background.

But other than that, this pilot episode is a mighty disappointment. Far from drawing me in, I found most of it didn't have much of an impact on me at all. There's a lot of issues that are touched on- an exploited underclass, the neo-Catholic protests that life is sacred and shouldn't be played around with, what it feels like to be put into a different skin to that which you were born in and what it's like to be reborn multiple times. But these issues are only touched on in between the murder mystery, strip club scenes and Tak's drug-fuelled wander. This is a show that cares more about generic sci-fi pulp than exploring the interesting issues at its heart. I know this is only the first episode but first impressions are important.

It doesn't help that none of the characters are interesting. Joel Kinnaman is stony as Takeshi, not letting us empathise with a protagonist who doesn't seem to care about anything. And if he doesn't care, why should we? Most of the rest of the cast are equally bland. It's not just the acting that's to blame though, as the writing doesn't give any of the characters a chance to shine.

Altered Carbon launches out of the gate like a winning stallion. The world of Altered Carbon is rich and interesting. And, the introduction to all the terminology, tech, and culture is deftly handled. Kovacs, played by the always enjoyable Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, House Of Cards, Robocop) is a man out of time, lost in history, having been brought back from an indefinite prison sentence 250 years after being incarcerated. The twist is, he's been re-sleeved, meaning his "stack" (consciousness) now inhabits a new body with military enhancements. It's not an unfamiliar premise. But Altered Carbon is so well executed, it's just fun and intriguing to watch.

The show runners take full advantage of the highly developed backstory and culture available from Richard K. Morgan's detailed source material. This is an immersive story that doesn't take time to explain itself. The plot moves quickly forward through this futuristic, yet somehow familiar world where people commonly switch languages as they speak to one another. Cars fly, and police officers seem pretty much the same as they are now.

Visually, Out Of The Past is stunning, Art Direction, Cinematography, Direction, digital artwork, all is top echelon. Comparisons to Bladerunner are inevitable. But, the look is so good Altered Carbon stands on its own.

At the center of the story is the mystery of who and what Kovacs is. We know he is an Envoy and we know how he died. But, there is more to him, more to his past, and more to his abilities than we understand. He has a destiny.

The only weak element is Ortega's unexplained hostility towards him. Why is she so pissed that he was brought back? But, this is not enough to drag the episode down. Altered Carbon is dressed to impress!

In a distant future, in a dystopic society where people´s consciousness and memories are stored in devices and then resleeved into another body, the Alcatraz prisoner Takeshi Kovacs is awaken 250 years after his death. He has recollections of his and his beloved companion Ava deaths and soon he learns that the upper-class millionaire Laurens Bancroft is the responsible for his awakening in a body of a strong man to investigate who has killed him.

'Out of the Past" is an intriguing and promising sci-fi show. The environment is quite identical to the1982 "Blade Runner" and this pilot episode shows a corrupt society with an unfair social stratification. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Out of the Past"

I tried watching this on its release, and gave up, I've tried again. It's a pretty good start, I am struggling to see what people who gave this nine and ten star reviews saw that I didn't. It's a solid enough start, but amazing? no.

The story is decent enough, but it's packed with so many special effects, so much razzamatazz, that the plot is almost secondary.

So, the idea is that Kovacs has been brought out of storage after 250 years, to help solve his own murder? He just wants to have fun.

I'm sure it gets better, a decent start, 6/10.