eps1.0_hellofriend.mov
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eps1.0_hellofriend.mov
Wow ! An Intense, Original and Intoxicating TV Drama – Excellent on DVD,
Well, it is with some difficulty that I’m going to write this review as, having just finished watching this 1st ‘Season’ of this relatively recent TV drama, I’m still reeling from the effect but spurred-on by the overwhelming and positive experience it was.
I can’t remember exactly what attracted me to the 2015 first season of ‘Mr Robot’, but some reviews seemed positive enough and the seemingly novel subject-matter of the storyline interested me enough to give it a try; with so little on terrestrial TV enticing me, and having ditched satellite TV, I can be more selective/buy 2nd-hand discs more readily to ‘fill the void’ !
On release, ‘Mr Robot’ received critical acclaim and was nominated for/won multiple awards. I’m a bit behind, as Season 2 has already aired and as it has recently been renewed for a 3rd season I’ve some catching-up to do !
Despite not feeling able to properly outline the plot of this TV drama myself, I still feel able to state that the synopsis on the Amazon product webpage is essentially valid but a little inaccurate, potentially misleading and contains elements of ‘spoilers’.
So, here’s the ‘official’ synopsis from the back of the DVD box which I think is more pertinent :
“Cyber-security engineer by day and vigilante hacker by night, Elliot (Rami Malek, ‘The Pacific’) finds himself at a crossroads when the mysterious leader (Christian Slater) of an underground hacker group recruits him to destroy the firm he is paid to protect. Compelled by his personal beliefs, Elliot struggles to resist the chance to take down the multinational CEOs he believes are running (and ruining) the world.”
You should also note that things occur largely in New York and it’s surroundings and the ’15’ viewing certificate for ‘strong violence, sex, sex references, drug use, strong language’ – this is from the back of the DVD box, whereas (oddly !) the BBFC website has different details !
On DVD everything looks and sounds as good as you would expect of a modern release, but even more pleasing is that it is all so good in ‘just’ standard definition. It’s also worth adding that there is a dominant, noteworthy and often powerful musical soundtrack which makes the most of the DD5.1 audio; for me, it’s a bit of a ‘throwback’ to the musical style of ‘Tangerine Dream’ and the like – but that’s no bad thing IMHO !!!
So, I cannot see why an ‘upgrade’ to Blu-ray would be worth it per se – BUT do note that the HD offering does include a UV copy….
Very soon after starting to watch the first episode I realised that this show was unusual and, thankfully had plot themes of a highly original nature – the overall feel is VERY dark and humourless, but for me the most significant elements are the central acting performances, ‘cerebral’ plot themes and that the intense screenplay doesn’t ‘spoonfeed’ help with the story.
This is despite the fact that one can get the impression that explanation IS provided, as the lead character of Elliot (played supremely well by Rami Malek, who proved himself capable of playing ‘odd’ in ‘The Pacific’ !) often narrates his thoughts to us. HOWEVER, the programme is not filmed from his viewpoint so that usually occurs only when he appears – the rest of the time things play out as ‘normal’, with us witnessing events and only learning from what is portrayed/broadcast.
An additional factor which serves to confuse are the frequent periods of ‘flashback’, rarely flagged as such so you have to spot the clues to realise the scene is from the ‘past’.
I like to be challenged by films/shows so, ultimately, the intensity and complicated nature of the screenplay/plot and ‘action’ in ‘Mr Robot’ is right up my street; whilst the content is (largely) dissimilar to the supreme viewing experience I had with the excellent ‘True Detective’ (Season 1 ONLY !), the result after watching is equally as good.
Having said that, due to those complexities (AND likely personal shortcomings !) I do feel that this show challenged me more and I was regularly struck with a feeling that I had either misunderstood something or missed something significant entirely, as though when reading a book you turn 2 pages instead of 1 and continue reading in ignorance OR the book has been compiled incorrectly with some of the pages mixed-up a little !
Irrespective of the reason, just as soon as I felt I was ever getting to grips with all the story specifics a twist or new revelation would muck things up, usually creating a new direction for my thoughts about things – or at the very least scotching an appreciable portion of what I THOUGHT I’d sorted out !
The action is obviously related heavily to IT, hacking and technical equipment in general BUT a knowledge of the intricacies is not required as whilst they might be the origin of most plot developments, it is the intention…
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I really enjoyed this!,
It took me days to finally write a review of the first season of Mr. Robot, as I was stuck with what rating to give it, between 3*-5*. Big difference. I’ve finally settled with a 5*, and let me explain why.
Reasons why I initially was thinking of giving it less:
As I began watching, I felt like this has been done before and is a little too “obvious” for me.
“The humble poor versus the evil rich”, “The evil will fall, the good will win”.
However, once you complete this season, and if you get the chance to re-watch a couple of episodes, you realise that the whole story is in fact told from Elliot’s perspective. Everything we see, is what he sees. And that makes a lot more sense. No wonder most reviewers who have given this a 1* haven’t watched the entire series. The uncomfortable “obviousness”, such as the name “Evil Corp”, is all in Elliot’s crazy head. We enter a world through a very unstable character, which is so interesting and something that I have not personally seen in a while.
What made me hit the 5*:
Elliot.
He is such an interesting character that the viewer gets to see every side of. You almost want to reach through the screen to support Elliot, especially in his downfalls. This is even stronger due to the first person narrative. The twist in the end of him being revealed as crazy and having hallucinations, not being able to let go of his dad, really got me.
Elliot breaking the 4th wall was a strange surprise too, which you later get to like since it is not done as much in series. He is messed up, and it works.
Rami Malek’s performance is flawless and I’m very happy Mr. Robot happened to him.
This may also be the reason why I personally found the rest of the characters a little flat and uninteresting.
Then again, it makes you question which characters are real since many things happen in Elliot’s own mind. And that on it’s own, is very gripping. Made me even wonder, is he in a coma? Is he in a mental hospital? Is this whole world just a hallucination? All these questions make you keep watching.
The second most interesting character would by far be Tyrell, and I’m hoping to see more of him in season 2.
In any way, I continued watching Mr. Robot because of Elliot, and I will move to the next season because of him. This is a very strong season with many things happening too quickly so I’m hoping the 2nd season will be able to pull through just as strong.
Again, this is all a personal opinion.
Many people have obviously enjoyed this and gave it a 5*, while others couldn’t continue after the first couple of episodes (though I personally believe that in no way does this deserve a 1*. Come on). If amazon had 4.5* as an option, I would give it that. But round it, that’s a 5*. It would be unfair to give it a 4*.
It is not for everyone, but it is a very enjoyable series and would recommend it to people. I already am.
Get over Rami Malek’s drone, and this is good.,
Here his character suffers from SAD (social anxiety disorder) and clinical depression, and I suspect much more, and Malek nails every nuance of that personalty disorder spot on. Doesn’t do tactile, has to think before he gives the right response to a colleague or friend because he can’t empathize at all, is delusional and paranoid.
His character is also a brilliant hacktivist which is at the center of the plot as his newly found group try to bring down a giant conglomerate for the benefit of ‘the world at large’.
There is a background narration by Malek’s character which helps us understand his view on people and life, rather like that by the Dexter character in the ‘Dexter’ series. Unfortunately for some Malek’s voice does sound somewhat monotonous but, as I said, if you can get over that the narration is very informative to his behaviour and the plot.
An oddity is that two of the characters in this season speak entirely in Swedish when speaking to each other but speak English with everybody else —- perhaps the American producers believe that makes ‘Mr Robot’ a Scandi-noir thriller!
Seriously I think more will be revealed next season, but sadly for fans the series will stop after filming of Season 4.
English subtitles, 10 episodes, and I’m indebted to learned reviewer Mr M Elkington for informing us that we should watch episode 10 after the closing credits for an extra snippet. Did so.