Women are beaten and eliminated with no hesitation. The intense violence makes Altered Carbon difficult to watch at times. Meths like Bancroft must stave off their boredom somehow, and that often means they murder men, women, and children if just for a little excitement. The series isn’t shy about its extreme use of violence. Answers do eventually come, but they’re obscured by a web of conflicts and conveniences. Should individuals with religious beliefs be brought back to life to testify against their assailants? That is a big question from the beginning of the story, but it gets lost along the way. Some early episodes can feel like homework, though not just for this language, but also because of how many mysteries the series has to untangle. The show has its own unique lexicon, with human bodies referred to as “sleeves” and the chip that holds consciousness backups called a “stack.” People who are rich enough to have immortality are known as “Meths.” But when the series grinds through predictable scenarios and long-winded terminology, it falters. Even to a point where gladiatorial battles are after-dinner entertainment.Īltered Carbon is great when it’s moving full-steam ahead. When one lives forever, the level of entertainment must continuously reach greater extremes. Drawing inspiration from Blade Runner, the series builds on Ridley Scott’s film in fascinating ways, presenting a world that features everything the heart desires, with countless venues to fulfill the wildest sexual fantasies, the greatest luxuries, and spectacles abound. Still, the true star of Altered Carbon is the setting. In one instance he’s turning on his action hero persona, and in another we can see the depths of regrets and a longing for those who have been taken from him. But he’s actually perfect for the role and shows a range in this I didn’t think he was capable of. So I initially found his casting in this to be an odd choice. Even his performance in RoboCop leaves something to be desired. He hasn’t left a mark despite Hollywood’s attempts to make him a star. Outside of his work on The Killing, Kinnaman hasn’t really been leading man material. He believes that Kovacs is the only person who could solve this crime. Bancroft has no memory of who could’ve killed him, and he has significant doubt that he committed suicide. Killed while staging an uprising against the new world order, he has now been given new life to assist in solving the murder of the incredibly wealthy aristocrat Laurens Bancroft ( James Purefoy). Takeshi Kovacs (played in current-time form by Joel Kinnaman and in flashbacks by Will Yun Lee) has just been awakened from a 250-year imprisonment. An issue arises, however, with the idea that if people in power never die, they can continuously rule, shaping the world as they see fit. Want to experience life in different bodies? Need to trick someone as a child or pass as a member of the elderly? All of this is possible and more if one has the money. Death is a construct of the past, and the new age is bright with endless possibilities. Bodies are interchangeable, and consciousness can be digitized and transferred. Morgan, Altered Carbon imagines a future where humans can cheat death. Just be sure to leave your brain at the door.Īs part of the “Takeshi Kovacs” series of books by Richard K. The 10-episode series is a bonkers, pulse-quickening experience. Altered Carbon is a no-holds-barred sci-fi epic, with a twinge of cyberpunk noir. Netflix is searching for a genre success story like Game of Thrones, and they may have just found it. Get ready to have your mind ripped out and uploaded to the sky.
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