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RATE THIS SERIES
6
5
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3
Usually the fantasy genre uses elements of the Nordic and Middle European culture, like Dragons, dwarfs, elves and mediaeval concepts like nobiliary titles, the clash between bad and good, the wandering knight and the courteous love between a dame and a hero. The best specimen of this genre is The Lord of The Rings saga, which has laid the groundwork for Harry Potter and The Witcher, to mention some of them. Recently we are experiencing a slue of fantasy series, which, I think, originated, after the popular behemoth which was Game of Thrones. This one broke the mold, representing a type of fantasy more grounded which revolves around political-economic scheme and it tries to go against the genre's tropes, while mantaining the recurrent elements of it. Fortunately something new has emerged, a best selling saga which does something new. Tsarist's Russia has never been so interesting as the background for fantasy stories.
PLOT
"Dark forces conspire against orphan mapmaker Alina Starkov when she unleashes an extraordinary power that could change the fate of her war-torn world" or "A Fantasy Teen Drama with Russian kids who try to solve problems made by selfish adults and politician".
SCRIPT
This is a mixed bag. There're a lot of interesting ideas here but most of them are executed mediocrely. First, there's the usual chosen one's trope, which is harmful for the protagonist. In fact she has more agency before her powers awaken, to be precise she takes relevant choices only in the first and last episode. The first choice is bad and selfish and I don't know why the showrunners didn't explain why there wasn't any kind of consequence. The last one is ok but they chose to fall in the Captain Marvel's trap: she becomes too powerful only because the plot demands it, wich is a bit annoying. The villain as mild motivations and it's easily spottable: conveniently he wears completely black clothes, because black is bad, and his magic is visually linked to the story's conflict.That's why the plot twist doesn't work, in fact it's pretty lame. The love interest, which for a while seems forgotten by the protagonist, is explored relatively well but he isn't as interesting as other characters. He's also an excuse for the female audience to have a good time, which is a bit cheesy in a Teen Drama. As the protagonist he's always told what to do and when to do it. There's a side story about two characters who represents the possibility to have two people of different origins involved in a love story. The point is that it seems aimless and it wrap ups without a lot of logic. Substantially their character development is dumbly thrown out o the window. The brightest side of the series are the thieves and Ravka's underworld. An ethnically diverse group composed of three thieves, which have very interesting personalities. The leader is a mysterious cinic who is extremely resourceful even though is crippled, an aspect which makes him stand out. The girl who, at first seems like a stone cold murderer, cements a more kind, caring and talented image of herself during the show. The sharpshooter, who has the most sparkling personality, shines in every scene. He's flawed but he's also a good person, something which emerges in the last episodes. He's also a good representation of homosexuality, which isn't his main feature.
Overall it's a mediocre script but it has to be more subtle and improve the main players characterization, because the best characters are the one which aren't front and center. It should also be more focused and erase side plots which aren't instrumental to the main one.
Script: 6/10
ACTING
Overall it's ok but I think that the thieves trio and Ben Barnes steal the show. The first ones are played with passion, I think because the characters are fun and dynamic. The second is a guarantee, especially after the outstanding performances he delivered in other shows like Westworld and Marvel's The Punisher. He injects the villain with charisma and a suave, attracting personality, which marvellously degenerates in a wicked, possessive and obsessed one. The main character is acted in a sufficient way, as its love interest, and most of it is caused by the script. Unfortunately them receive most of the screen time and it lowers the shows quality.
Acting: 5/10
PHOTOGRAPHY
This is one of the thing which makes the show better. There're a lot of good shots and colours have a relevance here. I think that the best scenes are the one under the snow because they craft an interesting narrative. I've also liked the palaces and generally the set, which stick to the Russian style to perfection. Light and Darkness take a central stage here and it's a delight. Some shots use a flat lighting which is right but it doesn't add anything to it.
Photography: 7/10
EDITING
Nothing new and interesting here. It respects the industry's standards but doesn't try to do something new. Slow motion is used a lot and sometimes it fragments the flows but it doesn't hurt a lot.
Editing: 5/10
SPECIAL EFFECTS
Even though they're not flawless they're used well to create some interesting visuals. Sometimes there's too much of it, especially during the climax and it could be hard to get through it. I think that it has the same flaws of The Witcher, which is to confident with the cgi to the point of creating a something bad for our today's standards. The best scene, in fact, are the one where there's little cgi which blends with the background, like the Stag's one. Overall it's acceptable.
Special Effects: 6/10
SOUNDTRACK
It's interesting and seems to have a lot of eastern european influences, which fit the show perfectly. Sometimes is a more like a background sound but it sets a tone and enhance the drama of some scenes. It's original but it could've been much better, maybe by giving to every character its own theme.
Soundtrack: 6/10
COSTUMES
This the series strength. Every costume is interesting, because every character has a different one, and is inspired by the period in which the story is set. They're colourful and light up a lot of scene. They're used to symbolize the growth of a character or to tease the downfall of the villain. Yes, the villain clothes are a bit cheesy because they throw away his role, but fit his personality. I liked the large variety of them, which could make the show some kind of period piece.
Costumes: 8/10
CONCLUSION
Script: 6/10
Acting: 5/10
Photography: 7/10
Editing: 5/10
Special Effects: 6/10
Soundtrack: 6/10
Costumes: 8/10
AVERAGE: 6,14
It's a good series which has a lot of flaws and some strength. It should focus more on it's best character, even though they aren't the main ones and avoid useless subplots. I think that there're the basis for a good show but the writers have to be more subtle to have good plot twist and avoid cliches. It's a world which is being slowly built so it needs time to be done in the best way possible. We'll look forward to it, to a second season which could be better and more interesting than this one.
RATE THIS REVIEW
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Director: Mairzee Almas, Lee Toland Krieger
Screenplay: Vanya Asher
Cast: Jessie Mei Li, Ben Barnes, Archie Renaux, Freddy Carter, Amita Suman, Kit Young, Zoë Wanamaker
Soundtrack: Joseph Trapanese
Cinematography: David Lanzenberg, Owen McPolin
Running Time: 50 minutes
