Eric Valero

2 hours of hushed whispers and throat singing. 30 minutes of explosions. This movie takes itself way too seriously and isn’t as grandiose as it thinks it is.

This show is written and edited very strangely. It is mostly low stakes, slow-paced and dialogue driven, but many times there is a sudden shift where characters are acting in ways that just don't make sense. I've noticed this many times and thought "where did that sudden change in narrative come from." One minute we're quietly conversing about mathematics, then without any proper transition *cuts to angry person yelling*. The timing is off, it just has an odd feel, like they've given interns too much leeway in production. It's also been a while since I read the books, but I'm pretty certain this show is *mostly* not about the books, the book storyline is more of a backdrop against which this brilliant young woman is struggling to cope with life as an outcast. Perhaps if the main character were more animated we could feel some sense of her struggle. Perhaps thats my main issue - only one of the characters seems compelling, Brother Day. Everyone else just seems hard to care about, hard to sympathize with. Their actions seem almost random because you don't have any sense of connection to who they are. So disjointed story, strange editing, and a pretty bland main character through two episodes. That all said it's still Foundation, I'm still watching, and yes clearly Apple has thrown a lot of money at it so I'll see where it goes. The ending to episode 2 picks up the pace and takes some interesting and promising turns.

The complaints about using nostalgia are misplaced. Why would a series running 40 years NOT include call backs to the history of the franchise? It’s well done and a fitting end.