Julian Stoev – Google

I have no idea why there are black actors depicting characters in Russia. Plus, many of the names are perhaps intentionally butchered. Like Orlo - should be "Orlov" - this must be intentional, I have no idea why. The stories are kind of amusing, but surely also dumb. Many elements of "girl-boss". My wife somehow named it all as a mix of "American Pie" and Kardashians with small elements of Russian history.

Based on Season 1, the show is barely watchable. Which is a completely missed opportunity. A real low point. I have no idea why some critiques give it so high grades, actually I have, but for this later... The script does not offer any real insight into the very interesting historical time. It does not present the layered complexity, it does not educate you, it just serves as background to some rather stupid intrigues. No real background on relations with Spain, Britain, why not Germany... Netherlands. Leonardo da Vinci was living in Amboise at the same time, which is between Chanonceaux and Chambord.... Which reminds me of visuals.... also missed opportunity. Why not show more about these magnificent castles they live in? I happen to have visited them just few months ago and they are really unique and beautiful... nothing like this is shown. Compared to classic TV shows like "I, Claudius", this one is dumb and infantile. King does not act like a king, princesses either... servants... neither... A completely contemporary language and expressions are used... The acting and directing is mediocre at best. It is clear the actors were not selected for their match with the roles, but for some other reasons... like for example the color of their skin. At some moment there is even a black French soldier guarding.... And sure there are some dumb feminist overtones... like all men are idiots, all the history is driven by women... Which may have been even true, but is not shown properly. Example - not a single frame with the queen of England... why? But men were also not idiots like the ones shown ...

I suspect some AI chat bot has written most of 5 star reviews. First episode created some interest and then things went quickly downhill. The characters look childish and their actions dont make sense. Constant use of electronic communication devices by people who claim to do highly classified work, or are on the run from the "agencies". Highly trained professional who talk all kind of personal stuff and open their hearts to strangers. Jeff Bridges tells daughter he will not call her anymore for life and then constantly talks to her. Judging Amy plays... judging Amy as usual, nothing else. She has a son, whom she failed to transfer tuition money, but she runs away and forget about the son. Slow lengthy dialogue between pros in very dynamic situations. People (FBI) fly on airplane and have no idea where they are arriving... as if GPS is not in any mobile device nowadays. Don't even want to mention how 70y old CIA "old man" kills with his hands several highly trained operatives in their prime. About the episode 4 with my wife we realised that we made a serious mistake with this, but made hard effort to watch it all. Lost time....

The movie deserves respect for the cinematography. But as acting and storytelling it is rather average. It is also not immune to the artificial diversity - like female pilots playing American football with their male colleagues as a method of team bonding. My wife had a nice remark - nobody is impressed by this anymore, at least they should have played it naked, then it would be something to remember. And after such catastrophe at 10x speed of sound, our lovely hero Maverick will probably not be found even in small pieces. Maybe this movie was trying to take the marketing niche of the Hotshots and Maverick has accomodated also Topper Harley.

I think it is quite good and hope it goes further than this season. The visuals are especially good and match really well with the original movie. Perhaps full appreciation for the visuals is easier only for somebody who has lived longer in bigger cities in Asia... I remember talking with friends more than 15 years ago, that Seoul looks like Blade Runner during the night. The music is not bad, sometimes even good, could be better, surely nothing can match Vangelis. The story could have been better directed and told, but on the other side this is anime, so maybe this is another look. Maybe I will shock you, but I actually like this more than the "2049".