Nate Rose

Sacha Baron Cohen plays his role phenomenally. While it came as a surprise to see him playing a serious role, his acting greatly impressed me. In fact, all of the acting in this miniseries was exceptional. The production was also very well executed. One issue I had with the show was how cliche a lot of the scenes and plot points were. In many cases, the next thing to happen was immediately predictable. In addition, Eli Cohen’s actions felt like a mixed bag of reckless ambition, pure stupidity, and absolute brilliance, with very little consistency throughout. Also, the story seemed unreasonably one-sided, in which Israel did nothing wrong and Syria did nothing right; in reality, both sides had their fair share of wrongdoing. Finally, certain parts of the plot felt like unrealistic retcons in which the viewer must suspend their disbeliefs to a jarring degree. These moments within the show greatly undermine the audience’s immersion into the setting, but fortunately, do not take away from the tremendous acting performances or connections made with the characters. While serious cinematic critics may not rate this show a “must watch,” it’s certainly an adequate source of entertainment for casual fans of spy thrillers.