I recently completed the first season of Altered Carbon, the sci-fi/cyberpunk series on Netflix. The show is based on a series of books by author Richard K. Morgan and it takes place hundreds of years in the future where alien technology has allowed humanity to unlock the potential of immortality via memory backup and reloading. The story follows Takeshi Kovacs, a political operative and highly-trained fighter, as he’s placed in a new body 250 years in the future and enlisted by a wealthy immortal to solve the case of his own murder.
It’s an interesting enough premise and after the first episode, this show quickly sunk its hooks into me. I’m a sucker for anything and everything in this type of “tech-noir/dystopian future” genre, so anything that so much as invokes a hint of something like Blade Runner, I’m instantly interested. The setting and world that is Altered Carbon is put on beautiful display in this series, showcasing everything from the neon-saturated urban industrial landscapes to the pristine spires in the clouds of the wealthy upper classes. The show evokes many of the visual elements you’d expect from the genre, while keeping you entrenched with the wide range of various characters that familiarize the terms and lore you’ll need to understand the narrative. “Stacks” contain your memories and are what let you download into another body, other bodies are called “sleeves” etc. There’s a lot of world-building that comes with a show like this, but the cast and script to a solid job of keeping you engaged.
On that note, most of the cast does an absolutely great job with their roles. Joel Kinnaman is a fantastic lead in this, hitting the right combination of “heartless bastard” and “compassionate anti-hero” as Takeshi’s tale unfolds. We see some glimpses of his former “sleeves” (played by Byron Mann and Will Yun Lee) and it’s interesting to see his past and present stories told in different forms and by different actors. James Purefoy’s Bancroft is a great antagonist to Kovacs, with all the ego and pride you’d expect to see from a wealthy, influential immortal being. However, the consummate scene-stealer is easily Chris Conner’s Poe, the A.I. hotel owner/ally to Kovacs who gets some of the shows best moments, both comedic and dramatic.
The only real complaint I have about the show comes in the form of Rei (Dichen Lachman). I’d rather avoid spoilers in this article, so without getting much into specifics, the show definitely takes a bit of a dip in overall quality once her character really begins getting fleshed out. I definitely don’t believe it’s a problem with the actress herself since I’ve generally enjoyed her work (she's great on Agents of Shield). It feels more like a script/character issue and while it does have an effect on the whole product, the show is still really enjoyable.
In closing, Altered Carbon is a pretty solid show, with great visuals, good actors and a good-to-fine storyline that should be enjoyable for anyone with a taste for this particular genre or setting. It does have its weaknesses, but it’s hardly a bad way to spend some free time. What are your thoughts on the show?
More to come!
O.N.