Altered Carbon is Nextflix new sci-fi series, based on the novel Altered Carbon by author Richard K. Morgan.
Background
It takes place in the year 2384. In the future, people's consciousnesses are contained in "stacks" which is operated in every child at 1 year old. The body is no longer considered as a part of the human, it's rather only a skin which can be shed if you have the money.
Takeshi Kovavs played by Joel Kinnaman, a violent mercenary, wakes up after 250 years. Is former skin or "sleeve" got killed. When he wakes up his freedom is not in his own hands, rather it is in one of the wealthiest men in the galaxy Laurens Bancroft. Takeshi has a choice to make, solve Mr. Bancroft's case or go back to sleep for eternity.
Story
You can tell the team behind the making of this series have taken a lot of time thinking about how to build up the characters. From Takeshi's backstory to what the human mind is capable of handling. Because of the fact that immortality is reached the rich are only getting older and richer. Even though the technology improves they have fairly accurate pointed out the flaws in the human mind, even the mind wither after a while.
However, the build-up to the plot twist has its question marks. Some parts are a bit vague which made the storyline hard to comprehend. Though well-made characters made it bearable.
Visual
The graphics were top notch, you really emerged in this potential future and it made all the difference. Sometimes sci-fi can be hard to grasp just because the visuals aren't there. But this time Netflix did a really good job making this pop out of the screen.
Action is a big part of the series and they made a really good job with the fighting scenes. Takeshi played by Joel Kinnaman made good use of both pistols, swords and his bare hands. Truly a remarkable actor which I hope will be even more developed characterwise in the next season.
Of course, it was plenty of R-rated scenes and sometimes a little too much actually. At a point, I started to wonder if it was a Netflix series or a porno I was watching. However, the R-rated material is, of course, a conscious touch. It's an interpretation of our human nature. I think the makers wanted to tell was that we can escape our skin but the mind it more complex.
Potential
Nevertheless, this was a really well-made sci-fi series and I can't wait to watch the second season. There is no release date yet, but the speculations are that it will come out around late next year.
I really recommend this series if you like the mix of action, sci-fi, and psychology. The makers have made a such a great job, making sense of a near future with immortality which is a hard thing to grasp.
I give it 4.5/5 Steems