Tyler Krenzin
Lantern Staff
Keeping a low profile and entertaining the fans of the series: This is what I saw Netflix doing for Altered Carbon. This is not necessarily a bad thing, however, when you are Netflix and you have the repeated success of weird, and disturbing, shows. You shouldn’t be surprised when Altered Carbon gets more than the few views you expected of it.
In this show, weirdness reigns supreme, think Blade Runner if Blade Runner focused on the dirty corrupt parts of the city. The rules of the universe in Altered Carbon can keep the audience fascinated. “Sleeves” are the vehicle to immortality, taking a “Stack” that holds all the data from the brain and transferring the conciseness of the person from one body to the other. This can all get really confusing, and if you thought you could turn Altered Carbon on in the background because of its beautiful 4K visuals, well you are thoroughly mistaken.
This show is an active participatory viewing experience. Like Game of Thrones, and Lost before that, Altered Carbon really shouldn’t be binge watched. The elements that make this show great is that you need to discuss the ideas with people around you. Maybe they caught something in the vibrant world that you missed. It’s just a world that has so much building to do that a 10-episode season just doesn’t do it justice. One of the biggest parts of the whole season is only talked about for the first 20 minutes when Takeshi Kovacs “Stack” is put into a new sleeve. As it turns out, Kovacs, played by Joel Kinnaman, was a prisoner who had his “stack” placed on “ice” for years as punishment for his service in a rebellion attempt. Kovacs, along with other criminals, had been revived for the sole purpose that they could serve as workers for the governing elite. However, Kovacs’ back story puts him in a prosperous position.
The rebellion that Kovacs was a part of was a technologically advanced military force, all of which were trained to adapt quickly to new bodies and new environments. This group was known as the Envoys, and they were all wiped out by a virus that affects the “stacks” taking their conciseness to a point of no return. In a short definition, they are basically psycho-crazy forever. Kovacs, who was not around to be infected, was the lone survivor and went into hiding in the criminal underground. Kovacs, who was convicted of multiple counts of terrorism, was only brought back because his Envoy ability made him the perfect private eye. This convinced Purefoy Bancroft, the most powerful man in the world, that he could solve the murder of Bancroft’s former sleeve. This deal with Bancroft decides whether or not Kovacs goes back on “ice”.
In all, Altered Carbon comes off as kind of a mess. A show that if you binged watched that you would be sitting there at the end and saying, “What the hell just happened?”
This show needs its digestion period because getting to hung up on what the story is saying will distract viewers from the best part of the series, just how beautiful the world around it looks. Usually the word “cinematography” doesn’t often rear its face when speaking about television shows, but for Netflix, this has been a specialty.
Netflix’s treatment of its “TV” series as mini-movies sets them up for success every time, and Altered Carbon is no different. Earlier I mentioned its 4K visuals and how it shouldn’t be the only reason that you turn the series on. This for the most part is the truth, but it is the No. 1 reason you should watch it.
All in all, do not let the confusing storyline take you out of the wonderful and weird concept that is Altered Carbon. It is a must see. 7.4/10
Awesome review!
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