Netflix is used to taking risks. From pioneering the fight against household account sharing to remaking some of the best anime shows, the streaming giant has a penchant for pursuing high-risk, high-reward strategies.
Now you can count 3 Body problem, the Netflix television adaptation of Liu Cixin's book series, among its big changes. In fact, the streamer's latest big-budget series isn't just packed with abstract sci-fi; is also directed by game of Thrones'(Got) showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss, whose reputations took a significant hit after the divisive final season of HBO's high fantasy show.
Together with Netflix and True Blood However, showrunner Alexander Woo, Benioff and Weiss are back on form with an effective, mind-bending series that offers a fitting take on Cixin's dense and seemingly unfilmable source material. Its occasionally reductive plot threads and narrative deviations will irritate fans of Cixin's novels, while its more cerebral elements and plot pacing may baffle others. However, as a deeply thought-provoking, multi-genre, and surprisingly intimate series, 3 Body problem largely hits the sweet spot.
secret invasion
3 Body problemThe plot jumps between two stories set in different time periods. The first, set in the 1960s and 1970s, follows Ye Wenjie (Zine Tseng), a Chinese astrophysics prodigy who becomes increasingly misanthropic in the wake of numerous personally traumatic events. Disillusioned by the cruelty of the human race, Ye makes a fateful decision, one that echoes across time and space, when a seemingly benevolent alien race approaches her during her research into extraterrestrial life.
Half a century later, unorthodox detective Da Shi (Marvel star Benedict Wong) investigates a series of gruesome and unexplained deaths involving scientists around the world. Under the command of a mysterious organization led by the enigmatic Thomas Wade (Liam Cunningham), Shi soon finds himself tracking the Oxford Five, a group of scientific experts who might hold the key to preventing an invasion that humanity is unprepared for. front facing. with.
3 Body Problem shines brightest when it relies on the human aspect of its story
3 Body problem spends its first few episodes flitting between these timelines, which isn't a novel narrative approach for a sci-fi show, but it still manages to slowly unravel the biggest mysteries within its central narrative. It's also not a shallow show by any means, with its layered story raising philosophical questions, mostly of the existential variety, and other puzzles throughout its eight episodes. Plot, 3 Body problem It also raises more questions than it answers, meaning viewers looking for an easy watch are in for a rude awakening.
However, if you really focus on the unfolding narrative, 3 Body problem rewards you. In fact, those who concentrate can detect clues that foreshadow future events. It is an interactive form of storytelling that shows one of 3 Body problemIts greatest strengths, namely its ability to unconsciously turn you into a prophetic detective, rather than simply an objective observer. I found myself trying to solve its biggest puzzles before the answers were revealed through plot exposition, and I recommend you do the same if you want to add an extra dimension to your viewing experience.
Speaking of story exposition, there's frustration in how some of this is presented. Sometimes, 3 Body problem does well with its narrative explanations: Da Shi's evidence board, which contains important details about the Oxford Five in episode 1, for example, is a clever way of conveying important information about each individual. Other times, characters irritatingly repeat events from one episode to the next. The revelation that the invading alien race is 400 years away from reaching Earth, for example, is “revealed” several times throughout episodes 3 and 4. My memory isn't what it was, Netflix, but come on.
3 Body Problem is a sprawling, skillfully constructed epic
Its genre-bending composition is also periodically erratic. A breakthrough that landed in January showed the potential of 3 Body problem It appears to be a sci-fi epic, VR horror, and mystery thriller rolled into one, but the tonal shifts throughout its first few episodes are disappointingly moody. The shift from sci-fi spectacle to tragicomedy, particularly during scenes that are ostensibly set in a virtual reality (VR) world, typifies the show's struggle for balance, something it doesn't achieve until halfway through.
I previously suggested that 3 Body problem had the ability to give you virtual reality nightmares when its first clip appeared online in November 2023, but some of its most terrifying images just aren't scary. Some are creepy and disturbing: the seemingly perpetual and inexplicable countdown timer that afflicts Auggie Salazar (Eiza González), one of the Oxford Five, from the beginning is unmistakably disturbing. Other moments have a macabre flavor, including scenes in which Jin Cheng (Jess Hong) and Jack Rooney (Jon Bradley), other members of the aforementioned quintet, interact with dark, state-of-the-art, minimalist virtual reality headsets. Unfortunately, that's about as scary as things can get.
However, there are moments that are truly shocking. One sequence from episode 5 is deeply disturbing in its simplicity; the horror of his body is eerily juxtaposed with the eerily calm atmosphere that accompanies it. Add to that more gory violence, sometimes physical and psychological, plus other adult material (and morbid, R-rated, deadpan jokes), and the dark narrative aura that embodies the projects directed by Benioff and Weiss is so prominent here. as it was in Thrones. They may have swapped high fantasy for mind-bending sci-fi, but their fingerprints are evident on the final product.
A sky full of stars
However, for all its big-brain concepts, multi-genre scope, and exorbitant scale, I think 3 Body problem It shines brightest when it actively leans into the deeply human aspect of its story.
As I mentioned before, there's a barely noticeable shift around the halfway mark as the show moves away from its astonishing science-based theories and philosophical puzzles in favor of an intimate story about life, love, death, and survival. That doesn't mean that 3 Body problem throws away its metaphysical and science fiction elements; after all, there is still a throbbing and terrifying feeling war of words-Inspired story that will be told and hopefully concluded in future seasons.
There's frustration in the way some of the exposition of 3 Body Problem's story is presented.
3 Body problemHowever, the ability to tell a meaningful, relatable, and tender story is what surprised me most about Netflix's new, luxurious television original. It displays substantial emotional weight, particularly through Bradley's Jack, Hong's Jin, Alex Sharp's Will (another of the Oxford Five), and Zine Tseng's young Ye (based on her quietly intense performance, Tseng is a star in budding) that makes it a gripping melodrama in which to get lost.
It's not a completely bleak and/or moving affair, mind you, with plenty of adult levity, awkward humor and even the odd moment of slapstick that pleasantly lightens the mood amidst the trauma-ridden subplots. 3 Body problem It also doesn't shy away from giving each cast member their time in the sun, with the aforementioned actors, plus other important characters, including Jovan Adepo's Saul, the only Oxford Five member I haven't mentioned, installed as episodic leads. By the way, this is a television adaptation created by Benioff and Weiss, so, just like GotI advise you not to get too attached to any character (if you know it, you know it).
Considering I struggled to connect with its multidimensional cast of characters in its first half, it was remarkably rewarding to be able to identify and empathize with them (albeit belatedly) later on. Relationships between certain individuals (Wade's interactions with Da Shi and Jin are notable highlights) crackle and bubble with pleasing intent, while surprising team-ups between radically different characters also add dynamic flavor to specific scenes. Who would have thought that a trippy, paranormal, theory-driven show would do its best work in its character-driven component?
my verdict
3 Body problem is a sprawling, skillfully constructed epic that, once it navigates its clumsy embryonic stage, finds an impressive balance between its intellectual plot, intimate, character-driven stories, and a foundation in real science and story-defining events. Equal parts international and intergalactic mystery, it's an ambitious and mind-bending Netflix sci-fi show that demands your attention.
At times, it has the makings of an HBO-style prestige drama, with Benioff and Weiss' work on Thrones paying dividends for his latest big-budget project for the small screen. It is largely an adequate adaptation of Cixin's often unwieldy literary works, although it slightly trivializes its hypothetical source material through intermittent creative deviations and simplified conceptual explanations.
3 Body problem was one of the 10 exciting shows I couldn't wait for in early 2024, and after enjoying what it had to offer, I feel justified in my prediction. It will not have the same transformative impact on the industry as game of Thrones I had it in 2011, but it's more than earned a, potentially permanent, spot on my top Netflix show.yes guide. Once you've binged all eight episodes on release day, I'm sure you'll understand why.
3 Body Problem releases exclusively in its entirety on Netflix on Thursday, March 21.
