Series review: Altered Carbon

[tacit]

Note: This post started out as an answer on Quora, but I thought it deserved its own space.

Very minor spoilers below.

If you haven't heard of it yet, Altered Carbon is a dystopian science fiction series on Netflix. It's based on the novel of the same name, a particularly bleak look into the future by Richard K. Morgan.

Comments

[grail76]

I saw it and watched it a second time as well.
There's also the ability to wear other people's sleeves -- so that you're not sure who you're talking to, or banging.

Excellent Sci-Fi.

[sweh]

You don't need to repeatedly kill people to torture information out of them; take their stack and spin it up in VR. All the torture, none of the mess.

[ashbet]

“a huge LA biker who has first an elderly Spanish grandmother and then a Russian professional assassin”

Absolutely some of the best acting, by this particular guy, that I’ve seen in AGES. He’s utterly convincing in all three personalities.

And, yeah, this is fucking BLEAK and BRUTAL, but it’s also superlatively done.

The complete oligarchy/kleptocracy is terrifyingly plausible in current times, which gives the series extra punch.

And I love the female lead, both the actress and the character.

<3

[make_your_move]

The Biker/spanish grandmother/mobster - was absolutely one of the most brilliant pieces of acting - EVER. He should be in more TV and movies, I'd love to see what he does.

This was a stretch for me when I first starting watching it, but once I got into the story line, I couldn't let it go. It was one of my bigger surprises this year.

[andrewducker]

I liked the third book best. I'm hoping they make it that far into the series.