Altered Carbon (Netflix series) – a review

Okay, I was recommended this series by a couple of friends and it seemed interesting enough. A futuristic premise where human consciousness can be downloaded into “stacks” at the back of the head and human bodies are just “sleeves” which can be replaced.

Firstly, the plot was pretty convoluted and unexpected. In only 10 episodes, there was a bit too much going on. The story could have been paced out more or even just moved into the next season, if there is one. But with that being said, the complications and unexpected turns are what makes this series stand out.

Joel Kinnaman is such a brilliant actor. The way he just drolls out the lines and with his expressive face, it wasn’t hard to imagine him as the Envoy-killing machine, Takeshi Kovacs. The backstory to the characters were laid out throughout the episodes and it’s up to us to piece together the convoluted flashbacks and try to make sense of things. Honestly, the nudity was kind of unnecessary but it is quite understandable as human bodies were seen as “sleeves”, product and not the actual individual. With that in mind, there were a lot of violence in the shooting scenes and the fighting scenes were plentiful with blood as bodies were deemed replaceable.

If you don’t mind the nudity and the (not-so) occasional gore, then I would recommend Altered Carbon, as the concept and world-building was out-of-this-world (literally) and exceptionally portrayed. It also shows the dirty and shameful side of humanity that not everyone can stomach. Well, it was certainly interesting to say the least.

The verdict:
Plot: 9/10
Acting: 9/10
Gore: 7/10
Violence: 10/10 (a lot, plenty of action from the 1st episode)
Nudity: 9/10 (also starting from episode 1)