Julien Neaves, Sci Fi Head Writer
It is pretty tough these days to find a really good cerebral science fiction series and therefore Netflix's 3 Body Problem does feel like an intellectual breath of fresh air. Based on the 2008 Hugo Award-winning Chinese novel The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, the series follows a group of scientists and government agents who uncover that a series of mysterious phenomena is linked to a global, implacable threat. I cannot say any more without going into spoiler territory, and I am keeping this one spoiler free. Now I was somewhat concerned when I saw the show creators included David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, two people I have still not forgiven for their bungling of Game of Thrones Season 8, but thankfully they do a much better job with the first season of this adaptation.
3 Body Problem features an ensemble cast and the performances are mostly strong. The standouts are easily Benedict Wong (the MCU's Wong aka "Wongers") as practical and witty government agent Clarence "Da" Shi and Game of Thrones' Onion Knight himself Liam Cunningham as his sharp-tongued and amoral boss Thomas Wade. Cunningham is joined by fellow Thrones' alum John Bradley who is likeable as the affable entrepreneur Jack Rooney. Also turning in good work is Star Trek alum Rosalind Chao as Dr Ye Wenjie and Jess Hong as brilliant physicist Jin Cheng. Eiza González (From Dusk till Dawn: The Series, Bloodshot) also appears as materials scientist Dr Augustina "Auggie" Salazar but her performance could have benefitted from more range and nuance.
Close your mouth Auggie. You're gonna catch flies
The story here is a very engrossing one and full of twists and jaw-dropping moments. And all the science talk does make non-scientists like me feel smarter just by watching it. It is not Dark levels of complexity, but there is some robust science fiction at work here. The pacing over the eight episodes is fairly quick and that was both for better and worse. The rapid pace meant that I never felt bored, but it also felt like some of the characters were under cooked and all the big moments were not given sufficient time to breathe. This was one of the major flaws in the aforementioned final season of Game of Thrones, but it is not as egregious in 3 Body Problem, especially as this is only the first season.
Despite a couple flaws, 3 Body Problem is some top tier Sci Fi with an intriguing story, stellar music and impressive visuals. I am definitely down for a second season.
Editor Jules' Score: 8.5 out of 10
Have you seen 3 Body Problem? What did you think of it? And you can check out more Sci Fi content on Robot Mango Reviews below:
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Julien "Editor Jules" Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by the Cryptkeeper, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an aspiring author. I say things like "13 flavours of awesome sauce". Read more.
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