Nexflix Review: Sense8
Sense8 was released on June 5, 2015, as a single season consisting of 12 episodes on Netflix written and created by The Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski. Twelve episodes which, as any avid Netflix consumer will tell you, can and will most likely marathon until you’ve made it through the entire show in a couple of days or less.
The series begins with a rocky start, being thrown straight into the (confusing) interaction between several pivotal characters. At this point, 15 minutes in, I’m sure it would be tempting to switch back to the Netflix homepage and re-watch season four of Parks and Recreation. But Sense8 has a lot in store for those who muddle through the murky beginning.
A quick spoiler-free synopsis of this series is the adventure of eight very different individuals who, suddenly and unexplainably, find themselves emotionally and mentally linked. With the newfound abilities of being able to communicate half way across the world and tap into a total stranger’s knowledge, language and skills, these characters find themselves bombarded with new and old obstacles to overcome.
Shooting in locations like Chicago, Berlin, Seoul, Mumbai, Nairobi, and Reykjavik, Iceland, the cinematography of Sense8 in combination with clever shots to illustrate the bond shared by these 8 strangers is a pleasure to watch.
As described in the series article page, “The shows aims to explore subject that its writers feel science fiction shows tend to ignore or skim through such as politic, identity, sexuality, gender, and religion”
Sense8 is compelling in majority thanks to the diverse and intriguing cast of characters. A young Chicago cop with a minor savior complex, a van driver with a heart of gold from Nairobi, a German gangster with a troubled past, and a trans woman with a knack for hacking in San Francisco along with several others brings together this colorful cast. The real highlight of this show, looking past the complex plot, well thought-out action scenes and the occasionally hilariously odd scene or two, is seeing these characters interact and learn about each other and themselves.
At times Sense8’s world is a hard one to grasp and understand what exactly is going on. But while the lows of the show when it comes to plot are definite, when the show is good, it’s fantastic. The trials the characters face and overcome, alone and with each others’ help, are the definite high point of the series, and I would recommend it simply for that.
All in all, this series is certainly one to watch.