Sense8 is maddening. So many times it shows glimmers of greatness, hints that the pace might speed up a little bit, then it continues with same bland soppy mediocrity. The Wachowskis are the best at glitzy action scenes and mind-blowing sci-fi concepts. Looking at this mess, it's clear that's what they should have stuck to, because characters and dialogue are blatantly not their strong point.
The tedious character moments far outnumber the great action sequences, which is a shame, because the action is truly something else. The idea of multiple people sharing bodies leads to fantastic fast-paced fight scenes that rival the best moments from the Matrix. They do end up getting repetitive towards the end of the first season but they're entertaining as hell.
Instead of diving deep into the science fiction elements of its story and its mysterious villain Whispers, Sense8 chooses to use its unique mechanics to have characters from all over the world talk to each other in meaningless philosophical discussions. The dialogue tries so hard to be poetic that it ends up meaning nothing. It's slow, pretentious nonsense for its own sake. To take one example, we witness graphic flashbacks to each character's birth while they share an experience at a classical concert. Why? Who knows. Did the music somehow cause all of them to remember their births? Why is any of this relevant? What is it trying to say? Is it trying to say anything at all? If anyone actually knows the meaning of this scene or the questions it's trying to ask or the point it's trying to make, please tell me. Because for me, this scene is a nice way of summing up the whole show: pointless.
It doesn't help that the most tedious, meaningless scenes are so drawn out, as if that will give them the meaning they're grappling for. Each character's storylines move along at a sluggish pace. Consider this: one main character's question of whether she should marry her fiancé is one of the biggest plotlines of the first season, and it's STILL NOT RESOLVED by the end. The wedding STILL hasn't happened yet.
I'm done. No way am I watching the second season. Sense8 isn't an awful show, sometimes it's genuinely enjoyable. But a lot of the time, it's just boring.
The tedious character moments far outnumber the great action sequences, which is a shame, because the action is truly something else. The idea of multiple people sharing bodies leads to fantastic fast-paced fight scenes that rival the best moments from the Matrix. They do end up getting repetitive towards the end of the first season but they're entertaining as hell.
Instead of diving deep into the science fiction elements of its story and its mysterious villain Whispers, Sense8 chooses to use its unique mechanics to have characters from all over the world talk to each other in meaningless philosophical discussions. The dialogue tries so hard to be poetic that it ends up meaning nothing. It's slow, pretentious nonsense for its own sake. To take one example, we witness graphic flashbacks to each character's birth while they share an experience at a classical concert. Why? Who knows. Did the music somehow cause all of them to remember their births? Why is any of this relevant? What is it trying to say? Is it trying to say anything at all? If anyone actually knows the meaning of this scene or the questions it's trying to ask or the point it's trying to make, please tell me. Because for me, this scene is a nice way of summing up the whole show: pointless.
It doesn't help that the most tedious, meaningless scenes are so drawn out, as if that will give them the meaning they're grappling for. Each character's storylines move along at a sluggish pace. Consider this: one main character's question of whether she should marry her fiancé is one of the biggest plotlines of the first season, and it's STILL NOT RESOLVED by the end. The wedding STILL hasn't happened yet.
I'm done. No way am I watching the second season. Sense8 isn't an awful show, sometimes it's genuinely enjoyable. But a lot of the time, it's just boring.