Mr. Robot

When you see a good move, look for a better one. Undoubtedly, there is a lot that might be written about Mr. Robot. For example, about a refined formal aspect that many articles will certainly analyze (the introductory headlines, the framing of the characters in the lower third/corners of the screen, etc.). Whether it's imaginative work with an unreliable narrator, breaking through the fourth wall, as well as analyzing the details of a well-thought-out cold and refined Fincher - De Palma style of (audio) visuals and their role (especially from the second series, when Esmail directs everything himself) or how it plundered the German movie Who Am I. About how, thanks to the smart structure, it doesn't matter if you see through the twists and turns during the opening scenes or later when the creators reveal, because in both cases it works because a conscious game is played with the viewer in a way that "you think you know and we know very well that you think you know"" during all season. However, it is not based on the point anyway. The Malek's and Wallström's performances (not only) will be highly praised, as well as countless articles about how there is finally a show that does not mess with Linux-lovers community of the world of hackers, blackhats and the like. Forums will be packed witch comments addressing the meaning of each sentence, allusion or reference. But what is left for the "ordinary" viewer, who does not care about the above-mentioned and just wants to watch a good TV series? So such a viewer is by far the best, because Mr. Robot in a nutshell offers damn successful Palahniuk-like anarchist hacker Fight Club that combines corporate line of Underwoods by uncompromising pragmatism. Which could be enough for a viewer whose perception of the community from the dark side of modern technology is only based on novels with Lisbeth Salander to give a pilot episode a chance. Whether he will like it or not, is a completely different question, but Mr. Robot, even considering a bunch of great series of unprecedented quality of recent years, is so unique and courageous that it offers many reasons to give it a chance, despite its occasional problems with the pace of storytelling. And who knows, maybe the creators will hack you and you will fall for it. | S1: 5/5 | S2: 4/5 | S3: 5/5 | S4: 5/5 | (07/09/2015)

The only drawback of the first season, if any, is the pace. Which is a problem that persisted, and due to the higher number of episodes, it is more noticeable in the first half of this series. But the obvious week point is the big twist in the middle of the series. The twist alone as great. But it is used in the wrong place, i.e. too late. At that time, thanks to all those carefully fragmented hints, an active viewer (and a passive "I expect to be entertained" viewer Mr. robot is not really its target group) at least to some extent well see it through. It was supposed to show up at the end of the opening episode of the season. In this case, there would still be the necessary wow effect and at the same time it would allow much more interesting interpretation in the following episodes. So much for the issues and now let´s explore the strong points. Above all, it is necessary to praise the creators for not taking the easy and well-trodden path of the first season (however, it is true, sometimes they are unnecessarily treading water on this new path). The audiovisuals are even more refined and sophisticated (this time Esmail also directed all himself), Malek and Carly are a bit more impressive. Clever, conscious, thoughtful, slowly graduated, innovative. All this was truth and still is. As a result, the first episodes are weaker, but we can hardly consider it as a decline in quality. And considering the ending with which the creators had to work, that they had to do without one of the two biggest driving forces (story and performance) of the first season, that most of the season each character leads their own separate life (story line) and that this time episodic story telling was skipped, so the result is actually much better than one would expect. (16/01/2017)

Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Robot. I believe Esmail’s statement that he had thought out the course and conclusion of the opening scene of the first episode (besides, the structure and the composition is fully in line with that; it even adheres strictly to “the course" of the song). But I only trust him in terms of Ellit's and Darlin's storyline. Not on the society-hacker level. He fell into his own trap, giving some characters too much space and then forgetting about them and... Well, let´s put it this way: He slipped more than once. However, not in the final season. Everything works as it should. Thanks to the trio of Esmail, Campbell and Quayle, the robot has always looked and sounded unmistakable and great. The fourth season takes it considerably further; each scene is an audio-visual masterpiece full of original shots, unconventional angles and unmistakable camera approaches. Light, composition, (a)symmetry, mise-en-scène; if you are into these components and you can appreciate them, then you will hardly find another project with such distinctive features, on top of which the content serves well. It would take a long time to celebrate the perfection of the final season, but basically it can by summarized by saying that even a purely gimmicky episode (on paper) along the lines of “we will film a wordless heist episode" turned out to be so nerve-racking and captivating that, although you are aware of the gimmick, it doesn't even come to your mind when watching. Great job. In fact, the excellence of the content, character development and form of the final season are unprecedented and full of one memorable moments. Even so, I will complain about one thing: The whole series comprises storylines about “hacking for a better tomorrow/dealing with Elliot's inner demons", which are basically balanced and mostly go hand in hand. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but always together. In the final part, however, this is not the case. First, the hacking storyline is addressed (in a damn good way) in two episodes, which, however, is completely free of the main, personal storyline. And then the next three episodes deal only with the personal aspect. And that is a problem. Two and a half episodes are devoted to building “something", but it must be clear to you that Esmail is too sophisticated a creator to spoil his opus magnum with something like that. So, he needlessly designs a twist out of nothing, but no one believes it. The final part is something completely different, when Elliot's story is finally addressed. Again, there is nothing to complain about, because it is specific enough to change your view of the whole series during subsequent viewings, but it is also ambivalent enough to leave room for interpretation and it is emotional when it turns out that despite all the technologies and great ideas, it has always been mainly a deeply personal character odyssey. (04/02/2020)