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02nd Feb 2018

Netflix’s new sci-fi series is like ‘a cyberpunk Game of Thrones’

Alan Loughnane

Something to pass your weekend if you’re feeling lazy…

Netflix are hoping they’ve found their next big hit with their new series, Altered Carbon, based on the classic cyberpunk noir novel by Richard K. Morgan.

As mentioned previously, they’ve started the series with a bang because Miguel Sapochnik (The Battle of the Bastards, Winds of Winter, Hardhome) is directing the very first episode and after seeing it, it’s an incredibly strong opening.

Aside from establishing a futuristic world that’s akin to anything you’ve seen in Blade Runner, there’s also plenty of action with one set-piece standing out as an instant highlight. We won’t say anything but expect guns, guns, and even more guns.

Have a look at the trailer below…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhFM8akm9a4

Video via Netflix

Ok, what’s it about? Set more than 300 years in the future, humanity has discovered a method of living forever by transferring their consciousness from vessel to vessel as the body ages.

But like most cool things, your ability to do this depends on whether or not you’ve loads of cash at your disposal because only the rich can afford such a luxury.

Takeshi Kovacs is the lone surviving soldier in a group of elite interstellar warriors who were defeated in an uprising against the new world order. His mind was imprisoned – on ice – for centuries until Laurens Bancroft, an impossibly wealthy, long-lived man, offers Kovacs the chance to live again on the condition that Kovacs solves a murder for him… Bancroft’s own murder.

It’s been receiving some positive reviews online with The Hollywood Reporter saying, “Altered Carbon is flawed, but it’s also fantastic. This is binge-ready sci-fi for the masses.”

The AV Club wrote, “It doesn’t hold up to close inspection, but all the flash makes for a fun and engaging spectacle, a TV show with blockbuster-level quality not unlike Game Of Thrones in its ability to create eye-popping excitement.”

In their review, the San Francisco Chronicle said: Think of “Altered Carbon” as a cyberpunk “Game of Thrones,” except that winter is already here, three centuries into the future.”

The show is streaming on Netflix now so give it a watch if you’re free, although we would advise to watch it on your telly rather than your phone, the small screen really doesn’t do the visuals justice.