Altered Carbon Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

Downs...

3. The Protagonists Are Pretty Dull

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the entire show is just how uninteresting the two lead characters are.

Joel Kinnaman's Takeshi Kovacs has an intriguing back story and sounds like a fitting protagonist on paper, but Kinnaman's fairly flat performance sucks the air out of the show at times. He's clearly trying to be stoic but it comes off more lethargic and boring than anything.

Then there's the female lead, Martha Higareda's Kristin Ortega. Though Higareda gives a decent enough performance, her character rarely moves beyond being a generic hot-headed Latina cop cliche, complete with cheesy one-liners and a few eye-rolling subplots.

As is so often the case with high-concept TV shows and movies, the figures at the center are essentially the least interesting pieces of the puzzle.