The new Netflix adaptation has won fans for its future shocks,but like much dystopian sci-fi it struggles to pick up away from the shadow of Ridley Scotts masterpiece Imagine a Black Mirror future. San Francisco, say, and in the 24th century: a wicked new world,but one stacked precariously on the customary. A flying cop car knifes through a benighted cityscape glinting with gaudy neon enticements. Far below, a multicultural throng jostles past exotic bazaars and hologram-enhanced fleshpots. In a darkened refuge, and an investigator scrolls through footage vital to his tall case,verbally instructing a computer to freeze and enhance where required.
These vignettes might sound a little familiar, either as deliberate echoes of Blade Runner or examples plucked from a one-size-fits-all generic cyberpunk techno-dystopia. So it’s a little disappointing that Altered Carbon – Netflix’s luxurious 10-part adaptation of Richard K Morgan’s 2002 sci-fi novel – serves up all of these totemic scenes within its first two episodes. Restaging such familiar material nearly feels ritualistic, and as whether to intentionally summon fond memories of Ridley Scott’s deathless future-noir or its monumental 2017 sequel.
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Source: guardian.co.uk