When Ex Machina came out a few years ago it became one of my favorite movies of that time. Alex Garland, its creator, later released Annihilation, another good sci-fi movie but not as good as Ex Machina. Now, with the Devs series, I think this guy has just created his best production so far.
Devs is one of the series I have enjoyed the most not in the past few months, but even in the past few years. It scratched an itch in me that so far only Black Mirror had been able to do but in a much more philosophical way, and with a more elaborated story that lasts 8 episodes unlike the typical 1-hour episode from Black Mirror.
This series is mainly a sci-fi show exploring a topic that is mind-blowing and it does so in a very poetic and mysterious way. It will undoubtedly encourage some interesting conversations between the viewers. In the following image from the beginning of the first episode, we see this character reading a particular code for the first time. But he cannot believe what he is reading, a few seconds ago he wouldn't have believed what he is seeing if someone told him.
The story is about a couple of developers, one day the boyfriend is hired by the same company where his girlfriend works. This is a big company so they aren't able to share any information about whatever it is they do in this place. The problem is that after her boyfriend's first day in his new job, he suddenly disappears.
This will begin a frantic investigation that will totally change how she views the world. Besides the interesting sci-fi topic, it has some philosophical conversations that are hard to find in high-quality sci-fi productions.
If you enjoyed Ex Machina and the dialogue between the 3 characters, then you will most likely enjoy this show even more. The topic is, of course, completely different from that of the movie and one that I don't think has been explored in other productions. I assure you that most people, and especially sci-fi fans, will absolutely love it. Have in mind, that if you get bored with deep dialogue then this show might not be for you.
The best
- Really amazing topic with enjoyable dialogues, and well-written plot for the most part.
- A nice balance with a bit of action and crime but the actual genre of the show is sci-fi and mystery.
- Good looking cgi and good use of sounds.
The worst
- The main actress could have been better.
- There is a moment when the lead actress outsmarts another person to manage and get some corporate information... well that was a very exaggerated move. For me, it didn't screw the show despite that being a pivotal moment for the rest of the plot.
More information: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/81349-devs
Review: AAA
In numbers: 9/10
Thanks for not giving anything else away, I literally just finished the first episode about 30 mins ago.
Looks good, although already slow enough to probably fit into 6 episodes rather than 8, that's gonna wind me up I know.
Well, I am not sure squeezing the story in less episodes would have been better. I am very happy with its length and with pretty much everything about it. Hope you enjoy it!
I guess I'm just impatient - I watched about half of the last season of game of thrones on FF.
I did enjoy episode 1, and I will be watching the rest.
It'll keep me going until Killing Eve season 3 finishes, I'm not watching that until the entire series is available!
I also like to wait for seasons to end to start watching them. The few exceptions are series from HBO. I waited around 2 months to start watching Devs and Better Call Saul. ^^
These things have to be binged.
I do have one other slight problem: I keep expecting Forest to start banging on about how much he likes bacon.
"My enjoyment of bacon proves the universe is deterministic"
I really liked it, I liked the themes and the theories it had to explore. I was actually going to write about the show myself, and I started to, but I couldn't think of a way to actually write about it without giving too much information away.
Yeah, it is difficult to talk about this series without giving spoilers, that's why I was vague when talking about the plot. There is a lot to chew with this story.