On the first day of the year, a new series about a robbery was released on Netflix, the script for which was written by a not too well-known cinematographer Eric Garcia. In the review below, we know what is special about this project and why it cannot be called a successful representative of the genre.
“Kaleidoscope” / Kaleidoscope
Genre crime thriller, drama
Directors Jose Padilla, Mairzy Almas, Everardo Guth, Robert Townsend, Russell Fine
In roles Giancarlo Esposito, Rufus Sewell, Paz Vega, Peter Mark Kendall, Jai Courtney
Premiere Netflix
Graduation year 2023
Site IMDb
“Kaleidoscope” is a typical representative of the heist film genre (and in this case – a series), which gathered a team of ambitious criminals who planned another “case of the century”. And, as usual, something went wrong with them.
The plot covers events that took place over a period of 25 years and is partially based on a true story. It happened in 2012, when 70 billion dollars disappeared in New York during Hurricane Sandy.
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In order to get to the vault with the $7 billion worth of bonds (yes, the series lowers the stakes significantly, but what’s the difference), highly skilled thieves must use their best skills and ingenuity. But this story is not only about robbery, but also about revenge. And this, as you know, is a dish that is best served cold.
It seems impossible to assess this project more or less objectively. With each viewing, a new review will appear. This is due to the fact that the series has a non-linear plot structure. But not in the usual sense, when we mean the use of flashbacks, flash forwards or some other editing manipulations. “Kaleidoscope” offers watching episodes, each of which gets its own color, in any sequence.
Apart from a short introduction called “Black”, the viewer can watch the rest of the series in any order they wish. That is, now, for example, the series that tells about the events 6 weeks before the main event has ended. The next one will return the story to 7 years ago. Then there will be a story, say, about adventures 5 days before X-Day. The “White” episode is recommended to be watched last, because it tells the story of the robbery itself.
However, the approach chosen by Garcia can hardly be called successful. The structure of an arbitrary order is able not so much to give the opportunity to each viewer to look at this story in his own way, as to puzzle. Here it is quite easy to lose the thread of the story, and at the same time, the interest in it.
At the same time, “Kaleidoscope” is made like robbery films, where teams of robbers intend to carry out a sophisticated plan. When watching, the tapes of the zeros are still quite fresh in the memory, when the genre became popular again, and the look at it was more modern.
Here you can remember the remakes of “Ocean’s Eleven” or “Robbery in Italian”. But in its mood, the series is closer to the film with Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron, because it also has the motive of revenge, and it does not have the frivolity that Soderbergh’s film was soaked in.
The Netflix product, to which Ridley Scott’s production company also made some efforts, bets on drama. But it is impossible for them to adapt, again, given the structure.
A few can be singled out from the most memorable moments. For example, the hulking Jai Courtney continues to portray the goofy Captain Boomerang. The local storage resembles the virtual world of the blockbuster “Tron: Legacy”, and you can break it with the help of bees. One of the episodes even allows itself allusions to Tarantino’s Mad Dogs. Paz Vega looks luxurious for its 47 years.
In general, the series is far from the best representatives of the genre. It cannot boast of a superstar cast or any non-standard solutions, if you do not take into account the point with the above-mentioned feature of the story. This is a kind of serial chewing gum that loses its taste very quickly.
Pros:
exciting plot vicissitudes, the opportunity to see the story from different angles
Cons:
genre typicality, lack of fresh ideas, drama that is difficult to adapt, plot confusion caused by non-linear order of episodes, not very exciting heist for which it all started
Conclusion:
if you have free time, there are much more interesting things to do than watching a mediocre Kaleidoscope. For example, watching the same “Mad Dogs”. It’s always a win-win, at least
