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- Netflix
- Oct 13, 2017
- Netflix
- Oct 13, 2017
Summary The David Fincher series set in the 1979 where two FBI special agents (Holt McCallany and Jonathan Groff) in the Elite Serial Crime Unit create profiling techniques to solve cases was based on the Mark Olshaker and John E. Douglas book Mind Hunter: Inside FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit.
Created By: Joe Penhall
- Netflix
- Oct 13, 2017
- Netflix
- Oct 13, 2017
Summary The David Fincher series set in the 1979 where two FBI special agents (Holt McCallany and Jonathan Groff) in the Elite Serial Crime Unit create profiling techniques to solve cases was based on the Mark Olshaker and John E. Douglas book Mind Hunter: Inside FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit.
Created By: Joe Penhall
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 25 Critic Reviews
79
96% Positive
24 Reviews
24 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 25 Critic Reviews
79
96% Positive
24 Reviews
24 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Mindhunter is telling a long story, one that is engaging on multiple levels, understanding that you need strong characters and a compelling episodic structure to make a show great. It covers a lot of ground in 10 episodes.
Mindhunter is addictive and resonant for its mining of two evocative forms of social contrast. The terrific cast informs Fincher and creator Joe Penhall's sociological schematic with a human element that's unusual for a crime procedural, and the series has a piercing sense of how macro influences micro culture.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 437 User Ratings
8.4
90% Positive
395 Ratings
395 Ratings
4% Mixed
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
6% Negative
26 Ratings
26 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 437 User Ratings
8.4
90% Positive
395 Ratings
395 Ratings
4% Mixed
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
6% Negative
26 Ratings
26 Ratings
“All the world is not, of course, a stage, but the crucial ways in which it isn’t are not easy to specify.” The writers (led by Penhall) and the directors (who include David Fincher) of “Mindhunter” play with this and related ideas about masks, frames, screens, and true selves in a distinct tone. As the show flows from mode to mode--slow-burn horror, arch workplace comedy, buddy-cop road movie--it returns its attention to performers, and to the daily problem of giving an audience what it wants.
Penhall, Fincher, and the rest of the creative team take a dry, no-frills approach to most of the narrative. The overall aesthetic isn’t flashy, but that’s the point--this is exhausting, sad work involving both victims and perpetrators who led small lives that have become shockingly big--and the drama is more potent because of how plain-spoken so much of this is.
[The series] is beautifully adapted by Joe Penhall with the kind of attention to character detail we see reflected in the hyperrealistic ’70s look of the series.
Netflix has made only two episodes available for review, and both are compromised by the unsubtle plot and character setups found in most TV pilots. Still, they promise a tense, beautifully filmed series, one that, given the popularity of serial killer shows including “Criminal Minds,” “The Fall,” “Hannibal,” and even “Dexter,” will likely catch on.
The show struggles to make Holden make sense--which makes for a slow, rocky start through his career woes and love life. Though the pilot’s tone is an intriguing combination of wry humor and ‘70s noir, it’s otherwise a slog of exposition and painfully on-the-nose scene-setting. Things pick up considerably as soon as McCallany’s Bill appears in Holden’s life.
This review is based only on the first two episodes.
The first impression was that this series is somewhat falsely advertised. The trailer signaled a dark, gritty, tense thriller, but the feel of the two first episodes - at least the first 1 1/2 - is more like "Masters of sex". It's more a historical theater play than a modern thriller. The theme is interesting and I'm going to keep watching - for now - but I'm still a bit disappointed. At least the first 1,5 episode is very talky - instead of "show, don't tell" the actors actually TELL you everything. And it's obvious that the director was aware of this, since scene after scene consists of people talking to eachother for a few minutes, then walk a few steps somewhere in order for SOMETHING to happen, while continuing to talk, and then talk some more. Now, there are lots of series and movies that depend on talking to a large extent - Oliver Stone's "JFK", for example - but if you are going to do it that way, you need actors (and direction) that fill the conversations with drama through their voices and physical expression. During the whole first episode, the whole cast seemed to have one neutral expression all the time, regardless of context and content. This made the essentially thrilling serial-killer-theme about as exciting as a discussion about city planning. There was simply no DRAMA, just information. My main impression was that this was not just a series set at the end of the 1970s - it felt like a series MADE in th 70s. If the first two episodes had been a (good) 2 hour Fincher movie, everything essential in the first two episodes would have been told during the first 20-30 minutes. Yes, the series probably aims to tell the history of how knowledge about serial killers came about, but since a lot of that knowledge is, well, common knowledge today, it could be much more fast-paced. A lot of the dialogue feels like a (very basic) textbook text about serial killers. Not a lot actually HAPPENS, and when it does, it's not very dramatic.
Still, it's interesting, and I want to see where it leads. But if the show doesn't pick up the pace and, most of all, manages to be more tense and exciting in the next one or two episodes, I don't think I'll bother finishing it.
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SEASON 1
This is my original review at Netflix:
What??? Two stars only??? Yes, that's my final rating for this series, where *final* is the keyword.
Actually, I started with five stars for similar reasons as other reviewers. However, after three or four episodes the behavior of the characters became very repetitive and predictable, but I was able to have some moments of joy because of the successes they were achieving. So, I dropped only one star.
The real problem started when, aside from repetitive and negative (sometimes nonsense) behavior, even the successes became predictable and boring. So, by episode 7 I had dropped one more star from my rating.
Finally, in the episodes 8 and 9, the script used the same formula 'ad nauseam' and, worse, no significant steps on the research, and several loose ends. I could only hope that in a magical movement the loose ends would be tied in the last episode of the season. So, one star was gone.
At this point, I was giving only two stars. During the last (10th) episode I was ready to get rid of one more star. I didn't - as an act of charity - because the last 10 or 15 minutes could lead to more interesting things in the next season.
Sincerely, I felt kind of betrayed by the director after the 6th or 7th episode, when the series became closer to a soap-opera than to a crime series that catches you. I have no intention of waiting about 10 to 12 months to see the continuation of the story.
In sum: the story didn't close any important point, it carries you through a lot of predictable frustrations in the last three episodes, and you have only a vague idea of when or if the writers are going to be interested in catching you again.
So, I hope you can read some other bad and good reviews and find for yourself what's important to you in this type of series. For me, it didn't work well.
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SEASON 1
The first episode is all you need to see. Overly theatrical and unrealistic characters. When does a room full of small town cops all borderline cry over criminal cases(never). And also, the chemistry between the characters is laughable. If you want to watch a show that rivals Flashpoint on cringiness, go ahead, this show is for you.
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SEASON 1
This show is boring as **** . If you enjoy watching people attend remedial college classes and hang out talking about their crap lives than this show is for you. I really tried to get into "Mindhunter" but so far I think it should be called "Storyhunter"...cause thats what it needs..a **** soooooooooo boring. Im only on episode 3, but its like totally Gilmore girling me with this boring ass, table tennis style, talky- talk dialogue...less talk more action...JESUS CHRIST!!!! BOOOOOOO
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SEASON 1
