Ayre Reviews: Chernobyl

So, I watched the HBO mini-series Chernobyl and apparently, it's now the top-rated TV show on IMDB now. Does it deserve the spot? No. Is it justifiable that how come its there? Yes.

Chernobyl is well made and it looks really legit and disastrously pretty. It is all in English, and we all know the reason behind it right? I would've had no problem with it being in Russian but English was just fine.

Every single episode of the show has a different director which rarely bring anything different to the table. Every single episode feels all the same. Consistency brings more wide appeal so who am I to complain but not to deny how much artistic integrity is sacrificed in the process.

The series follows the real-life incidents pretty damn closely and rarely takes more creative freedom to the actual events. Let's be honest here, to have a cohesive plot you are ought to take some liberties. And it worked better than I expected it to.

The music in the series was just about better than I expected it to be. Sometimes the interesting musical choices baffled me as I watched. It all captured the disastrous clusterhell of the event. The music and the visuals aren't much impressive but they capture the essence and the scale of real "Chernobyl" pretty accurately.

The characters and dialogues were just about fine. The dialogue never felt too awkward but it had the feels of "Communism Bad Capitalism Good, Soviet Bad USA Good" way too much. It wasn't much noticeable but it did feel a bit out of place. The series doesn't shy away from the shortcomings of USSR.

Some of the characters are paper thin and some are developed to a serviceable level. Overall the characters are very "serviceable" and the series does not take any chances with them.

The cinematography and visuals are pretty great. The camera movements and the set design never fail to impress you but it gets a bit repetitive. It's not bad in any way that is just how felt. Costumes are great and the attention to detail is pretty impressive, none of the costumes feels out of place or awkward. It all blends with the atmosphere pretty impressively. The places of the Soviet Union give this eery feeling of bleakness in them, Chernobyl being obvious. Even the cities like Moscow feel so dead inside and honestly, I love it. Keep in mind this was the time USSR was about to falls. So, Its really impressive to see that. The performances by every actor are pretty good and obviously, Stellan Skarsgard stands out the most.

Overall the series has a very wide appeal and would attract people of any demographic. It is the type of show where it doesn't require your full attention and can be watched casually pretty easily. I don't mind recommending this to anyone.

I give it

6 or 7/ 10

-ayre