One of the most highly anticipated launches of 2024, Netflix’s 3 Body Problem, from the makers of Game Of Thrones, had high expectations to live up to.
But the crime-science film, based on the best-selling Chinese novels, has failed, with critics condemning its complex plot and moments of “teeth-grinding boredom”.
The eight-part series, which reportedly had a budget of £125 million, begins in communist China at the height of mad despot Chairman Mao’s genocide in the 1960s, before jumping to Britain in the present day. where scientists are driven beyond their senses. and killed by unexplained phenomena.
Computer engineer and science fiction writer Liu Ciux’s The Three-Body Problem — the first in a trilogy of novels called Remembrance of Earth’s Past — was placed firmly in the “non-adaptable” category because it was filled to the brim with scientific jargon.
But it’s a challenge that Game of Thrones duo David Benioff and DB Weiss were determined to overcome. Whether they succeeded or not remains to be seen.
Netflix’s 3 Body Problem, one of the most highly anticipated launches of 2024, from the makers of Game of Thrones, had high expectations to live up to – but the crime-science film based on the best-selling Chinese novels fell flat upon release Thursday
The eight-part series begins in communist China, during the height of the genocide of the mad despot Chairman Mao in the 1960s.
The Netflix series, which debuted on the streaming site on Thursday, has been criticized by critics for being both boring and too confusing.
Christopher Stevens wrote for the Ny Breaking: ‘Like a rocket breaking up on take-off, the show promptly hurtles off in several directions at once – with some parts plowing straight into the ground. Benioff and Weiss have no idea whether they’re making a philosophical thriller, a historical epic about the cultural revolution, a standard crime drama (complete with shuffling, chain-smoking misfit copper who has one last chance to save his career), a rom-com, a horror movie or a trailer for a video game.
‘The result is that everything looks derivative and unconvincing. Worst of all, as British researchers repeatedly tell each other that ‘science is broken’, there are long periods of teeth-grinding boredom.’
Louis Chilton of The Independent echoed his sentiments with a scathing review, writing: ‘No book is truly unadaptable; the problem is that on-screen display will simply be too boring or confusing, and 3 Body Problem is somehow both. Benioff, Weiss and Woo made radical and transformative changes to the source material, but lost something integral in the process.
‘We’re doing a series about all the fuss, but no vibrancy – a body without life.’
Writing for The Guardian, Lucy Mangan criticized the writers’ attempt to emulate their Games Of Thrones success. She wrote, “There are puzzles to solve, if you are able, but nothing and no one to advocate for.
“Even designing it as a metaphor for the climate crisis and human inertia in the face of potential doom doesn’t give it enough power – in fact, that’s the way these things go, it may even serve to further alienate us from emotional engagement. . It won’t be Netflix’s answer to Game of Thrones.”
The Netflix series, which debuted on the streaming site on Thursday, has been criticized by critics for being both boring and too confusing
And Dan Einav of the Financial Times said: ‘While the series initially manages to compensate for the early confusion with gripping tension, smooth pacing and well-timed revelations, it becomes unwieldy as it progresses.
“Characters saddled with explaining obscure mechanical theories, meanwhile, never really seem to have more than one dimension themselves.”
However, not all critics were impressed: several critics praised the highly anticipated series.
The i’s Emily Baker applauded the series, writing, “It’s fast-paced and zooms through storylines and ideas at breakneck speed.” Luckily, the entire season is available to binge – I don’t think I could have borne waiting a week for each chapter. It’s not just mind-blowing, it’s mind-altering – in the most enjoyable way.”
Although the plot’s complexity was heavily criticized, Empire’s John Nugent felt the weaving of storylines was successful.
Computer engineer and science fiction writer Liu Ciux’s The Three-Body Problem — the first in a trilogy of novels called Remembrance of Earth’s Past — was placed firmly in the “non-adaptable” category because it was filled to the brim with scientific jargon
Writing for The Guardian, Lucy Mangan criticized the writers’ attempt to emulate their Games of Thrones success
He wrote: ‘It’s part police procedural potboiler, part historical fiction epic, part puzzle box mystery, part scientific discovery adventure, part alien invasion sci-fi. That it feels coherent at all is an achievement. Central to this is the question of what it means to be human.’
And when Pat Stacey wrote for The Irish Independent, he firmly positioned himself as a roaring fan, saying: ‘Brilliantly produced, fast-paced and with excellent performances, it’s food for the brain and a feast for the eyes. It also has something you don’t always find in the science fiction genre: real heart and characters that are easy to invest in.
‘3 Body Problem is not suitable for binge watching; it’s so packed with ideas and intrigue that it deserves to be enjoyed.’
