Snowpiercer

I find my opinion similar to most of the reviews out there. The first two seasons were definitely better than the third. Honestly, I don't enjoy the way they focus on three characters in one episode and then switch to another three in the next. Sometimes, you don't see a main character for weeks. I think this format is one reason why season 3 feels so slow and boring.

Most of the characters lack depth, which I attribute to the writing rather than the acting. Melanie is the only character I find worth watching, and Jennifer Connelly delivers a great performance, as always. I aslo think season 3 suffered a lot because she was hardly present.

I've just started season 4, which we've waited ages for, and it looks like they're sticking with the same format, showing different sides of the story in each episode instead of giving us the full picture. It's too early to tell if there will be any improvement in the character dynamics. I hope they don't continue the pattern of alternating episodes between different settings, one outside the train, the next on the train, and so on. This would be very dull. I also hope they bring everyone together again to face the main conflict, or whatever they have planned for this season. And of course, I'm hoping for more Melanie too. Let's see if things improve.

Update after 3 episodes: layton's character is as annoying as ever.. no improvement there.

Season 1 review. Will update if needed after season 2.

Not too bad of a show, but has some issues that really drag it down.

Acting is a very mixed bag. Jennifer Connelly does a good job as Melanie Cavill and I also enjoyed some of the supporting roles like Ruth and Miss Audrey, even though most of those supporting roles don't add a whole lot of meat to the story and often feel like underdeveloped, missed opportunities.

While not always or necessarily a bad thing, a lot of characters are one-dimensional caricatures, perhaps more fitting for a cartoon. This works well for some, like Ruth, but not too great for most, like LJ.

There's way too much overacting in general, where the performances of the actresses playing Josie and Bess stand out as pretty bad on average in that regard.

The biggest issue with the acting though, is the lead actor, Daveed Diggs. The guy can't act and he has no presence. His eyes are always empty and he is apparently only able to produce one facial expression. His monotonous voice and inflection also don't match the character. I always see the actor trying to play a character, never the character itself. It really breaks immersion. Massive miscast here and easily the weakest link of the show.

Immersion is broken even more by the fact that his character is all over the place and isn't believable at all in most of the contexts he finds himself in. This isn't a revolutionary leader, but a street corner criminal at best.

He's not even likeable, being that self-righteous smart ass know-it-all (while still failing to accomplish anything), with his unfitting nonchalant demeanor and hilariously large wig.

CGI is mostly well done. Music is good, and I do like the overall atmosphere it tries to create.

The general story is interesting enough to keep me wanting to know what's going to happen next. The first three or so episodes don't make a whole lot of sense in hindsight and I feel the story is a bit too shallow in most of what it tries to accomplish.

This could have been an easy 8 or 9 if the casting and acting would have been better, possibly also while burning through the story a bit slower and not focussing on the rather unoriginal and obvious stuff.

I can't really give this more than barely a 6/10 in it's current form, even though I enjoyed some parts more than that rating would suggest. Will update the score after season 2, if needed.

Whoever made the decision to film season 4 with an abundance of close-ups, hand held cameras, and what looks like cell phones in the season 4 opener, really should be forced to sit on an anthill. That's what watching this show is like. The jump cuts, shaky camera work, jeez, what are they thinking. Let me guess, some "creative thinker" thought, lets give the show a claustrophobic feel with tight shots. This is what happens when someone surrounds themselves with sycophants who tell them they're geniuses. Or it's the fall back on the back of for a show that is not very interesting and is reaching for something it has lost and can't get back. It's the cinematic equivalent of jumping the shark. It reeks of desperation. This shows camera work is physically painful to watch..

The show has so much potential, but the leading actor is just not as good as the show deserved. He's a rapper that hadn't play anything like this before. He's got the same face under any circumstances, proving he's still an apprentice and should give some steps backwards and start from the bottom. It's such a pity!

Wilford actor and Melanie actress simply overtake the show in order to save it.

First of all lets make one think clear, this is a show in a sci-fi setting and Sci-fi has always been experimenting with cheesy and illogical concepts. I don't know why people forgot that. Of cource the idea of a endlessly running train isn't realistic nor would the class system of the train work in real life, but thats not the point of the show. You wouldn't say that fighting with laser swords or travelling through time in a car is very realistic, but it is definitely fun to watch. That is why (at least for me) Snowpiercer works. Is it a show that would win awards for groundbraking acting or writing? No, probably not. But the story is definitely thrilling, the set pieces are fascinating and I am extremely invested in the show.