Zero Day

Zero Day is as good as you would expect it to be with a cast this good. Everything about this series is good from the writing to the cinematography but it's the acting that really sets it apart. It's loaded with talent like Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Connie Britton, Lizzy Caplan, Dan Stevens, Joan Allen, Angela Bassett, Clark Gregg, etc. Everyone I just named is good enough to be a lead for a good show but for them all to come together for this makes this worth watching. This miniseries is only 6 episodes so it's an easy binge and you're going to want to binge it so make sure you give yourself enough time before you start it because you won't want to stop. It has plenty of mystery and twists to keep everyone entertained. I'll be shocked if this doesn't get nominated for some awards, especially De Niro. He was fantastic in this. I definitely recommend watching this.

"Zero Day" started with a bang and finished with a crescendo. It was a whodunit on a national scale where just about anyone was a suspect. It was rooted in just enough realism with technology and governmental operations that "Zero Day" could really happen.

What kicked off everything was a one minute network outage. Now, you probably remember when Microsoft had their system glitch in 2024 and the chaos that it caused. Imagine a network outage on a national scale affecting every computer operated and monitored system. The devastating effects would be enormous.

Well, that's what happened in "Zero Day." From there it was a mad scramble by the U. S. government to find who the culprits were and why. As could be expected, habeas corpus was suspended and the President (played by Angela Bassett) created a Zero Day Commission headed by former President George Mullen (Robert De Niro) and imbued the commission with full state of emergency powers. Things were emotionally and politically tense. If the commission failed there would be hell to pay and national confidence in the U. S. government would take a severe hit. Those are very high stakes, but so is national security.

I loved just about every moment of it. Our vantage point as viewers was mostly from George Mullen's perspective, which put us in the driver's seat of the investigation. He made moves that doubtlessly pleased some and angered others, but positively we still wanted answers as much as he did.

Netflix.

If you're into political thrillers then Zero Day is the show for you. This limited series is headed by an all-star cast led by the legendary Robert De Niro. De Niro gives one of his better performances of his career, the man is just incapable of giving a bad performance and this is no different. He's absolutely brilliant yet again. De Niro is as big as star as there is so for him to do a tv series you know that show would have to be special. While Zero Day isn't the best show that you'll see this year, it's still a very good show that's worth every second watching it. It's going to have most of you on the edge of your seat throughout the series, especially the last couple episodes. Some of it gets a little ridiculous but it's not based off a true story, just turn your brain off and enjoy it for the political thriller it is.

De Niro and Plemmons? Oh come on, where do I sign? The show was good. Not only on the whodunit premise, but on the complexity of politics, relationships, aspirations, trauma, guilt, resolution. We can never win it all, we can never have it all, and De Niro as the lead show cases that. Most we can accomplish when we enter the dance is that we leave it with our head held high by picking the road less travelled. And that's awfully hard and rare.

Plemmons was great too. I do feel he is becoming better with age.

Good cinematography, I enjoyed the pace and the performances. It's a slow burner but engaging. I do recommend it.

The series starts well but loses its pace soon after in the name of investigation. The audience keeps wondering when the actual investigation would take place, as it focuses on everything from personal demons to surrounding pressures except the core investigation. It takes until Episode 5 (out of 6 episodes) for the series to truly get going, and the last two episodes are undoubtedly the best of this series.

Robert De Niro excels, and I think there's no doubt about his acting prowess. However, I feel a powerful actor like Angela Bassett was underutilized, and somehow her performance isn't up to the mark, possibly due to a sub-par script and weak dialogues.

Overall, it's a slow, uneventful series that has a very interesting and engaging plot on paper, but the makers fail to capitalize on it. It only truly excels because of the powerful acting and the strength of its final two episodes.