mark-newman-1

Sci-Fi is one of the most poorly represented genres in cinema... especially in the last 25 years.

All the other 'types' of movies have hundreds of titles to choose from so we don't see the same thing over and over... but not science fiction.

Sure there are plenty of science fiction films that have been made but they are almost all rubbish.

If you look at a list of top 50 sci-fi movies from any website (including this one) you'll find that there are almost non on the list that were made in the last couple of decades.

The Machine bucks this trend by actually being a very watchable story. Unfortunately it's not 'listenable.'

The incidental music sounds like it was ripped from an episode of The Equalizer. It's a bloody awful, over-synthesized noise.

That's why I deducted 2 stars from what would have been a worthy '9' star flick.

The whole grating 80's noise made the film too difficult to properly enjoy... although I did watch it twice because (without the torturous grind of the moog) it was an excellent story.

I don't know how this six part fantasy-drama slipped past everyone. It was a decent and enjoyable romp through the afterlives of two seemingly normal people.

Maeve and Mark meet different ends and come together in a kind of semi-earthly limbo. They can talk to people they have never known but what is said is almost immediately forgotten. They can't communicate at all with anyone they knew during their lives.

Each episode wraps up nicely, although there is a six part story to keep track of.

The dramatic twists focus around the relatives and friends of the two deceased protagonists. The seemingly bad are actually revealed as good and the angelic have secrets to hide!

The chemistry between the leads seems a bit forced at times, but it's a minor quibble which didn't disturb the general course of events too much.

Like another reviewer (There are only two so far!) I watched all of the episodes back to back propped up on a pillow!

I was often wishing that they would have had fun with their abilities but the series takes itself quite seriously and there aren't any laughs to be had at all.

The crisp direction meant that each episode was over without me realizing that an hour was up, so despite the lack of humor, I still came out the other end satisfied and happy that I'd watched it all.

The reviews already posted are accurate and well reasoned. There's no point in repeating them.

I found out about this series whilst reading reviews on another similar program on American TV called 'Almost Human.' I mistakenly downloaded a few episodes of that and couldn't get past 15 minutes of the first episode. It was dire... I mean really puerile, infantile and deathly embarrassingly crappy!

But instead of stabbing myself in the eyes, I decided to give "Äkta människor" a try...

It's the best ten hours of Sci-Fi telly I have seen since New Zealand TV released "This Is Not My Life" a couple of years ago. Check that one out if you love sci-fi that is aimed for a focused, intelligent audience.

Watching Äkta människor is like reading an Azimov book.

If subtitles are too much of a hassle for you, then you won't like it... If you like guns and bombs and computer generated gizmos, then you won't like it... If you are an American currently enjoying the stupid 'Blacklist' or equally insulting 'Almost Human' then you won't like it... if you are under 25, you won't like it...

If you like thoughtful, intelligent sci-fi, you'll love it.