Dia Zero

I have this a 6 out of anger after two viewings. It should be at least a 7 or 8 on De Niro's performance alone yet it's clear that this miniseries is a terrifyingly squandered opportunity. It's simply too short for its ambitions and the lack of space results in extremely uneven pacing and lost threads.

The subject is by now well known - in the wake of a cyberattack the US president calls on a former president to lead an investigation that is given obviously unconstitutional powers. It's an obvious parallel to 9/11 that is rubbed in the audience's nose clearly later on.

The series is too short to cover all moving pieces in a deserving way:

• the investigation itself: the technical aspects are largely ignored and require hefty suspension of disbelief. The series pacing picks up when dealing with the investigation itself. However given the issue at hand the investigation is just not present enough
• the political quagmire - obviously political issues are in play both in Washington as well as throughout social media. The series shows the struggle in dealing with them in the context of sensitive investigation but it still feels superficial given that all players in the political aspect have a vested interest in the investigation itself. It would have been an amazing play to have some characters fight the investigation out of public interest.

• character development - this is the most painful point. All/most characters are well acted and interesting and deserve way more development than they get. Their development is uneven and it is what drags pacing down to a crawl. There's no balance in the script at all
• subplots - there are some that are just left hanging. It's not really essential but it's another missed opportunity. Some make sense to leave to the imagination of the audience after providing pertinent details but others just aren't driven into "makes sense" territory at all.

All in all it's a great premise and good structure that gets dismantled on poorly thought out details.

"Zero Day" starts out with a bang and a very strong, enticing first episode with a stellar ending to keep you wanting more.

Episodes 2-4 feel disjointed and bloated. We quickly lose the plot we started with, and the midsection of the series loses cohesion and purpose. These episodes only age poorly later when many of the elements that are in those episodes wind up being entirely pointless or irrelevant to the conclusion.

Episodes 5 and 6 bring things back around, but fail to answer all the questions from before. When the credits popped up on episode 6 I felt disappointed with the amount of plot holes, especially with this being a limited series and not recurring.

I wouldn't bother watching it or recommending. It wasn't a total waste of time, and the performances from a strong cast kept me engaged even when we lost our way. But it's not worth the six hour investment.

...and that's the long and short of it. No, it isn't a 10, and but it certainly isn't a 1/10.

There's nothing stand out about the plot, and no edge of the seat moments. As others have said, the confusion that de Niro's character suffers from is hammy, clumsy, overdone and overly-repeated... and it adds nothing to the plot. It's just an annoyance to watch.

Plemmons is ok - not one of his better roles but his portrayal is fine. As is De Niro, just fine in his role but nothing special - sometimes even a little one dimensional (though the script may be to blame for that).

Angela Bassett is woeful though, unbelievable as a sitting president. Again that may be down to the script - her character trying to push urgency with no real necessity behind it. "I'm holding a press conference in 2 days so you need results by then" is the same line used in 70's police series/ films, where the Captain shouts "You've got 48 hours or it's your badge".

It was watchable, but I managed to follow the whole thing while working at home.

Just a bit average really.

Zero Day has a fascinating premise-a cyberattack shaking the nation-and an incredible cast led by Robert De Niro, who brings gravitas and heart to every scene. The performances from the supporting cast are equally strong, making the characters believable and engaging.

Where the series struggles is in its pacing and focus. At times, the story juggles too many political and personal subplots, which can make the narrative feel unfocused. Some dialogue feels overly expository, and the show occasionally loses momentum.

Still, Zero Day remains worth watching for its timely subject matter, strong performances, and intriguing central mystery. While not flawless, it's an engaging political thriller that delivers enough to keep you invested from start to finish.

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.