L'éternaute

Dear reader, I know you may be confused reading the reviews for El Eternauta. Hopefully this is a good sign.

I myself, just can't get over the reviews of others complaining about "people being quiet" because they can't wrap their head around the concept of the rest of the world not being constantly living in a hyperstimulated world.

So yes, this is not a Hollywood script. People are not jacked, they do not have highly-confrontational relationships with their friends and neighbors, they are almost, let's say, "human".

And "El Eternauta", a original story from the late 50s, is very much a study in the nature of being human.

The protagonist is not a hero, he is a old man, whose primary interest is to keep his friends and family alive and well. He has a normal wife, he is not strong, charismatic, or has any other exceptional qualities aside from those that all common people share.

Faced with a terrible disaster, an apocalypse, he struggles to survive as best as he can, sometimes making errors in judgment.

If you are looking for a show that has that sense of mystery, but doesn't have the same usual tropes that modern scrips have, you totally should watch this. It's in spanish, but the subtitles are very good. The acting is up to par, the visual aspect is great when it comes to the sets, not so great with the CGI, but more than passable. Good direction and production.

And, for once, it's 6 episodes and it's done. You will not have to wait for years just for the show to get cancelled.

My vote: 7.5/10.

I'm afraid this reviews are completely biased. Argentinian folks are crazy fanatics about any cultural product they do and they're brigading to keep the stars up. I understand the love they have for the comic book, since The Eternaut is a book you can find in most homes and it's recommended for kids early in their lives. This adaptation is really good and that's it. It's not a "masterpiece" as some reviews are depicting it. Actors are expectedly fine; Ricardo Darin and Cesar Troncoso steal the show as usual.

I hope Netflix keeps founding LatAm projects, since is proven that great products can be made here.

The first 3 episodes burn a bit slowly with lots of personal affairs and getting to know our band of heroes. But once the puzzle pieces fall into place around episode 4, things begin to unfold on a larger stage. The atmosphere is such that I expected jump scares most of the time, it's quite tense, and of course it is, nobody really know what's going on, and yet you get the feeling many times that something isn't quite right.

I can highly recommend anyone that enjoy "War of the Worlds"/"V" style shows and movies to give this one a go. It's not quite like anything I've seen before, and I really look forward to following seasons as of course season 1 ends with a bit of a cliffhanger.

Amazingly this was done with a 15 million dollar budget. Every dollar was excellently spent. I found all the effects quite good and it's not unnecessarily gory or bloody.

I'll be looking forward to the next season.

The Eternaut has never been seen on a film or series until now due to nobody having the guts and funds to do it. Fortunately, Netflix allowed Bruno Stagnaro to take on this challenge!

Turning this into audiovisual content is not something easy as it's from a comic with different sci-fi elements but guess what? The director managed to make things go smoothly.

Now, do you need to read the comic? Well, I'd say it's similar to The walking dDad, "the main problem" the characters deal with in the story is the same just like in the comic but, there are new events that take place and most importantly: THE YEAR.

In the comic, it's literally the 50s-60s, whereas in the show, they even have phones.

As for the pacing, there are some episodes that will feel slow. However, they make up for this by bringing instant-action when needed.

Yet, I think this only gives the series more potential and it's actually great because if you enjoy the show, you can go and give the comic a read to see how the story goes on and what is exactly different.

My review may be biased due to being from Argentina but trust me, this is a post-apocalyptic show than anybody in the world can enjoy and will also allow you to learn more about Argentina's locations, costumes and so on.

Last but not least, Robert Kirkman (creator of TWD), said that he was inspired by The Eternaut and just then started drawing and writing The Walking Dead.

Yes, it goes from mystery, potential world ending event, and how characters react to it, thus drama and survival, quite abruptly to full-on sci-fi revelations..

Source material is about all that, and even if it obviously flows better, still the tv show is good. Some acting is weaker than other, while dialogue and story overall are fine.

Recommendable.