Critic Reviews

A not nearly as bad (as you feared) cop procedural, plus toys that go boom.

At times, APB can feel a bit cheesy.

Hours two and three, also made available for review, are somewhat better executed [than the premiere episode].

Thanks almost single-handedly to Kirk's performance it's modestly watchable, and there's a touch of "RoboCop" in the premise of a private entity taking control of an ailing police force. Yet even seen through that sci-fi lens, APB looks less far-fetched than "24."

There are some welcome familiar faces here including Ernie Hudson, but they don’t have much to do. Martinez adds a note of grace as the single mom/cop Murphy, but if producers were hoping to establish some sexual chemistry between her and Kirk, they better hop to it and turn the show into a crime comedy like “Burn Notice.”

As a procedural, APB--from Len Wiseman and Matt Nix--is a nice futuristic fantasy made watchable by an attractive cast, but it is essentially shaped in an old-fashioned way--the clash of old and new, a little sexual tension, some dark secrets of the past, etc. After three episodes, it’s hard to see it developing into anything more.

APB never settles its own version of its existential dilemma: man or machine? It argues for both. But as this uninspiring drama proves, sometimes when you split the difference, you end up with nothing.

This procedural revolves around their predictable relationship.

Imagine Elon Musk, in a fit of boredom, buys the Chicago police department and you've got the idea of this odd little show.

[Justin Kirk's Gideo Reeves]'s so dumb, but this show thinks he's so smart, because this show is so dumb. [Feb 3/10 2017, p.102]