Critic Reviews

This entire series will rise (or tumble to oblivion) on the shoulders of their characters, and on whatever chemistry they create. First impressions are that it will indeed rise.

What’s extremely effective is the relationship (and chemistry) between Sequoyah and McLaughlin. You will find yourself rooting for them and hoping nothing comes between them.

Believe is well-paced, clever, perfectly cast (Kyle MacLachlan always makes a supporting cast more interesting), and engaging. Even the action scenes, including a tense moment in a hospital hallway, are well-choreographed.

Grand special effects, impressive acting by the young Sequoyah and an enduring interest in all things supernatural may help Believe to catch on.

Cuarón's contributions behind the camera are by far the most interesting part of Believe.

Sequoyah is an appealing presence, doing what she can with an impossible wonder-kid role. And Cuarón is incapable of creating a boring shot. But he won't direct every episode. The only actor in the pilot who seems to be having any fun is Sienna Guillory as a hitwoman.

As you'd hope from an hour directed by Cuarón, Monday's premiere moves swiftly and surely, with well-shot action sequences and bursts of visual flare, led by a nightmarish image of birds coming to Bo's rescue. Small touches of humor mix with large doses of pseudo-spiritual sentiment.... Yet for all those flourishes, nothing really shakes that feeling that it's all been done before and it won't end well.

Believe works best as a relentless chase scene. The first episode (directed by Cuarón) has some limberness to its movement, but, like so much else in this particular genre, produces a lukewarm result.

Believe does require a few leaps of belief from viewers. The law seems surprisingly indifferent, for instance, to locating this escaped Death Row inmate. Still, with its seriously flawed “hero” and a girl who’s hard to resist, Believe could be an interesting ride.

When Believe tries to be meaningful, it's also at its most obvious, and the show could prove to be too willfully touching for its own good. But it doesn't seem impossible to me that they could get the mix right.