Devs

The stunningly ambitious “Devs,” a great show that’s almost impossible to write about in a review. ... It’s ultimately an unforgettable and rewarding experience, and one that I really hope people are talking about and writing about once everything has been put on the table. ... One of the best new shows in a long time.

Devs is a very intellectually heavy piece, and one which Garland has done a fantastic job of breaking down into true episodes.

There were some moments watching Devs—so intense and saturated—when I began to wonder if maybe a little bit of Garland goes a long way. For the most part, though, it proves a strange, somber pleasure to wander the corridors of his mind for such a long time.

It's haunting and hypnotic, a show of marrow-seeping mood and a unity of vision that carries through every frame. If it also turns a corner from entrancingly opaque to a bit on-the-nose by the end, for fans of Garland's Ex Machina and Annihilation, chances are that you'll be too absorbed to be bothered.

Garland hasn’t overlooked a thing in constructing the setting of his techno thriller. It’s the story within it that struggles to be cohesive and compelling.

At first, Devs’s straightforward murder mystery and broader philosophical questions dovetail seamlessly. ... Devs frustratingly comes too sharply into focus at the expense of leaving some of its more evocative ideas unsaid. The story’s metaphors become increasingly obvious.

Bad television that’s striving to be great, that’s got ideas and style but sinks under the weight of its own oversize ambition—a sheep with a 50-pound weight tied to its forelegs and dropped in a river. ... Except in Devs, multiple versions of the same sheep inhabit multiple realities. It sinks like a stone in every single one.

This show has some beautiful cinematography. There are some really intense moments that manage to get a reaction out of me. I like most of the characters, I’m a bit unsure if character motivations make sense. Overall a great time.

Devs is certainly an unusual series. In general, you don't expect anything else from Alexander Garland. This is how his projects attract their attention. But Devs starts as a very interesting Sci-Fi with a philosophical subtext, and immediately fascinates. And it ends with the fact that you, as a viewer who came here for Sci-Fi, is betrayed. The last 8th episode completely destroys all the logic. As if they wanted to squeeze the viewer with the idea of determinism, and then suddenly throw a philosophical melodrama into the final. That's the difference between Devs and Dark. Devs merges and falls apart because of such a finale as an integral work, and Dark goes to the end into a solid Sci-Fi and gives the best and most thoughtful finale in Sci-Fi series. The first 4 episodes are top, but then less and less logic and consistency and more and more chatter and philosophical subtext. As a result, it turns out that Devs almost perfectly asks the main question, what torments a person. But I'm afraid to give him an honest answer.

I feel like the series didn't quite know what it was. The elements of crime / conspiracy thriller really worked for me. However the Sci-Fi / metaphysical aspects didn't quite convince me. Nevertheless the production is flawless, the acting very good and the effects very well done

Started off strong but quickly lost **** concept of the show had potential, and I genuinely liked the core idea, but the execution fell short. As the episodes went on, the story became less engaging and more drawn out. The lead actress delivered a weak performance, and unfortunately, the same goes for the supporting Asian actor—both of whom made it hard to stay invested.Several scenes dragged on unnecessarily, making the pacing feel sluggish and, at times, downright boring. It felt like they were just stretching the runtime without adding any real value. The ending was also underwhelming and didn’t tie things up in a satisfying **** a positive note, the cinematography was impressive—but great visuals alone aren’t enough to carry a show. This could’ve worked much better as a short, tight three-episode mini-series.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]