Netflix's Messiah Season 1 Review & Comments

Finished this last night.

Decent series for me, and I would watch S2. I thought it was a bit slow to start with but then picked up and it was intriguing. I like a series that keeps you guessing and this done that quite well.

I would probably rate it 7/10.
 
Just started this but the blurry shots are doing my head in.
 
Watched 6 episodes this evening and really enjoyed it so far. Apart from the out of focus shots and the fact no one ever says bye at the end of a telephone conversation, it's nicely done.
 
I’m with the positives on this and not sure why it garnered such a bad review and some negative comments. Sure it is not grounded in reality like Fauda or Homeland but it’s not intended to be, it’s mystical.

If God did send someone down I’m not sure why he would show up in Syria and be Semitic with long dark hair and a beard. He could easily be some dude from Sumatra, Sheffield or Santiago. But that’s TV.

Binge watching for me nevertheless.

Well the idea was to be faithful to the original geezer... I'm guessing.
 
Finished this in two days. Very enjoyable and a bit different from the normal fare. I would give it a solid 7 and I didn't want a second season but the last few minutes changed my mind. It could easily carry one. The only thing I didn't like, well hated really, were the out of focus shots in so many scenes. Sharp in the centre and blurred everywhere else. Netflix have done this a few times now. I just don't know why people talking in a scene should be out of focus.
 
Finished this in two days. Very enjoyable and a bit different from the normal fare. I would give it a solid 7 and I didn't want a second season but the last few minutes changed my mind. It could easily carry one. The only thing I didn't like, well hated really, were the out of focus shots in so many scenes. Sharp in the centre and blurred everywhere else. Netflix have done this a few times now. I just don't know why people talking in a scene should be out of focus.
I’m glad somebody else mentioned that. The main image was in focus and background not so much. Thought it was my TV.
 
My Mrs also thought it was a few episodes too long but I wasn't unhappy with the length of the season.
 
@mtenga
Its a cinematography technique that I've seen used a few times thats meant to focus a viewers attention. Not too keen on it myself either. We all know what we're looking at. :confused:
 
@mtenga
Its a cinematography technique that I've seen used a few times thats meant to focus a viewers attention. Not too keen on it myself either. We all know what we're looking at. :confused:
Its stupid having the person currently talking onscreen all blurred! Where can I complain?
 
Just finished it, I’d score it a 7/10. Interesting opening but thought it lost its way a bit around the middle before a strong finish. Good to see Michelle Monaghan in a leading role too.
 
Its stupid having the person currently talking onscreen all blurred! Where can I complain?
The Outsider is even worse for this, almost every scene has half the composition out of focus. This week's episode that I just watched had the therapist talking for a solid whole minute blurred out in the background while the camera focused on the main character listening and not saying a word.

It must be a new trendy thing for film makers to do.
 
Finished this series the day it released, :D I absolutely couldn’t get enough of it. The last episode in season one was a very smart ending.

Yes, agreed. A lot of the series felt like it just meandered, but it was a strong last episode and an even stronger last two minutes. :smashin:
 
I finally finished this show. It took me a while, I wasn't blown away and could kind of see the ending coming. I'm not sure I'd watch another season.
 
I know Cas only gave it a 6 but I think reviewer fatigue maybe set in. Having so many things to review and then seeing a slow-burner like this is on your list must’ve got to him a little. It’s definitely better than a 6 but appreciate everyone has differing views.
 
Watched this with my wife. We both found it quite intriguing.
Having watched Homeland and quite a few espionage thrillers, there is some very woolly plotting and a tremendous slowness to this show.

Wouldn't say it was bad but felt to me very clearly middle of the road - budget-wise and in the quality of the writing.

Biggest problem I had with it; the side of the argument that "shows" he's mystical and connected to a Deity is pretty sketchy and not very interesting (Walking on water in Washington--REALLY?).

I'm on the fence whether I'd watch a second season but I give them props for trying this story.
 
I know Cas only gave it a 6 but I think reviewer fatigue maybe set in. Having so many things to review and then seeing a slow-burner like this is on your list must’ve got to him a little. It’s definitely better than a 6 but appreciate everyone has differing views.
Nope, I would have given it a 5, but Witcher a 9 - You hated Witcher, so it's just down to personal opinion. :)
 
Finished this in two days. Very enjoyable and a bit different from the normal fare. I would give it a solid 7 and I didn't want a second season but the last few minutes changed my mind. It could easily carry one. The only thing I didn't like, well hated really, were the out of focus shots in so many scenes. Sharp in the centre and blurred everywhere else. Netflix have done this a few times now. I just don't know why people talking in a scene should be out of focus.
I hated the out of focus effect too! I actually went to get my glasses to make sure that it wasn't my eyes. I understand using focus to make the viewer pay attention to a particular part of the scene but too often the appearance is of a scene that is simply out of focus.

I too have just finished watching this after binge watching it over a few nights and enjoyed the premise. It is a solid if not spectacular series - at least a 7/10 for me. It is pretty slow but I find that less of an issue with a streamed show than with something that is broadcast weekly.

As someone else said, I wondered how long they could keep up the approach of one scene showing that he definitely has divine powers followed by another scene sowing doubt. This continued right up to the end of the final episode.

Even the plane crash provides no answers or strong hints either way. Al Masih survives apparently uninjured. The boy who comes along tells Aviram that Al Masih raised him and the other guard from the dead. However, Aviram has no visible major injuries so could have just regained consciousness and the previous scene where the boy made up a story of fighting a lion, made it very clear that the boy is a complete fantasist.

For me, a second series that simply continues with the "Is he?/Isn't he?" approach would be a let down.
I think that they should move in a different direction - for example, one option would be to make it clear that he really does (or does not) have supernatural abilities but to then move the question on to whether his motivations are actually good or evil.
 
Maybe when the boy tells his story people won't believe him even though it's true. Like the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf.
 
I think that whether his motivations are actually good or evil are central to this series, and everyones in fact. The few things that were clear in season 1 were -

Al Masih's meeting with the President was very dangerous and the thing he asked him for was outrageous.

The Vice-President is an evil war-mongering tit who will stop at nothing legal or illegal, to get what he wants and he blew up the plane.

On a side note, in Islam the name Al Masih has a double meaning. On one hand it literally means "the Anointed" , on the other it literally means "false Messiah". Theres a lot of ideology behind the name, with various different prophecies predicted, though one that grabbed my attention was the appearance of the Al Masih will coincide with The Messiah's second coming. So Season 2 could go anywhere.

I'm definitely in for another season but can totally understand if anyone isn't.
 
Best thing I ever saw on Netflix was a series called "Spotless" and I have always hoped for a second season. Sorry off topic. :)

Sorry to quote old post, and off topic I know, but I agree great series and huge shame to leave it where it was, it's left the story incomplete, it didn't need a season 2, just 1 episode more to finish it, hugely disappointing in that respect.
 
Sorry to quote old post, and off topic I know, but I agree great series and huge shame to leave it where it was, it's left the story incomplete, it didn't need a season 2, just 1 episode more to finish it, hugely disappointing in that respect.
The exact same thing happened to Damnation. Man, that was a great series.
As was Constantine on Amazon, another one to suffer from season one syndrome.
 
This one’s been in my watch list for ages but I’ve only just got around to watching it. I enjoyed it, despite the slight lull around mid season. Before starting, I was hoping his legitimacy would remain ambiguous and I did feel a bit disappointed that I felt sure early on as to this aspect, but rather nicely done I was just being played with and swung one way and the other as things progressed. Even the ending, which seemed superficially to be definitive left a sliver of doubt. It was an interesting angle to see how the “establishment” (of various persuasions) viewed his presence. A good 8 out of 10 for me and hoping against the odds for a second season.

One slight (but subtly important) point with the review @Casimir Harlow, you say he “impossibly” jumped from continent to continent. This event was answered later in the series

where investigation by the CIA established that he took a private jet from Israel to Mexico (funded by a shell company with links back to Russia) from where he crossed the border to Dilley, in Texas, just a few miles from the border.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom