When’s the last time you’ve been properly blown away by a streaming TV show or movie? I’m not sure I know the answer to that question for myself, personally, whereas I can attest that too much of the content from the major streamers, unfortunately, has had the opposite effect on me lately. From Netflix to Apple TV+ to Max, I’ve found myself in recent weeks hyped up for several new TV shows or movies, only for those expectations to be dashed — and I’m either left feeling meh or worse by the result.
There is, of course, a gradient to the kind of disappointment I’m talking about, and we can start with Netflix — specifically, with two new titles there that do a good job of illustrating what I’m talking about.
The first is Avatar: The Last Airbender (with a 60% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing).
A beloved animated franchise getting the live-action treatment is always fraught with some degree of risk, but in the case of this show, it had at least two things going for it. The early footage, including the trailer, suggested breathtaking scope and action, plus lavish attention to detail. Also, the series needed to just, at a minimum, be superior to the disastrous 2010 film adaptation from M. Night Shyamalan, which remains stuck with a crazy-bad 5% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Where I agree with the critics who’ve felt let down by the show, though, is in things like the pacing as well as the overall feel. The show has the increasingly requisite eight episodes, which, in my opinion, creates a bit of a rushed vibe. So much has to be jammed into those eight episodes, in other words, which might also be responsible for the weird tone issues I noticed. The show is about kids who engage in moments of youthful levity, while in the next moment, there are horrific and traumatizing images of war and death.
Overall, a solid effort, but it nevertheless left me with a “meh” taste in my mouth, possibly because my expectations were too high. Meanwhile, here’s a quick snapshot of a few additional titles that all disappointed me to one extent or another. In no particular order:
Masters of the Air (Apple TV+) — This is another one that arguably suffered from sky-high expectations. How could it not, when it represents the third installment of a trilogy that also includes HBO’s Band of Brothers and The Pacific? I agree 100% with my colleague Chris Smith, who writes about the show that, eventually, “you realize that the character development you wanted isn’t happening. Not only will you not care about most characters, but you might not remember who most of them are.
“That’s where Masters of the Air fails for me. No matter how amazing the bombing action is — and it’s clear that that’s the focal point of the series — the explosive action alone isn’t enough to make the TV show a must-watch for me.”
Masters of the Air certainly looks great. No expense was spared in recreating those epic dogfights. I just wish the same care and attention would have been shown to character development, similar to how invested we all got in the members of Band of Brothers’ Easy Company.
Mea Culpa (Netflix) — Hoo-boy, this next one is just a complete misfire all around. I wanted to like this latest from Tyler Perry, starring Kelly Rowland as a criminal defense attorney who takes on the case of a seductive artist accused of murdering his girlfriend. Unfortunately, though, not even the commanding presence of the former Destiny’s Child singer could save this Netflix film, with critics and viewers largely in agreement that both the script and acting here are pretty weak.
True Detective: Night Country (HBO/Max) — Once again, the consequence of elevated expectations rears its head.
Without spoiling anything for those of you who might not be caught up yet, the supernatural elements of this season just did not resonate with me. I thought the execution was clunky, and in particular, I found the finale to be a letdown. I haven’t really liked any of the characters, who quite often make the dumbest decisions, and I found the callbacks to earlier seasons of the show to be, for the most part, unnecessary. And with a 57% Rotten Tomatoes audience score, based on more than 2,500 ratings, it looks like I’m not alone.