Condor premieres June 6th on Audience Network.
By Matthew Stanford
Note: Only the first 3 episodes were provided for review.
As the saying goes “If a tree falls and no one is around, does it make a sound”. Condor is an excellent show, but most people have no way of seeing it as it is exclusive to AT&T/DirecTV Now/Audience Network. In the peak TV era more and more, specialized services are appearing that have a limited scope audience and it is a shame that with all the care and effort was put into this show that it won’t be seen by the masses. I hope that at some point this is made available on a platform that more people have access to because it is very good.
Condor is based on the movie Three days of the Condor, which was based on the book Six Days of the Condor written by James Grady. If twitter were around in the 70’s a popular joke may have been “dude lost 3 days in the adaptation.” The premise is one you have seen over and over at this point. A well-trained guy ends up in deep water with, good guys, bad guys, government etc and has to run and stay afloat while finding allies along the way. In other words, do you like Bourne movies? Do you like Shooter? Did you like Enemy of the State with Big Willie Style? If yes, then you will definitely enjoy this as well.
The main character Joe Turner is played by Max Irons who is most well known for being in The White Queen and being Jeremy Irons son. In the pilot he is shown running over and over again (I wonder if that will come in handy!). Joe has created a computer program that helps identify terrorists prior to them committing heinous acts. Unbeknownst to him his program has been use for good, or possibly evil. When his station is attacked he is blamed and is on the run for good. Max Irons does a great job with the role, is likable and you will definitely be rooting for him.
Brendan Fraser is the primary villain and he is just tremendous in this role. After being gone for years his role in Trust and here are both fantastic acting. He finds a way to be a dark disgusting villain but still somehow seem likable. Other standout performances are by William Hurt, Bob Balaban and Mira Sorvino as characters that may or may not be on Joe Turner’s side.
The realism (or lack thereof) is about on par with 24. There are endless conspiracies and the villains are a bit on the nose. It isn’t turn off your brain dumb, but it isn’t gritty realism either. With only three episodes provided I am expecting many more twists and turns to come, but the best rule of thumb is the classic X-files saying “Trust no one.”
The film Three Days of the Condor is one of my favorite movies. I first saw the film when I was in college in the early 2000’s and I was shocked about how relevant it still was. Going into watching Condor I knew I was going to hate this if done wrong or love it if done right. Much care and attention was put into modernizing this tale and still being faithful to the original. I loved it and honestly, I am frustrated that more people won’t see it due to availability.
I give Condor an A-.
TV and City 