The TV series is based on Blake Crouch’s novel of the same name, published in 2016. This series has gained a lot of popularity and is a must watch for all the crime series lovers with the star cast including Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly and the director being Jakob Verbruggen. The show produced by Apple TV+ and Sony Pictures Television, in my opinion about the nature of identity, freedom, and existence, with all this taking place in the universe where multiple worlds exist and a men is kidnap into another universe taking away every one of this aspects mention including his family.
Dark Matter (2024) is not just another science fiction show; it is a series that explores the minds of people and puts them into the context of the multiverse, we are far from this to become a reality but how many times through the history of men have fiction turn into reality?. The main character of the novel is Jason Dessen a physics teacher who one day finds himself in a different world where his life turned out completely different. This journey through the multiverse makes him face all the aspects of his personality and the decisions he has made in his life, this only takes place once he enters the box and starts to experiment how the box reacts to his feelings at the moment of opening a door, everything on the other side is part of his emotional and mental state.
I think the technical aspects are excellent with great visual effects to paint the picture of the multiverse from inside the box, the box been just the means since everything happening is inside their brains only activated by a drug, the box was just a box all the time.
The acting is just great with Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly and Alice Braga as the main characters, the series did started a bit slow and after it finish, well that is what I suspect but now days we never know with this productions, it is suppose to be a mini series but recently others like Shogun (2024) and Drops of God (2023) resume even after ending. The series did had some pace issues at first with three full episodes of covering Jason life until the real action start happening but it did manage to ramp up and had a great satisfying ending in the middle of a chaotic situation.
Platform: AppleTV+
Dark Matter Themes
Identity and Choice
Another major concept that is developed in the series is the concept of identity. Jason experiences different realities in the course of the series and has to face different versions of himself depending on the choices he has made on that universe and how he Jason 1, latter on the series you will also have to assign numbers; and how he enters certain universe. This poses some of the most basic questions as to what it is that makes us who we are. Do people act the way they do because of the choices they make, the situations they are in, or is there something deeper? The series does not give any clear answers and poses these questions to the audience to consider along with the main character. If the series is great at something is generating many many questions about how things really go down, there are what the fuck moments towards the end.The Multiverse Implications
Another major topic is the multiverse, the series implements this concept to describe the numerous opportunities that exist as a result of every choice we make, that Jason makes. Every episode opens up new worlds in the multiverse and each of those worlds can be completely alien and yet familiar at the same time. It is not only the plot element that is effective but also contributes to the philosophical aspect of the show regarding destiny and choice.In Dark Matter, the multiverse isn’t just a setting; it is an actual player in the story, the main artifact in this case been The Box which enable characters to transport to other dimensions, each of which is a different reality branch resulting from an alternative decision made before opening each door. This device creates a hallway of doors and each door is a door to a new world where one decision made in the past has led everyone on a different path. The rules of this multiverse as describe in the series are meant to help contain the idea and emotional state of why and where Jason wanted to go. The only worlds that characters can travel to are the ones that are directly connected to their own world in some way or another; this means that they can only go to the worlds where they or their counterparts are present or were present at one point in time, based on this rules make me think if there would be universe where they do not exist?.
The Cast, What a Performance
Throughout the series every one of the characters had a great performance, from supporting roles all the way up to the main ones from Charlie, Ryan, Blair, Sylvia, I really could not mention a single character that felt weak or soft during each of the episodes. All this without taking in consideration the pace issues that the series had at certain times.Joel Edgerton as Jason Dessen
Joel Edgerton gives an excellent performance in the series as the protagonist Jason Dessen, his acting skills are well displayed in the portrayal of the character’s psychological state and the inner conflict of the character, specially at showing his desperation of going back home, had to be his home not just any universe he fit in. This is where Edgerton shines as he is able to describe the differences between the various versions of Jason and therefore, every encounter with the different selves is quite interesting.Jennifer Connelly as Daniela Dessen
Jennifer Connelly acts as Daniela Dessen, Jason’s wife, and she is excellent too, she is the emotional core of the series and the only character that brings some normalcy to the craziness of the multiverse since she had no idea what was going on for the most part of the series, all she wanted was a happy relationship with her husband. Connelly’s acting is quite realistic and intense; she portrays the strength and fragility of a woman who struggles to support her family, at the same time trying to make the same decision Jason had to, continue with her passion for her family or go back into painting.Alice Braga as Amanda Lucas
Amanda Lucas is a psychiatrist who joins Jason in his efforts to get back home and is portrayed by Alice Braga, who adds a certain level of charm and wit to the character of Amanda, I really love Amanda during the entire series always trying to help Jason because she was in love with Jason #2 and then towards the end she either felt there was no way to solve the situation they were in or really found a way to love Jason #1 even realizing he is not her Jason, which is why she is such important character in the series. Her chemistry with Edgerton is also quite good and it helps to build the conflict of the story as their characters go from being partners by force to becoming a team.
Audience Rating & Reception
The reception of the audience for Dark Matter (2024) has been quite good, on Rotten Tomatoes the series has an 81% approval rating which indicates that the reception has been positive in most cases. It has been noted that the show was successful at mixing the concepts of science fiction with character own stories and drama, all of them that turn around Jason decisions, at the same time of providing both the mental and the emotional entertainment. Joel Edgerton who plays Jason Dessen has received a lot of praise for the acting especially on how he was able to capture the differences of his character in the different timelines. Jennifer Connelly and Alice Braga also deserve special mention for their acting as they helped to enhance Jason's character, they were the push the character needed at all times so the three could bring up such great drama.The concept of the multiverse and the related philosophical topics that the series choose to onboard have been well received by the viewers who appreciate the series attempt to make them think and figure out how and what is going on. However it is true that some of the episodes felt a bit long and boring, reason why I decided not to cover it episode by episode.
Some people have complained about the pacing of the series but the majority of the fans have expressed their satisfaction with the series for its intelligence and emotional story line. The ending is quite open so the audience can expect new seasons and more discoveries of the multiverse and its potential realities, at least it is my opinion even though this is listed as a mini series on most of the online Movie & TV series rating sites, also considering there is no second novel as a continuation. A series that I would totally recommend to anyone just with the caution that this is not an action series and do not expect a wild ride through different universe say like Dr. Strange and The Multiverse of Madness, I give it an 8/10.
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