SENSE8 First Impressions From Cinema Static, And They Ain't Good

I've been slowly trudging through the Netflix original series, Sense8. And to be honest, it is one seriously slow build to what ever story they are trying to tell us. Holy shit, my grass is growing faster than this plot!

The series synopsis, which has told me more in 15 seconds than the first six episodes, goes as follows:

Eight strangers around the globe find themselves connected -- first by a violent vision, then by their shared ability to connect with one another's thoughts and actions, and finally by the urgent need to find out what happened and why. Their need to know goes beyond simple curiosity as they pursue answers, a mysterious organization hunts them down, intent on destroying them. The intense thriller is the first foray into television (or, more accurately, Netflix) for renowned filmmakers Lana Wachowski and Andy Wachowski ("The Matrix Reloaded"), who created the series with J. Michael Straczynski ("Thor"). The international cast includes veteran actors known to U.S. audiences, like Daryl Hannah ("Kill Bill") and Naveen Andrews ("Lost"), and others well-known in their home countries, like German actor Max Riemelt and Doona Bae of South Korea. In keeping with the global premise of the series, shooting takes place all over the world, including London, Reykjavik, Nairobi and Mumbai.

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They've spent six episodes of Sense8 developing the situation between all the main players or characters. And so far, aside from meeting all the characters, every episode has been the same, with characters getting confused while either swapping places in their heads or swapping locations and talking to each other, in person, telepathically.

Meanwhile, each person looks a little bonkers when they are having their out of body conversations or experiences.

IMDb user ratings have it an 8.4/10. Rotten Tomatoes shows a 67%.

I keep trying, but I'm not feeling the momentum of any story here. It. Is. Moving. Sludge slow. Which for me, is a surprise, considering this was put together by the Wachowskis in collaboration with J. Michael Straczynski (JMS).


Then again, maybe not. Ever since The Matrix film series, the Wachowskis have been desperately trying to create one hit after another. Sure they wrote and produced V for Vendetta, but then we got Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas, and Jupiter Ascending from them. And now this, Sense8.

There's also quite a but of gratuitous naked/sex scenes. It feels like HBO show!

So why these people are all mentally connected has totally slipped by the wayside for me. In the first episode some peoplr were hunting down one of these people, then another one was about to get a lobotomy. But otherwise, between continual public confusion when they swap minds, or what not, I have no clue where its going.

I am rather shocked that JMS is connected to this project, considering how much I've ended up liking most of his work. But it is what it is, right?

At this point in time, I am only going to watch the rest of the Sense8 series if I have the time and inclination. At least I am glad I am not paying to watch this show only!

CS Score: 6/10.

PROS:
Great production values, there are moments that suck you in, and you do end up liking the characters and get dragged into their situations.

CONS:
Needless HBO-like, heavily gratuitous sex scenes on and off, confusing story as to why we are dragging our feet on this plot, I keep wondering why I keep watching.

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