It's like someone asked ChatGPT to turn the book into a dumb anglo sitcom.
-Every character is emotionally immature, spiteful, and sassy. None of the 'friends' act like friends. None of the characters talk like real people. They're constantly insulting or hitting each other. It's just embarrassing. The actors have nothing to work with.
-All the major twists/reveals are shown in the first two episodes. No suspense, no build-up, no pay-off. Rushed is an understatement.
-Single characters from the book have been unnecessarily split into multiple new characters adding nothing to the story.
-The story is a cosmic horror but comedy and romance have been forced in for no reason whatsoever except as filler, which is even more mind-boggling because they've essentially rushed all of the good stuff in the book to make room for unfunny jokes.
-Apparently they could barely afford any sets and extras, so scenes and locations that are supposed to be bristling with sights and people just feel oddly empty. Even the special effects feel muted. The budget is just weirdly limited, and the show looks much cheaper than the Tencent series.
-Almost all of the science (which is the interesting stuff) has been gutted from this science fiction.
I hate anglo slop. Where is the kino. Tencent pls adapt The Dark Forest.
Bit off topic but anyone else seeing ads for that hulu or max show "the sympathizer" about a North Vietnamese agent in the south? It is based on a Vietnamese-American's novel series though I can't find any significant coverage on how actual Vietnamese nationals feel about it. Whole film production is australian and american Vietnamese diaspora, with a director from South Korea.
Like even if it is good, and the show is as at the very least anti-American as reviews indicate the book is, it is sad that this is the closest to a "Vietnamese perspective" we will ever get in western media. Can't even be arsed to do a join production with Vietnam.