HBO Max’s ‘DMZ’, About a War-ravaged Modern City, Couldn’t Be More Timely — Or Disappointing

Throughout the 2010s, no one was safe from Hollywood’s obsession with stories set in a dystopian, apocalyptic future. Whether it’s TV (Zombie), movie (The Hunger Games, Different, Maze runner), or video games (Our Last One), it seems every other month we’re bombarded with these bleak apocalyptic tales.

That craze has dwindled since the Divergent series went unprofitable and never completed its series. Featuring a welcome break from the genre and clearly the current state of the world, HBO Max’s new four-part limited series DMZ, based on the Vertigo comic of the same name by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli, seems to be coming at an opportune time. But unfortunately, it is in the same line of many generic stories of the same kind — even though it does show the underdogs in many ways.

Set in New York City eight years after the second civil war resulted in Europe taking control of parts of the United States, the series follows Doctor Alma Ortega (Rosario Dawson) as she navigates a Manhattan militarized — which has since been renamed the DMZ — to find her estranged son, Christian. The city has been fully decentralized, letting people manage their own devices.

Diverse militarized gangs from different communities fight for control Our final-beautiful area. The Spanish Harlem Kings run the Upper West Side, led by mobster and populist Paco Delgadeo (Benjamin Bratt), and the Asian community in Chinatown is led by Wilson Lee (Hoon Lee). Alma, who has pre-existing relationships with leaders of the opposition factions, finds herself caught in the middle of a much larger political picture. As she forged strong ties within the DMZ’s community and became an influential figure, she was given the nickname: Z.

In the hands of any white hunter, this Big Apple-set astigmatism would be as varied as the aforementioned one, very white Different movie. Thankfully, when you have pilot director and executive producer Ava DuVernay with you, you know the variety and, even in this backward fantasy world, authenticity outweighs anything else. .

In case DMZ, that enhances your immersion in the context. The series is as diverse as the city it’s set in. While some of the groups have separated to some extent, when they all come together, you’ll be transported to a wide array of colors that accurately reflect real New York.

Despite the brief moments of community, the atmosphere was filled with heated aggression, as one would expect in a war zone. The series doesn’t shy away from showing the brutal nature of illegitimate men and how violence can result as a result, especially since it primarily takes place under the eyes of a doctor. has a hopeful heart that never changes no matter how cruel things are around her.

Series writer/creator Roberto Patino was given the daunting task of condensing 72 issues into a four-part release, and that’s where the DMZ is no more. The pilot immediately puts you in Alma’s shoes with a bit of detail about the world of the DMZ. As Alma explores the DMZ wasteland, the show is awkwardly set in the familiar aesthetic of your everyday zombie apocalypse wasteland, which is odd since none of the zombies keep up. Still, it’s a good vision board for what HBO Max wants Our Last One series to look like.

Outside of Alma’s story, perspectives change all around: between her; Parco; his right-hand man, Skel (Freddy Miyares); and two precocious kids, Odi (Jordan Preston Carter) and Nico (Venus Ariel), their entire upbringing was in the DMZ. As their worlds intertwine, the series focuses on too many unresolved or seemingly meaningless topics beyond runtime padding purposes.

Nico and Odi, cute and at times tense in their side-adventure, have way too much screen time for their impact on the larger story. However, while the first two episodes may seem unfocused and rushed, they still keep you engaged, thanks to Alma’s humanity and the relationship she strives to have with her son Christian. .

The composite cast delivers on their A-game, serving up committed and powerful performances that keep the series engaging even when it seems too redundant and too familiar in terms of story. In particular, Rosario Dawson delivers an inspiring and poignant turn as Alma/Z. Regardless of the beasties around her, she maintains a charming and endearing attitude. If there’s one thing the series does brilliantly, it’s developing her arc as a simple doctor whose mission is to be a beacon of hope at a time when people need it most.

She delivered one of the first great performances I’ve seen in a limited series this year, which isn’t surprising: Dawson is a natural performer who has always Give your best for a role. The same can be attributed to Bratt as Parco, who swaggers whenever around his people while remaining a real, unpredictable threat who is always in control of you. Whenever he appears on screen, you get a wave of anxiety. His deadly influence is so strong that you feel danger to anyone he comes across.

It’s hard to shake the feeling that the series needs another volume or two. Given more time, it could have been an aspirational incest story worth recommending. As it stands, it’s more like an adaptation delivered via SparkNotes than like a complete, clear story. It could even get better as a feature.

The series is chock full of bone-chilling moments, strong character moments, and gripping twists that keep you hooked, but it comes at the expense of an absurd story that’s sometimes too unpredictable for good. its. For something that comes from fairly dense literature, DMZ borrowed too much material from better, better New York crime stories. And when that fails, it will rely too much on the same flashback over and over again.

I give DMZ props for brevity and simplicity, but it eventually succumbs to fast-paced storytelling when there’s too much lore to dig through which could lead to something as epic as it deserves .