First, let me get the fact that I am a super fan of the Cyber Punk Genre. With this being said. I have been let down time, after time with poor follow through. It's rare that someone has the balls to take on the grittiness needed.
Not only does Altered Carbon check every box to meet the cyberpunk genre. It blows the boxes apart with raw violence and sex. While maintaining a strong central storyline. Yet it took on multiple subplots that felt like being engulfed in warm blankets that did not subtract from the overall plot.
The noir detective story which is prevalent in the genre is not lost here. You feel as if the main character Takeshi Kovacs, is modern Sherlock Homes tossed into a future which is not his own. Being charged with solving a murder by the victim himself. While having everyone involved trying to hamper his investigation by any means.
As this story moves forward there are many questions of ethics and morality. The main being what is the price we are willing to pay for immortality. While pushing our concepts on the value of flesh, as well as our connections to it. Then pressing boundaries of consensual and nonconsenual sex.
Overall, not only do I hope this gets picked up for a second season. I think this has made a new benchmark. Showing others what is truly needed in this genre of science fiction.
