“The Man in the High Castle” is set in 1962, 20 years after Germany and Japan conquered the United States and Great Britain.
But wait. There’s footage of another reality in which the allies won World War II? What’s up with that?
Could this universe have been created by a time-traveler who gave the Nazis an atomic bomb before the Americans could develop their own?
Frank Spotnitz (“X-Files,” “The Lone Gunmen,” the 2005 “Night Stalker,” Cinemax’s “Hunted,” Cinemax’s “Transporter”) adapts the Hugo-winning 1962 novel by Philip K. Dick, whose work also formed the basis of “Blade Runner,” “Screamers,” “Impostor,” “Minority Report,” “Paycheck,” “A Scanner Darkly,” “Next” and “The Adjustment Bureau.”
The series, which stars Rufus Sewell (“John Adams”), Luke Kleintank (“Pretty Little Liars”) and Alexa Davalos (“Mob City”), hits Amazon’s streaming service early Friday morning.
… watchable more for the look and feel of this altered world than for the stories or characters. The pacing is wobbly, and while the actors all seem period-appropriate (Davalos, whose previous series was TNT's '40s crime drama "Mob City," is a graceful acting time traveler), the only character who really comes to life as more than a functionary of the plot is one of Spotnitz's creations: Obergruppenführer John Smith (Rufus Sewell), an American who's grown a little too comfortable in his Gestapo uniform. …
… The character-building, unfortunately, is far weaker than the world-building. The dialogue is often B-movie grade, and Juliana and Frank, the closest thing the ensemble has to leads, are dull and dour. By the end of the six episodes provided to critics, they begin to emerge as individuals, but until then the plot does all the work.
... Although the writing and storytelling in the first episode (which Amazon first shared with its Prime customers earlier this year) come off a little clumsily, overall it’s a strong launch for an espionage series. “The Man in the High Castle” is also expertly and realistically imagined — shot in drab and dour hues that reveal a nation and a society in a dejected condition. It’s also an interesting metaphor to consider in the present day, as a leading, bellicose presidential candidate keeps promising to restore America to a former glory. That’s what Joe said, too. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... The genius of the series is how Spotnitz and his creative team carefully advance the thought-provoking thematic elements through stunning attention to detail. …
... In a way, “The Man in the High Castle” is the best episode of “The Twilight Zone” we never saw, stretched into a long-form narrative that, like so many of Rod Serling’s science fiction tales, has the power to suggest what could have been. With hate factions still thriving and, in some cases, gaining political footing, “The Man in the High Castle” also nods toward what could be. …
... the best new drama of the season … Much of the six hours made available for preview centers on Juliana and Joe — and at times their story can drag. But the redeeming glory of Castle is the expansive world of characters it creates: Juliana's lover Frank (Rupert Evans), who has his own transforming moment; the Japanese trade minister (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), who seeks to avert war between Japan and the more technologically advanced Germany; the German leader John Smith (Rufus Sewell), a World War II movie villain cleverly remade with a '60s male outlook. …
... There is not much hope in this serious, ambitious drama, but there are moments of real connection that make one believe that individuals — and even images — can make a difference. Is that belief an illusion? Author Dick built a career out of the question, and this adaptation of one of his most famous tales explores that in an intelligent and visually exhilarating way. …
... Running with the concept that Dick created is the series' strong point, but there are a few nagging elements (pacing, unanswered questions about why things are so bleak and unevolved, etc.) that rise up once the plot takes hold of our attention and the grand visual gestures of the premise recede. … But even past the halfway point (Amazon made the first six episodes available to critics), The Man in the High Castle is still refreshingly intriguing and worth the investment.
12:01 a.m. Friday. Amazon.
