'The Lost Symbol' Episode 1 Review: No reinventing Robert Langdon, just a fresh take
Spoilers for 'The Lost Symbol' Episode 1 'As Above, So Below'
'The Lost Symbol' hits its straps pretty quickly. There's no clunky introduction, there's no time. Spanning just over 40 minutes, the live-action mystery thriller by NBC's Peacock does better than what could be imagined while reading Dan Brown's best-seller of the same name.
There's no reinventing the wheel, just a solid, fresh take of a book whose movie plan was shelved after 'The Da Vinci Code' and Angels & Demons' that made millions, but were also controversial popcorn flicks with Tom Hanks as the lead. Much of the heavy lifting is done by Ashley Zukerman's baby-faced, yet chiseled Robert Langdon. He's got that wavy hair thing going. Eyes, intense-yet-probing. He's sharp and he may not have the steely charisma that Hanks brought to the role, but he's done enough to show this was what Langdon would have been in his early years. He's a bit clunky around women, but perhaps the good looks and the earnest attitude can make up for it. In short, he's good.
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It's a mystery procedural, so to speak. There's a bit of Indiana Jones, a bit of Jack Ryan and a lot of Paul Bettany's Silas in the show. 'The Lost Symbol' has its moments and it does what the movies didn't — flesh out Langdon's character. He's the smart one in the room and he shows it by being thoroughly ignorant to the theory of a security guard, who in fact, is actually right in what he's saying. His smug demeanor is well captured and that is on full display in the pilot episode.
Taking over the Langdon role from Hanks, Zukerman ('Designated Survivor') plays the genius Harvard professor as he searches for his missing mentor, Peter Solomon (Eddie Izzard). There's a bit of a twist with Peter now being a family figure than being his best friend. Katherine Solomon (Valorie Curry) is a daughter, as opposed to being his daughter in the novel. Sumalee Montano plays CIA director Sato and Rick Gonzalez plays Nunez, whose role is unfortunately cut short by the end of the episode.
Beau Knapp, the emotional lad in Jake Gyllenhaal's 'Southpaw' is a menacing antagonist. He's the Silas-inspired baddie who also reminds us of Kaspar, the tattoo-faced villain from Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider book 'Ark Angel'. Rechristened as Mal'akh, Knapp oozes evil and his Instagram images of building a Bane-like physique for his role in the mystery drama shows he's put in the hard yards and honed his acting chops. Although the show quickly puts Langdon on a puzzle-solving spree, its pacy story can sometimes leave the audience confused, so maybe reading the book first might be in order.
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the season opener does a neat job. The storylines are not way too convoluted. There's enough about Langdon to know he's not perfect, but he's the best chance to help Peter and the remaining characters are moved seamlessly across the board. Only time will tell whether they stay true and build on the gritty and gripping start.
'The Lost Symbol' airs Thursdays on Peacock.