'The Man Who Fell to Earth' Review: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Naomie Harris shine in immersive sci-fi drama
Rebooting a classic is, and will always be a challenge. There's that sense of trepidation, and disappointment is something the world and the creators need to be ready for. However, Showtime's 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' hits differently. The TV series starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Naomie Harris is impressive, neat, and most importantly, intriguing. Based on the '63 book of the same name by Walter Tevis that sees an alien come to earth to ship water back to his planet that's teetering on destruction, the TV show serves as a sequel to the movie that came out in the 70s.
Much of the show's success depends on how Ejiofor plays the character and he does so as Faraday, an alien who's come to earth to complete the mission that his teacher Thomas Jerome Newton (played by David Bowie in the movie, and Bill Nighy in the series). 'The Martian' star is a rather different alien — innocent and an outsider on a mission. On his part, Ejiofor shines as he gets into character effortlessly. Unlike Newton's time, this world is different, something Harris' Julian Falls knows a thing or two about, and their chemistry clicks from their first encounter.
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Falls comes with her own baggage. She's got a sick dad and a younger daughter to take care of and Faraday's presence just makes life that much harder. Harris brings in the gravitas, complementing Ejiofor's charm and childlike innocence. The show's got heart no doubt, the only challenge is if the creators have managed to keep the crisp storytelling intact for the rest of the series. 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' is part funny, part somber, part cutting edge, and definitely a binge-worthy show.
Opening with a debonair-looking Faraday giving a talk, the show traces the timeline back to when he could barely utter a syllable, the Showtime series suggests that evolution is the theme and we can expect it to recur over the course of the series. There surely is a message that the series aims to convey, and how it shapes up and becomes different from the OG movie remains to be seen. There's a lot of promise riding on the trio of Ejiofor, Harris, and Nighy, and if the audience responses on Twitter are anything to buy, this one just adds to the list of brilliant TV the network has dished out over the years.
'The Man Who Fell to Earth' airs Sundays at 10 pm on Showtime.