Netflix original series: Marco Polo

[axabrax]

"Netflix is making a bold gamble – reportedly a $90 million (US) gamble – with their newest series, Marco Polo. The ten-episode first season is being released to their subscribers Friday."

"Some reviewers have seen the first six episodes and have not been impressed. Time magazine’s James Poniewozik writes that, “if you like Game of Thrones, and historical drama, and pay-cable softcore, and martial arts movies (like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, whose sequel Netflix is also making)–and you want them crammed together, narrative sense be damned–you might like this gorgeous but ludicrous saga.” Meanwhile, A.V. Club finds that “Polo is so replete with medieval warfare, lopped-off heads, gratuitous nudity, and persnickety period detail, it pleads to be compared with HBO’s Game Of Thrones, a far superior show by nearly every measure.”

Apparently it airs tonight and sounds potentially good to me!

http://www.medievalists.net/2014/12/11/netflix-goes-epic-marco-polo

[Gibby]

The preview image alone told me all I needed to know. Pretty boy curly locked main character with a leather jacket stood in front of a brooding heavily filtered bunch of Mongols. Just another cookie-cutter pseudo historical softcore porn show. Meh. When will a producer have balls to break the formula with a historical series? But then, I once read someone on the Warlord Games forum complaining that The Pacific didn't have enough sex in it, and several agreed.

[OSHIROmodels]

I'll probably watch it as knowing enough of the history I won't be bothered by the fact they will no doubt get parts of it wrong.

I'll watch it for the entertainment that it is  

cheers

James

*edit for naff iphonery*

[Gibby]

I will likely watch it and like it because I am impressionable, but I have the rant out of principle 

[janner]

I will likely watch it and like it because I am impressionable, but I have the rant out of principle 

 

[axabrax]

Binge-watched the first 3 episodes last night. It was alright. Very well produced and an amusing diversion. (One nice thing about Netflix is they post the entire season all at once, so there is no waiting around for the next episode.)

I don't know enough about the history to be irritated by inaccuracies, so I can't comment there. Visually stunning, uneven acting, and a bit schizophrenic in terms of story line. Wasn't as cheesy as I thought it might be based on the reviews--although there were a few bits of cheese here and there. Ironically, I thought Marco Polo was the weakest character and story line so far. I don't know why they hired an Italian actor who speaks no English for the part when all of the other characters speak perfect English. Maybe they were trying to emphasize the fact that he's a foreigner, but it makes the delivery of his lines stilted and acting fairly poor. On the flipside, I actually like the Mongol storyline better then the pseudo-Mongol girl with the Dragon storyline from GoT.

Overall based on three episodes I would say it's worth watching if nothing else for the novelty of an Asian/Mongol pseudo-historical drama. 3.5 out of 5 so far.

~Ax

PS: i'd be interested to hear people's comments on the Mongol armor. It looks like some effort was made to be authentic within limits but also with some liberty.

[Byblos]

An old but very good TV serie about Marco Polo !

[SiamTiger]

Watched the whole season this weekend, while building tanks. Have to say, i really dig it. Good product from Netflix (although like Orange is the new black). I can't say anything about the historical correctness, but i like the whole style, feel and look of the series.

Looking forward to the 2nd season!

[knoxville]

If you're into nekkid Asian girls martial arts fighting, I can highly recommend it. At least that's reason enough for me to watch 

It's pretty good, but I don't care for historical inaccuracies.

[Timotl]

Watched the first episode and didn't care for it. Maybe I'll watch another and see if it grows on me. It seems like another show that relies on slick production and beautful visuals rather than dialogue and story....

[carlos13th]

Watched the first two episodes and it was decent. Not great but decent. The combat is awful though. It seems to use all the worst tropes from Kung Fu movies minus the flying to create hand to hand combat that just looks utterly unconvincing.

[axabrax]

Season 2 confirmed

http://www.comingsoon.net/tv/trailers/397073-netflix-announces-marco-polo-season-2-premiere-date-for-daredevil-more#/slide/1

I liked it. It got much better toward the end. Glad to see there will be more

[janner]

More importantly the longhaired general enjoyed it and it's rare to get her to sit down before cowboys, aliens, or historical stuff 

[Timbor]

I just finished watching the first season.  The show was ok, but the acting and storyline was not that stellar.  It was mostly the setting that kept me watching.

Anyone else have a problem with the battle scenes, particularly in the last episode?  Without giving too much away, the defenders of the wall did not seem to defend it in a logical or realistic way...

[tomek917]

Anyone else have a problem with the battle scenes, particularly in the last episode?  Without giving too much away, the defenders of the wall did not seem to defend it in a logical or realistic way...

+1
They obviously hadn't played a lot of Medieval: Total War 

Things like that always irritates me. Other than that it was ok, as you say. The biggest problem in my opinion was that the show fails to create a believable atmosphere. Most of the time it just feels like a bunch of guys in funny costumes standing in a studio, nothing like the atmospehere i Game of Thrones for example.