First, the most important part of the trailer: Karl Urban is so magnificently moody. Seriously. he hits the right level of darkly, woundedly handsome. And as far as casting goes, pitting him against Michael Ealy's endearing android is another great decision. As Dorian, Ealy finds the perfect balance between otherworldly innocence and necessary snarkiness. The banter between Urban and Ealy might fall into hackneyed disillusioned cop show territory, but luckily they are both magnetic enough to carry it off for at least a while.
That is assuming that the writing does eventually step it up. In this sampling, the story and language is over-bearing and the trailer seems to give away the entire pilot. Against of swell of emotion-tugging dramatic music, lines like "he's special, like you," and "I'm not like other robots!" don't gently lead the viewer, but forcibly stuff the audience into a sack and bumpily drag them along. It's not necessary, and hopefully it does not continue through the actual run.
Visually, this is gorgeous, and an obvious J.J. Abrams joint. It's sleek and beautiful and as futuristic as ever, and even the trailer has far too many lens flares (Oh, J.J.). But it looks lovely and exciting. The biggest concern is the story. The moments of crime-scene trickery done by the robot was gross and fascinating, and could open the door for a serious look at what technology is used for. If the focus is more on the interesting and multi-faceted use of robots in the future, it might stay intriguing. As long as they keep it fresh and interesting in that way, and don't rehash the age-old question of what it means to be human, Almost Human might have something to say.
That is assuming that the writing does eventually step it up. In this sampling, the story and language is over-bearing and the trailer seems to give away the entire pilot. Against of swell of emotion-tugging dramatic music, lines like "he's special, like you," and "I'm not like other robots!" don't gently lead the viewer, but forcibly stuff the audience into a sack and bumpily drag them along. It's not necessary, and hopefully it does not continue through the actual run.
Visually, this is gorgeous, and an obvious J.J. Abrams joint. It's sleek and beautiful and as futuristic as ever, and even the trailer has far too many lens flares (Oh, J.J.). But it looks lovely and exciting. The biggest concern is the story. The moments of crime-scene trickery done by the robot was gross and fascinating, and could open the door for a serious look at what technology is used for. If the focus is more on the interesting and multi-faceted use of robots in the future, it might stay intriguing. As long as they keep it fresh and interesting in that way, and don't rehash the age-old question of what it means to be human, Almost Human might have something to say.
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