We’ve been here before, we’ve seen it before, and we’ve also been bored before. Netflix’s Project UFO, another exclusive mini-series from the world’s biggest platform, feels like a missed opportunity. Again!
“Play it again, Netflix!” one might shout at the TV screen even before turning on the pilot episode of Project UFO. We have all the ingredients required to know it’s a creation of the same alchemical formula. The same actors (Piotr Adamczyk, Maja Ostaszewska and Mateusz Kościukiewicz), the same vintage aesthetics and weirdly bright colours (here, reminding us of the PRL), the same humour and the same lousy sound recording (you just cannot understand anyone). Another i dotted and t crossed, so why bother at this point?
All of it is served up in these weird, upbeat dynamics, like the show is never treating its topic seriously. It’s a paradox: a country, which once brought Stanisław Lem and Andrzej Żuławski to this world, is still unable to treat the sci-fi genre with utter respect. Even with having a worthy premise (an almost mythical story that took place in Poland at the end of the 1970s) and a reasonably proper budget (it’s Netflix, right?), our producers are lost in the fog, counting on someone (the audience) will find them and forgive them the fact they got lost (again!).
The showrunners don’t really know if they want to create a true sci-fi, a political satire or maybe a drama based on the collective belief in UFOs. In the end, we’re left with a generic show about, as they say in Poland, “everything and nothing”. The plotlines often come and go, we have a lot of leading characters, and it’s difficult to get used to any of them. Thus, the mysterious atmosphere quickly fades and, during the last episode, it’s practically blurred.
It’s an attractive story in theory, but one that requires skilful screenwriters and one visionary director. Kasper Bajon was responsible for both directing and writing, and surely it was too much for him. Next time, hire people who feel the topic or at least can choose the direction they will be going regarding the show’s style.
Photo: Netflix
2/5 stars
Author: Jan Tracz
