Have you ever wondered what might have been if something in history didn’t come to fruition; how the world would be different, how would people be, how different would you be. The Man in the High Castle is a series that does just that. It takes us through the ride through the world where the allies lost the second world war and the world is at the mercy of Nazi Germany and Japan. Based on the novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick, the story rotates around Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos) a woman living in San Francisco, which is on the Japanese side of occupied America called Japanese Pacific States. Initially introduced to the possibility of a better world by her sister, Juliana gets involved in the mission to free this dystopian America; the mission run by someone that goes by the moniker of The Man In the High Castle. Throughout the series, we are acquainted with a dearth of characters on both sides of the divided America among whom is John Smith (Rufus Sewell) one of the most important men in Nazi America, and on the other side of the occupation is Chief Inspector Takeshi Kido (Joel de la Fuente) an officer of the Japanese police, the two are at the heart of the story and pose as the biggest challenge to the Resisting Forces.
Firstly, the story needs to be commended for its fabulous thinking and detailed portrayal of an alternate world. The show and the story are obviously inspired by Philip K. Dick’s writing but it is still a difficult task to showcase the story on screen that can capture any viewer’s attention. The Prime Video Original production surely succeeds in doing that with the help of Frank Spotnitz and the production team creating the perfect dystopian world on the screen. On the acting front, Alexa Davalos plays her part very well leading the line as the main character, apart from her both of the important characters mentioned earlier and very convincingly portrayed by Sewell & de la Fuente, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa does a stellar job playing the Trade Minister of the Japanese States. Often such content involving alternate history/ world, sci-fi end up being very predictable and familiar, but The Man in The High Castle is exceptional with its host of surprises throughout the series. Lastly, the music is very well thought of perfectly complements the on-screen emotions.
There are not many issues with the series for major parts it is near perfect. But if I had to cherry-pick a few, I would say the dearth of characters was hard to track with not all of those characters being important to the story. Continuing on the same point there are a couple of subplots that could have been kept out. While earlier I have appreciated the show’s ability to deliver surprises, to some viewers the story can seem extremely confusing until those surprises are delivered and at few times continue to be confusing even after the reveals.
It must be said there are very few movies/shows which don’t have even a few elements that disappoint. With The Man in the High Castle, Prime Video has certainly made sure it is under that rare category of movies/shows. All in all, it is a fantastic watch that will capture your emotions and keep you at the edge of your seats.
Acting- 8.5
Casting- 9
Cinematography- 8.5
Dialogue- 8
Directing- 9
Editing & Effects- 8
Sound & Music- 8.5
Story- 9.5
Storytelling- 9.5
Rating- 9
Available on: Amazon Prime
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