Alex Rider (2020)- Season 1 Review
After his uncle dies under mysterious circumstances, Alex (Otto Farrant) is recruited by Alan Blunt (Stephen Dillane, AKA Stannis Baratheon) into a special branch of MI6. He discovers that he has a unique set of skills he was unknowingly trained for his whole life by his uncle to become a spy. Alex is tasked with going undercover as a troubled billionaire’s son to infiltrate the remote school Point Blanc and report back what he finds. But when he discovers the sinister plot, not everything goes according to plan.
Released Nov. 11, Alex Rider is an 8-episode series about a teenage spy and is based on the books by Anthony Horowitz. Horowtiz was involved in writing the episodes for the show, along with creator Guy Burt. Alex Rider is an IMDbTV original and is available to watch on IMDb or Prime Video.
The show took an interesting approach to its adaptation by blending Alex Rider’s origin story, how he became a spy in the first book, Stormbreaker, and blended that with the main plot of the second book, Point Blank. Personally, I was a fan of this idea and, while it wasn’t something I was expecting, thought it turned out really well. Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker was already adapted into a 2006 film, so it was nice to see a new story for the character that I thought fit really well for his first mission.
I am still a fan of adapting books into TV series instead of movies. Having only two hours versus a full eight episodes really allows for a full and complete story to be told. And with the budgets shows receive these days, I see no reason why any book adaptation would choose a movie- format over a show.
The show took a while to get started, but once it did, it was an awesome ride. It makes sense, though, because of the need to establish the characters and how Alex is recruited as a teenage spy. I also thought the eighth and final episode seemed a bit out of place. The season could have just as easily ended with episode seven and it would have been a huge cliffhanger that would have had me even more anxious for the next season. My guess is that they were not sure they’d get another season and in case they didn’t, they wanted to wrap the show up. There is nothing worse than a show ending on a cliffhanger with no wrap-up, so I can appreciate that. Also, they probably want to stick to the books, so that next season won’t have to wrap up book 2 and can focus solely on book 3, Eagle Strike.
I thought the show had fantastic action, cinematography and told an interesting story. All of the casting seemed great, although Jack’s (Ronke Adekoluejo) acting seemed a little stale and robotic at times. Other than that, it was great. And if you read the books, yes, they kept the awesome snowboarding scene in.
Overall, I’d rate this series 4 ½ / 5 stars and would definitely recommend it. I know I’m biased because I read the books, but I really enjoyed this show. It was one I was excited for for a long time and it didn’t disappoint. I was saddened after grinding through it in only two days and can’t wait for the next season. Alex Rider is confirmed renewed for a second season, but I have no idea when to be expecting that.