‘Upload’: Not Bad, Not Great
During quarantine, we’ve been looking for new things to binge. And who hasn’t? Plenty of free time lately, for the most of us, anyway.
We stumbled across Upload while scrolling aimlessly through the Amazon Prime catalog. We decided to give it a shot — it seems light-hearted and unwinding, and that’s exactly what we were looking for.
And, actually: Upload is exactly that. It’s a really fun show, a very entertaining one, and one that we don’t feel bad recommending. Does it suffer some common problems? Of course, don’t they all — that’s why the problems are common. But on a general level, Upload is surprisingly doesn’t disappoint.
A great premise.
The core of this show, and the core of any piece of media ever, is the story. And honestly, the story isn’t at all bad. The creators are still finding their tone and still struggle setting the atmosphere at times, but Upload is actually a rather coherent show. It’s like a more political and less quirky version of The Good Place — and we’re here for it.
The story does suffer from a lot of clichés, don’t get us wrong. Every episode has a traditional narrative and if you’re been watching a fair amount of TV and cinema in your life, you’d be right to guess where the story is going. And yet — it’s still entertaining. It wasn’t boring, and the clichés don’t take much from the general quality of the plot.
And it’s quite funny.
And very surprisingly, Upload made us laugh out loud a couple of times. It’s very rare nowadays that a piece of entertainment makes one laugh alone in their bedroom late at night. Upload has a self-ironic and beautifully satirical tone that it uses it very wisely. It’s a funny show. That’s the one thing we’re certain about.
The actors are really the driving force for comedy. Most of them do a really good job delivering smartly written lines and bringing a complex (well, complex-ish) character to life. And yes, the character work in Upload is pretty good, too: it’s nothing amazing, but mostly everyone in the show is three-dimensional.
And if you’re into that type of thing, the romance isn’t bad, either. It’s very cliché and full of plot-holes and inconsistencies (as is the whole of the show, to be honest), but it’s also touching and kinda works.
It kinda works.
That phrase is actually a great summary for season one of Upload. Right now, the creators are still finding the show’s exact voice. They’re still struggling with some inconsistencies and cheesiness, but this series has a lot of potential to be the next The Good Place.
It’s fun and entertaining. So if you’re looking for a light watch while you devour that delicious pizza, we feel confident recommending Upload.
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— Pouty Boy