Rami Malek
Carly Chaikin
Portia Doubleday
Martin Wallström
Christian Slater

Created by:
Sam Esmail

Crime, Thriller
2015-
USA Network
TV-14

USA Network’s “Mr. Robot” starts with a voice-over from Elliot, its central character who’s played by Rami Malek. He’s a weird dude; he looks like he has trouble sleeping; he has social anxiety. … This kind of introduction has been done before, but Malek is believable as that kind of guy – eerily believable. So it works. Early in the first episode, he says: “I understand what it’s like to be different. I’m very different, too.” It lands.

From the beginning, Elliot, a hacker and cybersecurity engineer, tells us that there’s a grand conspiracy going on. The world’s being ruled by a secret oligarchy of the wealthiest of the wealthy. The top 1 percent of the top 1 percent, he says. The twist is that he thinks that this secret group is tracking him. Should we believe him? You’ll have to watch it to find out.

“Mr. Robot” looks like the TV version of “Fight Club.” (Its continual voice-overs and its attitude toward the corporate class and contemporary culture are other similarities.) Like “Fight Club,” it features a workplace, in this case a cybersecurity company, that has gloomily artificial lighting. This workplace would fit in with Neo’s from “The Matrix,” too.

Also like “Fight Club,” it features lots of scenes at night. It’s not as grimy as “Fight Club,” though, but it’s close enough. It’s also not quite as sharp, but it’s surely sharp enough. And, early on, it lacks that film’s sadism, which is no surprise. But will that change later on?

Furthermore, “Mr. Robot” moves with a heavy sort of fluidity. In that way, it’s similar to the first season of “Halt and Catch Fire.” But the similarities stop there. The tech scenes – anything to do with hacking either by Elliot or by others whom Elliot tries to stop – do have more pep to them, though, but not too much more. This show transitions nicely between those two tempos. Much of the music, by the way, is characteristic of movies and TV shows about technology: ’80s-style electronic. (The inclusion of Neil Diamond’s “If You Go Away” toward the end of the first episode is an effective exception.)

So, the styling works. The pacing works. The music works. And it’s nice to see this kind of show on USA Network: a departure for them.

Back to the main character: Elliot is a vigilante. He comes across like an anti-superhero. By night, he keeps tabs on the people who are important to him and on the innocent. That’s where the hacking comes in. So, unlike a normal superhero, he doesn’t fight with his body. He fights with his mind and with his computer skills. But he pays the price for his brilliance: He’s lonely and depressed. (The whole show reflects that expertly.) He takes just enough morphine (and other drugs) to manage that without becoming an addict … or so he says.

As I suggested earlier, Malek is perfect in this role. Just check the opening sequence. Thought to thought, it’s beautiful work; beautifully strange, that is. And the creative team made the right choice in not only casting him but also letting the show follow him. He is the show, which has a hypnotic quality, as a result. But he doesn’t work alone. No, his supporting cast is deceptively strong, because they do just that: support him with minimal fuss. The only exception is Christian Slater, who plays a character who knows who Elliot really is. But Slater’s character should stand out, so that’s not a flaw. Slater does really good work, too. (He wears a jacket that has this show’s title on it, by the way. So he’s Mr. Robot, not Elliot. He tells Elliot, “The rule here is: It’s done here and only here.” Tyler Durden, anyone?)

If “Mr. Robot” continues what it started in its first episode, then I’ll be a loyal viewer – a contentedly loyal viewer. I suspect that it will. Plus, it was renewed for a second season before the first episode even aired. Goodie.

Verdict: Great

About: (Source: mrrobot)

MR. ROBOT follows Elliot (Rami Malek, “The Pacific”), a young programmer who works as a cyber-security engineer by day and as a vigilante hacker by night. Elliot finds himself at a crossroads when the mysterious leader (Christian Slater, “The Adderall Diaries”) of an underground hacker group recruits him to destroy the firm he is paid to protect. Compelled by his personal beliefs, Elliot struggles to resist the chance to take down the multinational CEOs he believes are running (and ruining) the world. The series also stars Portia Doubleday (“Her”), Carly Chaikin (“Suburgatory”) and Martin Wallström (“Simple Simon”).