HBO Max’s DMZ opens with refugees fleeing a warzone while being bombed by opposing forces. All against a backdrop of political struggles and conflict that has led to the outbreak of a second American Civil War. Poor timing for an often-subjective audience perhaps, but there are other issues that potentially hinder the show’s success.
Separated from her teenage son during the evacuation Alma (Rosario Dawson) has found a way back into Manhattan – the demilitarized zone – to find him. But in the several years that have passed a new political war has evolved.
Telling this story across just four episodes presented the creators with a problem they failed to overcome: pacing the narrative. By the end of the second episode, you feel like you’re getting a sense of the characters and their motivations, beginning to understand this world and feeling the tiniest stirrings of intrigue. Two episodes later and you’re done, left confused by unconvincing character arcs and convoluted plotting. Did this all happen in two days, two weeks, or two months?
And most importantly, why is it all a little dull?
Based upon the Vertigo Comic title the writers have created a new story within that world, and directors Ava DuVernay and Ernest Dickerson work hard to give that world life. But from what could have been an eight-episode run – with scope for multiple seasons – DMZ becomes a collection of unfulfilled ideas and themes.
The performances are largely good, and the visuals are at times striking, but the timescale is too constrictive for the scale of this story to be told with conviction. Ultimately, DMZ feels like a missed opportunity.
DMZ is available on HBO Max in the US. UK release TBC.
