With the new year comes new attempts to make a defining project that sets the tone for the year. The start of the new year has brought fresh ideas to the table, one of which was the ambitious new (hopefully) limited series from Eric Garcia, the writer behind cult classics such as Matchstick Men and Repo Men. Kaleidoscope stars Giancarlo Esposito, Paz Vega, and Rufus Sewell as part of its main cast. It features an interesting watch order concept that could have audiences coming back to the series for a different viewing experience each time — if it wasn’t for the series’ underwhelming story and characters.
Kaleidoscope is an interesting series, a story of a heist and revenge with pretty much every cliche when it comes to these movies. The cast is filled with character archetypes seen in every heist movie. The leader/planner, the tech wizard, the driver, the one who loves weapons, and the heel. Garica’s story benefits from Esposito’s acting range, which the latter shows off every chance he gets. While normally it’s a special treat to see an experienced and talented actor show their chops, in Kaleidoscope it’s easy to see that Esposito’s acting is saving a rather dull script. It then becomes more of a curse as you have to watch everyone else in the cast not be able to keep up with (or act as well as) Esposito. The only two exceptions in my eyes are Paz Vega in the role of Ava Mercer, and Tati Gabrielle, playing the character Hannah.
The intriguing aspect of this project was that the episodes are written to be a semi-anthology style of viewing. There is no “correct” order of watching the episodes, with the exception of “White,” which is written to be the last in the series.
My watch order was Green, Yellow, Violet, Orange, Blue, Red, Pink, and White. I believe this list felt like the standardized watch order, as the plot and storylines played out more or less how typical films of the genre do. In my order, the series started before the heist where I was introduced to the characters and how they were all connected. Episodes Yellow through Blue dove into the characters’ backgrounds, and their roles in the heist, and established the awkwardly written romantic interest and the love triangle. The latter half of the episodes took place after the heist and built up the suspense to find out what actually happened to set up the ending, but the lackluster finale, and some hastily dropped storylines made all the build-up and reveal underwhelming.
You can see the influence that Steven Sodenburgh’s Ocean’s 11 has had on the heist genre throughout the series. This is seen with a large ensemble cast, twists and fake outs, catchy music, schemes to trick the security systems, and relying on a good actor that can narrate the heist and its stakes. Esposito’s iconic tenor is felt throughout the series, but sadly that smooth molasses of a voice tells a rather lackluster story.
Another downside was that the rest of the ensemble fell short, and their characters’ storylines were left hanging or lacked substance. The most noticeable was Rosaline Elbay’s character Judy Goodwin. She played the tech expert who was also the wounded bird and tortured soul, and at times was in over her head. The series was seemingly setting up the character to have the most significant growth and be the catalyst for the twist. However, the character reassured herself (and the audience) that her borderline abusive husband isn’t a toxic idiot, and her character arc was dropped to be just the center and object of a love triangle. Which made her seem incapable of making the obvious smart and moral choices. Turning what could have been an intriguing character into just a disappointing mess.
Kaleidoscope has some great moments and takes on the heist genre. It featured a nuanced storyline with morally grey characters and an interesting twist that made me say “huh — neat.” I felt I was being told why I should care instead of feeling an interest naturally. Having no official order for the episodes is an interesting idea, and I wonder if viewing the episodes in a different watch order would bring out more mystery and make me more drawn into figuring out what has happened. Ultimately I wasn’t left wanting to rewatch the series, but instead, I rewatched a classic (and better) heist film: Ocean’s 11.
It’s not terrible — Kaleidoscope had its moments, but it lacked a lot of what would make it a good series. It fits perfectly in the mid-to-okay tier, with some great monologues and voice-over from Esposito.
Teryn Midzain is an English Major with ambitious goals to write movies and a full-time nerd, whose personality and eccentrics run on high-octane like the cars he loves. More importantly, Teryn loves sports [Formula One], and doesn’t care who knows. When not creating and running deadly schemes in his D&D sessions, Teryn tries to reach the core of what makes the romantic and dramatic World of Sports, the characters and people that make the events so spectacular.