Marco Polo series is dropping on Netflix mid December.

Looks pretty good.. I may be biased due to my great love of pre-Qing Chinese culture and bad Kung-fu movies... but yeah.

As long as it doesn't go the route of 'whitey becomes savior of the darkies,' I will probably enjoy this.

 

I think I'm gonna enjoy that... with subtitles.

 

Could be fun. Looks promising, but then it's the trailer... I'm cautiously optimistic.

 

I only recently discovered this when Netflix literally shoved it in front of my face and proclaimed that I would love it.

There are three trailers now, and they all look excellent. Comes out on Saturday, can't wait!

 

Looking forward to it!

 

The wait and hype is real. Looks like netflix is trying their hand at the "Game of THrones" Genre. Here's hoping not everyone I like dies so I stay emotionally invested in the story.

 

My thoughts are mixed. Story looks interesting, but the pacing was shit.

Edit: On Episode 6. Story grows more interesting, pacing is better. Action scenes are well done, but it's obviously on a budget. No high scale warfare yet and relegated more to 1vs1. The Song Chancellor creeps me the fuck out. Kublai is awesome...reminds me of a wiser Robert Baratheon. Marco Polo is actually a decent protagonist for once. Fairly intelligent. Acting is good. Romance is "love at first sight" BS it seems. Certain decisions seemed glossed over for timing...also we keep being told that Marco is this great describer/story teller. The actor needs to portray more wonder and the writing needs to convey that better. His rendition of events is kinda monotone.

 

I'm on episode 4 now. Enjoying it quite a bit.

Hundred Eyes is such a wonderful terrible Kung Fu cliche.

 

That fight between Kublai and Ariq was awesome.

 

If by on a budget, you mean a budget of $90million, and the second most expensive TV show in history, then sure, it's on a budget.

FWIW, I didn't like it at all. The guy who plays Kublai is an excellent actor, but I wasn't nearly as impressed with the rest of them. And when they start getting into the martial arts fights, it verges on cartoonish.

 

Ummm.... welcome to the genre?

Moar shadowy assassins and blind karate masters plox. Better yet, make them all able to fly.

 

Netflix chose to advertise the show as historical fantasy, and as epic drama in the vein of GoT. If you're gonna sell your show that way, it's gonna get judged that way, not as a TV version of Kill Bill school of movies.

It's got paint by the numbers plotting, subpar acting from most of the cast, an utterly bland main character, and largely plastic characters.

It wants to be Game of Thrones, (and spent 30million more than season one of GoT cost) but it lacks everything that makes GoT worth watching -- tight plotting, a diverse cast of well rounded characters, and sense of humor. It's like they decided what made GoT good was beautiful cinematography, gratuitous nudity (where they decided GoT just doesn't go far enough) and then decided what was missing to make it better was cartoon martial arts that don't have any place in a serious TV show.

If it wants to be softcore porn Kung Fu film genre, it should own that. Instead it tries to cram that into a TV show that takes itself seriously, and that wants to be viewed seriously, and the result is bad television.

 

I didn't care that it wasn't a GoT replacment. I did care when it started that Kung Fu magic bullshit. Also blind Kung Fu master monk. I wanted a nice historically accurate drama. I had to try really hard not to laugh whenever the characters went on about 'wrestling' being the be all of end all. "We must wrestle to prove who the best fighter is." Seriously, fuck that.

Also, I wish the characters spoke their common language. It just doesn't sound right with characters speaking English all the time, and I think it adds atmosphere if a show just uses subtitles.

I did like the characters. It's hard to tell who is good and who is bad. Most have different levels to them. With the sets it looked good all the way around.

It's not that bad of a show really, but it's not great.

 

On episode 9.

Taken as it is...I give it a B. The special effects and everything are well done. The scenery feels like something out of a period piece though there were a few occasions I could tell that the materials used for the set were just too modern. This is not to mention the terrible CGI at some parts.

As the story continues...it is a mix of bland and intriguing. It is certainly not GOT standards, but better than anything put out by a lot of the other stations when it comes to this kind of intrigue. It lacks a Wow factor though.

I'd say, as it stands, it's about on the level that Arrow has been on for the most of Season 3. Not bad, fairly decent really; but nothing great.

 

On episode 7. Byamba/Khutulun OTP.

 

Finished binging.

GoT was the furthest from my mind when I was watching this show. I enjoyed it for what it is, a semi-historical fun drama with kung fu. Sure the blind monk is a bit much, but eeh. If I want complete and accurate history, I'd read a history book. Kublai and Chancellor are top characters for me. Marco's storyline is fairly predictable, yet enjoyable. Though as said earlier, the actor needs to flex his muscles a bit more.

Not a huge fan of the internal politics drama either. While Polo was historical well respected in Khan's court, I wouldn't have minded him getting his ass thrown in jail one day and eating lunch with the Khan the next if the entire conflict didn't seem so artificial. Jingam whines like a little bitch and is basically the reason of everything bad that ever happens. :|

Surprisingly interesting storyline for me was the Chancellor's sister's.

I'd say 7.5/10. I wanted to give it 8 or 8.5 but the plot isn't tight enough and the resolution at the end of season is fairly bland as well.

 

Super disappointed the Chancellor died at the end of the season, as he was a really great antagonist. He even tried to kill Marco while he was still on the floor, before Blind Monk could get to him.

Finance Minister whose name I can't even remember will be a poor replacement... especially as his motivations are completely obscure.

On the topic of names... yeah, remembering them is pretty hard. I just think of people by their positions rather than their names... I guess this is how non-book watchers of GoT feel.