The Consultant (2023) review: Delightfully eccentric but slightly overcooked

The Consultant (2023) is a dark comedy workplace thriller about a strange man who steps in to help a floundering gaming company succeed with the help of disturbing solutions. The series is streaming on Prime Video.

Story

CompWare is a mobile gaming company created by A young Korean genius named Ah Sang-woo. When Sang-woo is abruptly murdered, Regus Patoff steps in as a consultant to steady the ship and ensure that Sang-woo’s legacy is solidified.

Regus has a questionable approach to business that doesn’t necessarily please everyone and two employees in particular, Craig and Elaine, are suspicious of who Regus really is.

The more time they spend with him, the more questions are raised in their minds and no amount of digging into his past seems to provide satisfactory answers.

Regus does everything he possibly can to hold up his end of the bargain no matter what the consequences and it adversely affects everyone involved in the company.

Performances

Christoph Waltz is hauntingly inspiring in his role of Regus Patoff despite it coming across as quite familiar to many of his previous characters. Regus feels like a mix of Hans Landa and Bert Hanson which serves up an eccentric and entertaining performance.

The little idiosyncrasies of his character and the way he occupies the screen with his presence make Waltz’s character absolutely mesmerizing and by the end of the series he has more than one person “drinking his Kool-Aid”.

Nat Wolf plays Craig, the vaguely stereotypical coder. Wolf comes nowhere close to Waltz in quality but does give in a distinguished performance filled with commitment.

Brittany O’Grady plays the ambitious Elaine who is caught between pursuing her goals and the terrifying truth about Regus. O’Grady shows shades of the complexity of her character but doesn’t lean into it enough to consider it a great performance.

Positives

The cinematography is eye-catching with some of its framing and the panning shots that are employed. The transitions between certain scenes are inspired and the birds-eye view shots of Los Angeles are beautiful.

The creepy and bizarre tone of the series is maintained throughout thanks to Waltz’s performance and the accompanying score. The combination of these two features ensures that The Consultant is remarkably offbeat and intriguing.

Negatives

The narrative is a tad bit too over-complicated and leaves several unanswered questions. The story leaves several threads hanging by the end that the audience might be left more confused than satisfied.

The pacing is also a massive issue as the first half of the series starts brilliantly before trailing off toward the back end. The creative decisions are a bit erratic and that harms the overall experience.

Verdict

The Consultant (2023) is an interesting series that has so much potential but fails to live up to the billing despite a fantastic performance from Christoph Waltz. With some sharper writing and a more disciplined approach from the creators, the series could have been so much more than the sophisticated mess it currently is.


Also Read: The Consultant (2023) ending explained: Who is Regus Patoff?

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