Foundation

Foundation (2021) starring Lee Pace, Lou Llobell

Supposedly based on the award-winning Foundation novels by Isaac Asimov. This TV series chronicles a band of exiles on their monumental journey to save humanity and rebuild civilization amid the fall of the Galactic Empire.

Review

In short, I’m a big fan of Dr. Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy. And, for the record, I wanted to say positive things about this adaptation. Unfortunately, I can’t. In many ways, it reminds me of the Will Smith movie, I Robot.

Similarities

• In both films, the titles promise a faithful rendition of the source material. They both fail. There’s a faint resemblance, but that’s all.
• Both films insert a black protagonist into the story. Now, I’m a big fan of Will Smith — a very good actor. And, I have nothing against Lou Llobell. She seems like a good actress. But in Foundation, the original character is both male and white. God forbid that we have a white, male protagonist in 2021!
• They throw the basic story out the window.

Specific to Foundation

• There’s a floating, alien device on the distant planet of Terminus? Nothing to do with the source material. Frankly, it took me out of the show. And, reminded me of the mysterious black stones in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Pretty sure that’s not what the creators intended.
• The pace is very slow.
• It’s a waste of a perfectly good story. Foundation is supposed to be about a plan, by a man named Harry Seldon, to help the future. He knows that the galactic empire is going to start crumbling …. Soon. And, he knows that nothing can prevent it. Or prevent the new dark age that will follow. But, he can take steps to shorten the fall, and make the return to civilization faster and easier. That’s what the story should be about.

Positives

• The sets, costuming, CGI, et cetera are all gorgeous.
• The acting appears to be very good.

But that doesn’t compensate for a bad story. A bad story with good effects, costuming, acting …. Is still a bad story.