- Network: Netflix
- Series Premiere Date: May 2, 2024
Critic Reviews
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A Man in Full has little to say about any facet of America. Instead, it seems Wolfe’s novel was just another piece of IP that could be fed into Netflix’s content-creating machine, churning out something that seems vaguely prestigious, just so long as you don’t look too closely.
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"Man" fails to achieve the scope or satire that made "Succession" so successful. There's a watchable quality you can find in any of Kelley's series. But the sheen wears off quickly.
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The class and racial issues, the knocks at the justice system, and the take on toxic masculinity are all delivered with an obviousness that can be irritating. Also irritating: Daniels’s over-the-top acting, which manifests primarily in his broad, somewhat absurd accent and his forced charisma.
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The cast includes Jeff Daniels, Diane Lane, Lucy Liu, and William Jackson Harper. Yet the scant six episodes this team delivers feel superficial, disjointed, and ultimately pointless. Tasked with updating a 26-year-old novel that has aged poorly, Kelley pares back so much context and character development that what’s left never resolves into a cohesive story.
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The individual elements of the story aren’t really the problem with A Man in Full. Instead, it’s the challenge of translating Wolfe’s singular style of prose — vivid, elaborate, effusive, ornamental — which thrives on the page but can devolve into cartoonish farce on screen.