Chernobyl
HBO | Release Date: May 6, 2019
9.1
USER SCORE
Universal acclaim based on 764 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
712
Mixed:
15
Negative:
37
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10
HonestReview11Dec 31, 2020
If you haven't watched this mini series yet, do it! It's a masterpiece! They found the perfect balance between realism, drama, etc. All the actors are fantastic during the entire show, very convincing performances all around. Thank you forIf you haven't watched this mini series yet, do it! It's a masterpiece! They found the perfect balance between realism, drama, etc. All the actors are fantastic during the entire show, very convincing performances all around. Thank you for this jewel.… Expand
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9
Bertaut1May 7, 2021
Terrifying and sobering – as exceptional a piece of television narrative as you're ever likely to see

Created, written, and executive produced by Craig Mazin, Chernobyl is directed by Johan Renck as part-horror movie, part-cautionary tale,Terrifying and sobering – as exceptional a piece of television narrative as you're ever likely to see

Created, written, and executive produced by Craig Mazin, Chernobyl is directed by Johan Renck as part-horror movie, part-cautionary tale, and part-political treatise. It presents a terrifying, nightmare vision of how bad things can get when hard scientific facts are made subservient to political agendas, and governments strive to undermine not only scientific expertise but the very nature of truth itself (the Soviet Union was a big fan of "alternative facts" long before the GOP). Chernobyl begins and ends by asking the viewer to ponder the cost of cumulative nation-wide lies. However, it's just as interested in celebrating the heroes as it is assigning blame.

April 26, 1986, 1:23am; near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR, Reactor No. 4 at the Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Nuclear Power Plant explodes, sending out masses of radioactive material. As the Central Committee tries to keep a lid on things, a commission is assembled to investigate the disaster. The commission's head is Boris Shcherbina (a career-best performance from Stellan Skarsgård), Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, and a devout party-man. The commission's scientific expert is Valery Legasov (a mesmerising Jared Harris), deputy director of the Kurchatov Institute, who immediately realises that the accident is much more serious than the government are saying.

Thematically, Chernobyl is not subtle. The opening line is "What is the cost of lies?", and this issue is front and centre for the entire five episodes. The show presents the Soviet Union as a place where lying and statecraft were one and the same, and in so doing, it illustrates what can happen when institutions of government put political ideology above objective facts, when egotistical politicians disregard everything that experts are telling them in favour of their own ill-informed theories (sound familiar?). The first episode in particular gives us some fine illustrations of a system obsessed with committees, bureaucracy, and secrecy, all built upon an unnecessarily complicated and rigid hierarchy.

However, if there's an overriding mindset amongst the Soviet people, it's a sense of civic duty, borne of a genuine belief in socialism and total trust in the Central Committee. Not all characters share this trust, but enough of them do to make it a trope. And for the most part, the show presents this sense of duty to the State as deeply honourable, worthy of a great deal of respect. How the State elicits, manipulates and exploits these feelings is being criticised, not the feelings themselves – a vital distinction.

Aesthetically, Chernobyl opens with the explosion, throwing the audience into the chaos and confusion. However, rather than placing us in the control room at the moment of the explosion, we see it through the closed window of a character who doesn't even notice it happening until the shockwave hits a couple of seconds later. It's a wholly unexpected way to begin, presenting a massive real-life disaster not from the perspective of spectacle, but from a subjective human perspective. This immediately sets up the show's interest in people. The helicopter crash seen in the trailer is shot the same way - focusing on human reactions to the crash rather than the crash itself.

As for the cinematography generally, Jakob Ihre shoots everything unfussily, with no real visual gymnastics. However, there are still moments of stark beauty and great artistry. The second episode ends with a dialogueless scene that Michael Mann would be proud of and also features perhaps the single most extraordinary shot in the series – a high elevation shot of Pripyat looking down at the residents being evacuated onto a fleet of buses. In the background, the power plant can be seen still burning, whilst the people and the plant are bifurcated by the flats in which they used to live. This is as good an example of thematic photography as you're likely to find.

As for problems, well, the characters are a little too black and white – the 'good' characters are practically saintly, and the 'bad' characters are almost pure evil. And there's not a lot of ground in between.

At its core, the show is most interested in what happens when governments stop listening to science, when every smart person in the room is telling a leader one thing, and he or she decides to ignore it based on nothing other than ideology or ego (and yes, Trump's attitude to the ever-worsening global climate crisis is very much the target). An exceptional piece of television in pretty much every way, Chernobyl is as terrifying as it is compelling, as heartbreaking as it is eye-opening.

And all of this is not even to mention the dogs. I'm just not ready to talk about the dogs.… Expand
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9
greenisgoodJul 30, 2020
TL;DR - Went into the series completely blind to fact or fiction or even what part of the disaster this story will be dealing with. I had convinced myself that this was probably a court drama through which we would connect to the incitingTL;DR - Went into the series completely blind to fact or fiction or even what part of the disaster this story will be dealing with. I had convinced myself that this was probably a court drama through which we would connect to the inciting incident, I was not prepared for the sheer terrifying ordeal I experienced in regards to the actual incident and it's effect on the human experience.


The Good
The reality of the horror, the human suffering, sheer human will of everyone involved while dealing with the Chernobyl disaster would have no doubt been an experience neither I nor the show could ever fathom.
But the miniseries manages to capture a deeply affecting mental and physical facsimile of the human experience through all the above mentioned faucets.
This show will definetely leave it's mark on your psyche just trying to grasp the mentality of everyone involved as Chernobyl manages to give us a good recreation of the whole ordeal, beginning from a minute to minute then hour to hour then week to week and so on. The changing viewpoints through various individuals magnifies the extent of this incident in the right ways making it feel very real and not gratuitous.

Jared Harris and Stellan Skarsgård were the characters we spent the most time with but I have to mention that every character no matter how small turns in their 'A' game giving the factual part of this disaster a true human experience. The editing and cinematography of the series is also commendable making all the horror and suffering realistic over something exploitative and shocking. Music and Sound design were excellent partners to the whole semi-fictitious story telling nature.

The Bad
Several write ups that I went through constantly stated that the writing for the show was not entirely accurate. A lot of real facts related to the secrets, the blame game and the statecraft seems to have a universal voice of smudged and fudged for either propoganda reasons or cinematic liberty.
The main concern is whether this skewering of facts will paint an inaccurate picture and incite fear mongering to which I say that anyone taking the writing and dialogue as 100% accurate is probably an idiot who does not need something like a TV show to send them into a fit.
It should be understood and thereby taken as a matter-of-fact that probably 50-75% of the reality of the show would have been a re-creation and is not a second to second and shot by shot retelling of the whole truth, it is impossible to be accurate to the atom in realistic events like this.

Chernobyl is a scientifically accurate yet semi-fictitious re-telling of the whole incident and its names sake. Yet with the knowledge that everything I watch is not an accurate depiction it does not take away from the excellent harrowing, terrifying and triumphant experience the show provides.… Expand
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9
SnarkkSep 1, 2021
Globalement une très bonne minisérie : prenante, super direction photo, correctement documentée, bien montée, poignante...

Un régal, si vous n'avez pas un besoin maladif de regarder des séries ou films gentillets et pétris de bonnesGlobalement une très bonne minisérie : prenante, super direction photo, correctement documentée, bien montée, poignante...

Un régal, si vous n'avez pas un besoin maladif de regarder des séries ou films gentillets et pétris de bonnes intentions.… Expand
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9
OminousFaythJul 20, 2020
The drama is intense! HBO's Chernobyl is a nail-biter, that'll leave you thirsty for more every episode.
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10
HellangerDec 30, 2021
Let's start with the fact that I live in Ukraine, and I have known about Chernobyl since I was 10 years old. Well, what can I hide, in case of special need I have the opportunity to get there as a tourist, or even illegally. Therefore, myLet's start with the fact that I live in Ukraine, and I have known about Chernobyl since I was 10 years old. Well, what can I hide, in case of special need I have the opportunity to get there as a tourist, or even illegally. Therefore, my assessment will consist of personal experience and how it was shown on our screens. I would like to highlight the style of the film, it most of all resembles the recently released Joker, which almost everyone really liked, so everything that is connected with the transfer of those times and the atmosphere is implemented on 10/10. But there are also drawbacks - the pathos of the speeches that the characters make, I understand that this is done to maintain tone, and in order to remind that this is a film. And it is surprising that pathos is so rare here that it can only be noticed in episode 4, where there is clearly going overboard with it. Chernobyl is a small town built to support the life of a nuclear power plant, to make it easier for workers to get to work, and if something happens to prevent the disaster that overtook us. So in the film, this moment is very well shown, this is a town that does not stand out in anything, and they don't talk much about it, but the people who lived there tell a lot about them. For the sake of a quiet life, they jumped into fire and water, and most died, but they did not want themselves, they knew that it would be better for everyone. Therefore, they can easily be called real heroes, it is a pity that now there are few such people. The actors - they were wonderful, I almost never doubted that they were real Russians, despite the fact that they spoke English. It is a pity, of course, that the duration of the series is only 5 episodes, I would like more of this masterpiece, it could have been stretched, but then such a magnificent picture would not have come out. And if it did, I would be very glad that I live at the same time with such talented directors.… Expand
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9
zzz_DeV1L_zzzJun 9, 2020
An excellent series, the view of the USSR is well conveyed, it would have put 10, but due to the fact that the last series are devoted to lies, sorry, but 9.
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10
HoomanmahdaviJul 6, 2020
This movie shows you the real things in chernobyl you always have stress because of the decision people make in this movie
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10
MrPajamasFeb 20, 2021
The Chernobyl theme is simply cool, so it's no wonder that various documentaries are being made about it, in this case a series that is excellent. He has a catchy story with a great plot, which I don't even have to explain, if you know atThe Chernobyl theme is simply cool, so it's no wonder that various documentaries are being made about it, in this case a series that is excellent. He has a catchy story with a great plot, which I don't even have to explain, if you know at least a little bit what happened in Chernobyl. The series, although it has only 5 episodes, managed to summarize perhaps everything he had. In short, an excellent series with a luxurious atmosphere and a great story that you should see.… Expand
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9
Vanished_CriticFeb 1, 2021
المسلسل مبني على أحداث كارثة انفجار احد نواة المفاعل النووي الروسي بعام 1986... مجرد خمس حلقات لكنها حلقات جدا قوية وعلمية تعطيك معلومات فعلية وحقيقة عن المفاعل النووي وعن الاحداث اللي صارت وقتها بالإضافة تخليك تعيش جو الكارثة والضغط الليالمسلسل مبني على أحداث كارثة انفجار احد نواة المفاعل النووي الروسي بعام 1986... مجرد خمس حلقات لكنها حلقات جدا قوية وعلمية تعطيك معلومات فعلية وحقيقة عن المفاعل النووي وعن الاحداث اللي صارت وقتها بالإضافة تخليك تعيش جو الكارثة والضغط اللي كانوا العلماء والاشخاص تحته في ذلك الوقت وحجم التضحيات اللي اضطروا انهم يتخذونها سواء على مستوى الأفراد اللي خسروا كل ماعندهم او على مستوى العلماء وذلك لمنع كارثة اكبر من انها تحصل... شي جدا مهم ممكن تستفيدة من المسلسل أن بعض الأمور بالحياة هي خارج سيطرة الإنسان وفي أوقات الإنسان يواجه مشاكل هي أكبر من حجمة! المسلسل جبار بمعنى الكلمة وانصحكم تشوفونه ما راح يطول معاكم وبنفس الوقت راح يعجبكم.… Expand
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10
JonnygallianoMar 18, 2021
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. La serie parla in maniera Chiara e convincente del disastro del 1986 della centrale nucleare di Chernobyl. I fatti sono trattati in modo corretto le riprese sono ottime e la serie è credibile… Expand
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10
TotallyProGamerAug 28, 2021
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Absolutely incredible, This show is a drama but some of its scenes are very true. It's sad, interesting, thrilling and scary. This was the worst nuclear accident of all time. Even if you don't care about nuclear reactors, you should give it a watch. As good as GOT. Well done HBO. This is a must watch as metacritic says. Even though the metacritic don't really be honest.… Expand
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10
KazieJun 23, 2022
An insanely good show. Superb acting and a compelling story, you must watch it.

It showcases the Worst and Best of Humanity brilliantly!
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10
LjungpungSep 30, 2022
A true masterpiece and for some reason even better the second time I watched it. the only negative thing I have to say about it are the accents are a little strange for being Ukrainan and Russian characters
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10
CarlElmoreNov 22, 2022
The greatest miniseries ever made that's equally fascinating and horrifying to watch.
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10
BlueGuyTalksMar 13, 2023
Chernobyl uses body horror, scientific thinking, and the overbearing censorship of 1980s Soviet Russia to thoroughly and mightily reassess one of the biggest and worst disasters of the 20th century.

Full review here: https://boxd.it/3MayUj
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10
starky269811Jan 7, 2023
No sé si haya una mini serie mejor que esta, es lo mejor que he visto, escenas impactantes, crueles y nostálgicas, la amo.
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9
FYRJan 8, 2023
An incredible series that I would say is a must watch. Deviates slightly at times from the exact events that took place but overall excellently captures the importance of this disaster.
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9
PunisherTeamSep 1, 2023
Best story, best script, best setting. You can't miss it. Good HBO, Good HBO
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