Da Vinci's Demons

Leonardo may not like what Starz has turned him into, but you probably won't mind this joy ride.

Its real appeal should be to viewers who like their TV history entertainingly out there.

We see promise in Tom Riley's Leonardo da Vinci. [12 Apr 2013, p.68]

While the first two episodes of "Da Vinci" are overly convoluted, the action moves at such a rapid pace and unfolds with such giddy enthusiasm that it's easy to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

It's all great fun, a feast of eye and mind candy into which a few shreds of leafy greens have been added for content.

No one should base a term paper on it, but Da Vinci's Demons is at least an entertaining lie.

The plot strands don’t always come together smoothly, some of da Vinci’s mystical, drug-addled visions are pretentious, and the CGI re-creating 15th-century Florence is spotty. And the general tone of the show will not satisfy anyone looking for a serious take on a historical figure or era. But Da Vinci’s Demons is an entertaining series with one huge factor working in its favor: Unlike so much of what we see on TV lineups, it aims to be different.

[The Renaissance and Leonardo] bring moments of transcendent beauty to the series, which was written by David S. Goyer, and is laced with aha moments of glorious invention and the scent of mysticism. The line between mystery and bafflement is a thin one, though, and at times it is impossible to tell what's going on or who's who in the flickering torchlight. There is also a distraction, at least initially, in the portrayal of Leonardo--who comes across as a weird amalgam of Peter Pan, MacGyver and a Chippendale.

Da Vinci’s Demons breezily and capably finds a balance between amusing wit and dour drama.

Suffice it to say Da Vinci's Demons (warning: it contains nudity, violence, and profanity) has a lot of balls in the air. But it manages this juggling act with aplomb.

There’s a lot of material to mine here and Goyer, Starz and Da Vinci’s Demons are off to an entertaining start.

Riley takes a bit of getting used to as Da Vinci, but once one adjusts to the program’s tone, it’s an entertaining serialized plot with plenty of twists, nudity and violence, but not the same grim streak or stuffiness of something like "The Borgias."

To work, this overheated alchemy needs a magnetic Leo, but Tom Riley is miscast--too smart-alecky and brash. [13 May 2013, p.46]

Suspend disbelief and you’ll have fun, but believe and you’re in trouble.