- Network: NBC
- Series Premiere Date: Apr 12, 2016
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Critic Reviews
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Game of Silence is a killer whale of a show.
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All of the actors are good; Mr. Raymond-James is scary good; and the story rips along at a brisk pace. No one who works in the penal system will like the portrayals here, but lovers of mystery and suspense could easily be hooked.
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As the stakes of their revenge pact rise higher, and their ingenuity and morality get tested against seemingly unbeatable foes, don’t be surprised if you’re less and less bothered by the little fumbles in writing as you get more and more engrossed in the bigger picture.
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Game of Silence does a pretty solid job of stitching together flashbacks and the ongoing efforts to get justice either by the book or by any means necessary. The strongest performance is by Raymond-James as the deeply tormented, trigger-tempered Gil.
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While it mostly traffics in the idea of trying to right the past and how that can go so very wrong, it doesn’t get bogged down, instead letting the action and mystery drive the story. For what it is, you likely will be entertained while watching it, but it probably won’t stick with you very long.
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A bit contrived at times--how many times have we seen an uninvited police detective hanging back at a funeral to initiate a confrontation--Game of Silence offers a so-so compelling tale.
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Game’s dialogue is inconsequential, pushing the players around from scene to scene, but the plot payoffs come fast and furious.
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The pitch here can be shrill. The warden makes Satan look like a nice guy, and Gil has a temper that can be wearying. But the essential tension--who will finally tell the truth? everybody is lying to somebody--makes for compelling, if exhausting, drama.
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Frankly, based on two episodes, Game of Silence doesn't seem to be worth the effort required to sort out its twisted plotting. However, it's clearly the kind of show that could suck in viewers who enjoy trying to solve a TV mystery, the more twisted the better.
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Game of Silence is not going to win any Emmys, but the murder-mystery at the show’s center is sufficiently intriguing to make you want to see the grown-up boys vindicated.
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Comparisons to Barry Levinson's "Sleepers" are inevitable, but with its cartoonish villains, hideously ritualized crimes and general plot-stomping, it is far more reminiscent of all those pulpy TV movies in the late '70s, in which a depraved warden/sheriff abused those in his care. Strangely, this is its greatest strength.
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A convoluted story that doesn’t seem all that worthwhile to unravel, or peel--or watch..
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Most of its main characters carry the scars of what they've done and what's been done to them. The evil personified by the warden-turned-politico (Conor O'Farrell, CSI) is unrelenting. And unrelenting occasionally turns into predictable.
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Despite a fine job casting the show--including the principals’ youthful alter egos--the story becomes less convincing as the layers and collateral damage pile up over the nine episodes previewed (with only the finale withheld).
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Ultimately the whole endeavor will feel more like hide and seek--the writers hide the answers that the audience seeks to find, traveling down dead ends until the big mystery is solved. It’s TV show as Clue board.
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The twists hold some interest, as plot mechanics often do; the characters, less so. No one’s behavior makes much sense, and no one’s relationship ever rings true.
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Although you never lose interest in the story, Hudgins begins to pile it on too much the series continues, with too many plot-enhancing coincidences added to too many predictable story twists.
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Game Of Silence taunts with promises of finding solace in the truth, and strength in friendship. But it wades through so much disgusting muck to get there, it seems unlikely that the payoff, when it finally arrives, will actually be worth it.
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The villains are comically hissable, making this too-familiar Game regrettable missable. [18 Apr-1 May 2016, p.19]
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Game of Silence is a show that's almost non-stop plot, but it's plagued by inconsistency that makes nearly every beat clunkier than it needs to be.
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A grim test of endurance, Game of Silence wants to do honorably by its subject matter while also luring you in with lurid shocks. It’s a combination that cannot hold itself together.
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As serialized mysteries go, Game isn't terrible but some of it is preposterous enough that viewers may not want to play it again.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 23 out of 39
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Mixed: 4 out of 39
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Negative: 12 out of 39
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Apr 12, 2016This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view.
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May 26, 2016
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May 7, 2016