- Network: National Geographic
- Series Premiere Date: Apr 25, 2017
Watch Now
Where To Watch
| Stream On |
|
| Stream On |
|
Critic Reviews
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
The problem is one of focus. The show isn’t “Genius: Picasso and Pals”; it’s about one man, one genius. As the show’s attention spreads, Genius increasingly feels like an ensemble series. Unfortunately, with so few episodes, and two different timelines to progress through, side stories feel like distractions from the core idea of the season. When Picasso is at the forefront, though, Genius is impressive.
-
If you don’t mind its superficialities, Genius can be enjoyed for its surface attributes, including Mr. Banderas’s impressive makeup and expectedly seductive performance. (If he suffers in comparison to Mr. Rush, it’s because the show’s conception of Einstein, focused less on seduction, was more interesting.)
-
There is much to admire here, from the performances to the cinematography, but then there are aspects of the production that aren't all that admirable. That would include the erratic direction and wildly inconsistent dialogue.
-
An extravaganza of exhausting time shifts and mind-numbing dialogue that can use all the sympathy it gets. When the drama comes vividly alive, as it does often enough, the subject is seldom art. It’s almost always Picasso (a seductive if also largely unknowable character in Antonio Banderas’s subtle portrayal) and the women who loved him: women he loved and needed in turn and in time betrayed and abandoned.
-
In the end, Genius: Picasso remains a minor effort all around. It moves so quickly and summarizes so much, it’s hard to trust anything but the most basic aspects of the story. Even the art is relegated to the background, as the series highlights only one painting in the first four hours.
Awards & Rankings
There are no user reviews yet.