The Offer

:

Season 1
Metascore
48

Mixed or average reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 28
  3. Negative: 9 out of 28
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Critic Reviews

  1. CNN
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Apr 28, 2022
    60
    The whole exercise would be considerably stronger as a five- or six-part series that went lighter on both personal detours and the juxtaposition of organized crime figures with the struggles of Ruddy and director Francis Ford Coppola (Dan Fogler) to preserve their vision.
  2. The Guardian
    Reviewed by: Adrian Horton
    Apr 27, 2022
    60
    All criticisms – and there are many – aside, the Offer remains watchable to the bloated end.
  3. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    May 5, 2022
    50
    It suffers from overlength. [9 - 22 May 2022, p.5]
  5. ABC News
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    Apr 29, 2022
    50
    Even when it flies off the rails fudging facts about the mob and movie-making, this flawed but fascinating series about the creation of ‘The Godfather’—an enduring screen classic even after 50 years—is still an offer no movie fan can refuse.
  6. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    Apr 28, 2022
    50
    The actors periodically save it. Goode captures enough of the real-life Evans’ vocal rhythms to keep every one of his scenes cooking, and he makes him a delightful, then scuzzy satyr of unpredictable moods and unerring pacing.
  7. Variety
    Reviewed by: Daniel D'Addario
    Apr 27, 2022
    50
    This program insists that movies are important, and does so by pulping perhaps the most celebrated film of the second half of the twentieth century and using it as fuel for a diverting but hardly cinematic streaming series.
  8. The Playlist
    Reviewed by: Rodrigo Perez
    Apr 25, 2022
    42
    Adequately directed by Dexter Fletcher, (the Adam Arkin-directed episodes are better) the main ‘Offer’ problem—beyond its overall superficiality and lack of substance—is that it wears out its welcome.
  9. Empire
    Reviewed by: Ian Freer
    Jun 22, 2022
    40
    Played with gusto by an engaging cast, The Offer falls down on its tin ears and broad strokes. You can’t help but feel The Godfather deserves so much better.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
  1. shorewalker
    May 7, 2022
    9
    Four episodes in, I'm not surprised that many critics have missed or underplayed the strengths of The Offer. Its first theme, creating andFour episodes in, I'm not surprised that many critics have missed or underplayed the strengths of The Offer. Its first theme, creating and maintaining a great team, is something that movie critics don't tend to relate to. Its second theme, deciding who to support and when, is also unusual. Its third, the trials of project management in art and business, is completely alien to movie criticism.

    Yet by saying intelligent things about all these topics, The Offer stands out – and, as a side benefit, is great entertainment for anyone interested in a rip-roaring tale about these things.

    The Offer is committed to the idea that project management and team-building are skills that great filmmaking needs. Very few good films or TV series have been made about business; this is one. ("All the President's Men" and "Other People's Money", for instance, both have business themes, but neither is quite focused on business as its subject.)

    The Offer shows a super-talented team doggedly pursuing an artistic objective. Paramount initially considered The Godfather a quickie project. But the team's members wanted to turn the slightly lurid bestselling book into a film masterpiece. They internalise each other's best obsessions – such as the desperate desire to cast a relatively unknown stage actor as Michael Corleone after studio boss Bob Evans repeatedly and emphatically rules him out. If you’ve been involved with high-performance teams, this dynamic rings true in a way that’s rarely depicted well on the screen.

    As that studio boss, Matthew Goode oozes believable charisma. But the rest of the cast is never less than strong either. Newcomer Anthony Ippolito is playing Pacino - a horrendous challenge - and doing a quietly great job of it. Dan Fogler also does great work as director Francis Ford Coppola in a bromance with Mario Buzo, a lovely dynamic you don’t see enough on film. (And it's true!. Said the real-life Coppola of Puzo: "I just loved to be around him ... I loved him like a favourite uncle.")

    There's shouting and violence, but the writers do a lot of their best work in quiet character moments. And they frequently reject the standard Hollywood solutions for their characters. Dull female tropes go out the window; the three key female roles are all just smart, interesting and effective people behaving in believable ways. (It's sad how notable this still is.)

    Perhaps most unusually of all, the script genuinely seems to like most of the people it’s portraying, even the mobsters. Yes, there are obvious reasons – the story of Paramount heroes is being presented on Paramount+ –, but the end result is still great to watch. In marked contrast to most of this year’s TV, The Offer has not yet dragged for a moment. 10 episodes feels like it will be just right.

    The Offer is not self-consciously artistic. But it is telling a great story about art and business, and telling it with both understanding and affection.    … Full Review »
  2. MDXV
    Mar 7, 2023
    10
    LikeLike
    LikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLike    … Full Review »
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