DEVS

A fantastic follow-up to Ex Machina. In Devs, genius encryption expert Lily  (Sonoya Mizuno) spends her days working for Amaya, a tech start-up that specializes in quantum computing. Her AI Programmer bf Sergei (Karl Glusman) is recruited into the mysterious and secretive Devs department at Amaya, and mysteriously vanishes after his first day there. Lily, sensing that all is not as it seems, decides to investigate with the help of her ex-lover Jamie (Jin Ha). 

Devs deals heavily with themes of loss, grief, messianic complexes, predetermination vs. free will, love, the dehumanizing effect of technology, the nature of reality, and quantum mechanics (as well as throwing in some commentary on powerful Silicon Valley tech companies). The cinematography (by Rob Hardy) and score (by Ben Salisbury, Geoff Barrow, and The Insects) are superb.  The show is perfectly cast and acted, and has some nice twists and turns throughout. Nick Offerman, Sonoya Mizuno, Jin Ha, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaeny, and Allison Pill are all superb in their respective roles.

Nick Offerman in particular is super-impressive as the head of Amaya, Forest. He's on a level we have never quite seen him at before. He manages to be scary at times but painfully human and sympathetic as well. It's also nice to see character actor Stephen McKinley Henderson get a nice meaty role to play with.

Devs is certainly not perfect. It can feel a bit full of itself and borders on being a bit preachy at times, but its numerous themes and it's rich and nuanced story and characters are fascinating. Devs isn't a feel-good romp, in fact, it's downright sobering. That said, it's still great and a definite must-watch for fans of smart, intellectual sci-fi that has some heart. Seek it out!

4.5 STARS