The Man Who Fell To Earth Review

Chiwetel Ejiofor stars in this sequel series to the classic David Bowie movie. Read the Empire review now.

The Man Who Fell To Earth Review

Streaming on: Paramount+

Episodes viewed: 3 of 10

Though one of the unlikelier choices for the requel treatment, a 21st century update of Nicolas Roeg’s cult classic The Man Who Fell To Earth (itself an update of Walter Tevis’ 1963 novel) actually makes a lot of sense. The story of an alien crash-landing on Earth, on a mission to save their dying planet, is an allegory for immigration and the human experience that’s only grown more timely over the years. And it’s this contemporary resonance that showrunners Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek: Discovery) and Jenny Lumet (Picard) unpack in this stylish, intriguing, occasionally ill-focused ten-parter.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is on fine, elastically expressive form here as Faraday, the titular extra-terrestrial who arrives on Earth naked, alone, and hoping to save his species. A soulful Naomie Harris forms the show’s emotional core opposite him as brilliant scientist Justin Falls, whose work on cold fusion could yet save Faraday’s (and her own) species. The fascinating dynamic between the pair – one childlike and wide-eyed to Earthen wonders, and the other jaded by her daily struggles to feed her daughter (Annelle Olaleye) and care for her ailing father (a twinkly-eyed Clarke Peters) – anchors the series through its turbulent opening.

The commitment to sensorily evoking Faraday’s discombobulation through extreme close-ups and immersive sound design holds together the show’s otherwise disparate elements.

The show’s combination of Resident Alien style fish-out-of-water antics – Faraday’s smooth-as-sandpaper assimilation with humanity includes some liberal f-bomb usage and, err, unexpected hosepipe deep-throating – with more involving efforts to create a contemporary analogue for the American immigrant experience (the largely Black ensemble give the story a thought-provoking if as-of-yet underdeveloped racial subtext) leads to some unfortunately jarring tonal shifts. To Kurtzman and Lumet’s credit, though, their commitment to sensorily evoking Faraday’s discombobulation through extreme close-ups and immersive sound design just about hold together the show’s two otherwise disparate elements.

The introduction of Thomas Newton (formerly David Bowie, here inspiringly recast as Bill Nighy) as Faraday’s mentor helps things cohere, tangibly linking this series to its cinematic predecessor and putting the pair’s cautionary tales in dialogue. Elsewhere, the presence of Jimmi Simpson’s fussy foodie CIA agent Spencer Clay and Sonya Cassidy and Rob Delaney’s brilliant warring BigTech siblings Edie and Hatch help build more than enough mystery to make this one worth sticking with.

If you can get past its shaky start – a task made easier by the strong ensemble and slick direction – this space oddity becomes an enjoyable exploration of humanity.