It seems Netflix isn’t getting over their obsession with heist shows anytime soon, as they unleash another thriller about a band of misfits working together to pull off the mother of all heists.
Kaleidoscope stars the ever talented Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul) as a master safe cracker and accomplished thief, who in one night lost his wife, his daughter and the life he’d so skillfully schemed and robbed to put together.
After years in prison, he returns to his old life to find so much has changed except his raging urge to payback the people who wronged him.
As far as motivations and plots go, Kaleidoscope is not unique and the drama built around it is not as overwrought and finely staged as other heist shows such as stable mates Lupin and the gold standard, Money Heist. What makes Kaleidoscope different is the gimmick that you can jump into any episode no matter the order and the story will make sense to you. The trick is, the producers wrote the show for each episode to be singularly self contained with its story so it can make sense while still connected with the others in plot. It is a weird experiment that leaves you the viewer to compile, arrange and connect the story in a way that will drive the narrative smoothly for you. The show tries to help you along with episode management by colour coding and labeling them for you for easy selection.
This arrangement is the only thing that makes the show truly stand out.
The story itself isn’t that remarkable and the support characters play a little too close to clichés to make them truly shine. That is not to say you won’t find it engrossing. If you find your rhythm with the episode layout and you settle with the story, you’ll find it enjoyable. Giancarlo Esposito is great as always and like most heist shows, the heart of the execution is witnessing all these different personalities gel to pull off their robbery.
The payoff at the end could have been handled a little cleaner but it does its job of wrapping up the story.
Kaleidoscope is a mix bag of cosmetic ideas placed ahead of great narrative choices that pays off marginally. It should tide you over for the weekend
Author-Yao Mawutor Fianu
