Reviews on series Chernobyl. Exclusion Zone (96)

The first season was very exciting, the atmosphere of Pripyat is well conveyed, it is interesting to observe the development of events and relations between the characters. I watched it, though the story was often predicted.

In the second season, the budget has clearly grown and the scenes look juicy. This is probably the only advantage of this season. The very idea of an alternative story in the United States gave some hope, but the writers did not cope. "Nikita" is not clear what was created for, just a hint button for heroes. From the first minutes of arriving in Maryland, you can see that they took inspiration from many works. From Mad Max, with their wild bandits living in the desert, to what I thought were very strange things. Derek, with all his strangeness and appearance, resembles Will. There's a Claire who's supposed to blow up the station. Maybe I didn't look well, but her motives aren't clear. The whole season is made only for the introduction of the antagonist, the same Derek whose mother just transfused Pasha's blood. Derek himself did not catch anything in maturity, just wanted this stuffiness to end faster.
And finally Season 3. I was still hoping that the story would end normally. But no, these are 3 identical movies, the only difference is that they differ 5 minutes at the beginning. Thought I had a glitch. Why do I turn on 2 movies and the same thing? Thank you for not putting it in different places, but at the end. And it's hard to call it endings. All the actions of 2 seasons become meaningless. Especially since one of the endings made a chronological error.

I recommend watching only the first and half of the second season. Then it's a waste of time.

I accidentally stumbled upon this series on TNT and was hooked by a mysterious and nonlinear plot. I started watching it from Episode 6 to Episode 8. The most unusual thing is that the last Russian TV series I tried to watch was The Brigade in 2002, which I mastered in 1.5 episodes. Just like the fact that I turn on the TV once a month.
But what was my horror when I looked at the previous 5? I do not recommend it to anyone, especially children. In a country where you are told about morality and morality on every corner, jailed for inciting hatred or insulting the authorities, branded the spiritless West, a series was shot in which “well, this is different.” Now, everything in order. In the review I will describe what no one paid attention to. This is only the first season, the second is very bad.
Plagiarism. It is based on the idea of the Ukrainian S.T.A.L.K.E.R., where the Chernobyl disaster awakened otherworldly forces a la DOOM. The series itself, despite the mysticism and “science fiction” is filmed in the spirit of a teenage American road movie with typical characters Beauty, Degenerate, Botanist, Beauty and Otorva.
Humor. The storyline is not combined with humor. The director, writer and jokes of the series live in parallel universes. And how a mystical series about the tragedy was imposed on a stupid comedy for teenagers - ask the director. The degenerate beats the Botanist, gives him backs and kicks him in the stomach, shoves him in the trunk, calls him a slave. Fun? Maybe you'll get jokes about sex, obscenity, depraved behavior and spermatotoxicosis? Or how cool is it to swell to unconsciousness? A series of American youth comedies of the 90s teleported in the 2010s. It is strange that cakes in the face did not throw and slip on the skin of a banana. I will remind you again that the film is positioned as a mystical thriller, not a youth comedy. And I am far from being a prude.

Hate. The picture is also positioned as an attempt to awaken in teenagers interest in the past, the Chernobyl disaster and the USSR, that is, patriotism. Patriotism is a kind of love for one’s country and nation, not hatred for others. However, the Ukrainians in the picture are fluently depicted as hokhly-selyuks with a pig under their arm, who escaped from the “friendship of peoples”. That's what they say. In the film there is an absolutely meaningless scene where the jeeps from Kharkov, having learned that they are delivering children from Moscow, start hunting for them, saying that they are hunting Muscovites. Well, Bandera, what? But the most disgusting scene, where a bad-speaking Asian (Tajik) is presented as a weak-minded, amateur... goats. Why scientists hired a person with abnormalities as a porter of complex devices is a mystery. No less disgusting is the general hatred of the characters to the character of Botanic, where the intellect is presented as something unnecessary and bad and necessarily accompanied by cowardice. There is also homophobia, where a gay border guard (part-time Ukrainian), is ashamed of his orientation and tries to prove to colleagues that he is not a “damaged”, but a “normal kid” – for which a stage is stuck, where Otorva imitates sex with him behind a closed door.
As a result, the film provokes the image of the enemy from Ukrainians, disdain for migrants, hatred for intellectual people, harassment, abuse, consumer attitude towards women, homophobia. How did the creators let this happen? It's simple, it's their way of thinking. Maybe the same traditional values that are broadcast to us from high stands. Therefore, it is not surprising that such films are prohibited from showing in neighboring and not very countries.
Meaningless. The film contains unnecessary inserts and indications of the parameters of the fourth power unit seconds before the disaster, allegedly appealing to historicity. Freaky computer dog inserted in a movie for special effects. Stolen from the Terminator "time-travel ball," cutting off concrete and metal, which is that it is not. Senseless beatings and abuse. The main characters are not positive characters and role models, and some of their actions are simply disgusting. They do not form a single team and exist on their own. It is funny that the heroes calmly skate and walk around the protected Chernobyl zone, burn fires - which can not be in principle.
The fact that the cause of the Holocaust is directly tied to the carelessness and inefficiency of the Soviet system was left behind. The second season, which is no longer possible to watch. The series, like the older generation, should cause a rush of nostalgia, but this is leveled by poor vulgarity. And Grandma will tell you that in the USSR such a dirty thing was not filmed. And to compete for the conditional youth with Netflix, this craft is not able.
Of course, you might ask why I watched it. The fact is that the series is based on a good script / plot of a mystical thriller in paperback. Even with logical bugs. However, a wrapper of propaganda, Hollywood clichés, Russian clichés, some incomprehensible scenes for the sake of scenes and special effects for the sake of special effects kill the good that could turn out.

Contrary to popular opinion about the repertoire policy of the TV channel TNT (which is famous for humorous stupid TV series + reality show Dom-2), I want to say that there were times in the 2010s when the channel showed atypical things. Thanks to the experiments of Valery Fedorovich, Evgeny Nikishov, Alexander Dulerain, the entertainment channel TNT also showed social dramas, thrillers, mysticism. And, in my opinion, these series surpassed the quality of all the main TV production of the channel (which eventually led to the rebranding of TNT and the departure of Fedorovich and Nikishov on TV3 in 2016). So, among those non-standard series, I would like to name, first of all, "Chernobyl: Exclusion Zone".

It seems to me that the series, although it deals with the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in April 1986, does not mock it. Although, of course, the disaster here is just the background (by the way, the creators really went to Pripyat for the sake of filming nature, but the actors did not participate in these shootings).

“Chernobyl: Zone of Exclusion” is quite an independent action-packed work, which is difficult to choose any one genre. After all, here there is a thriller, and road-movie, and mysticism. Plus, if you add the movement of characters in time, action, humor and retro-futurism, you get a fascinating story in the spirit of “Back to the Future”, or “The Butterfly Effect”.
The main characters at first do not cause much sympathy, because of the cliché. Here and the confident leader Pasha (Konstantin Davydov), and his sharp-tongued bully friend Lesha (Sergei Romanovich), and the girl Lesha Nastya (Valery Dmitriev), and the timid programmer-glasses Gosha (Anvar Khalilulayev). A little later, they will be joined by a mysterious girl who must be saved all the time - Anya (Kristina Kazinskaya). In general, a standard set of characters from a typical youth film/series. But gradually the guys open up in different situations, and you get used to them. And so much so that when in season 2, Pavel met in an alternative 2013 (where the USSR did not collapse) botan-Lesha and tough Gosh it becomes clear that even the actors themselves are difficult to play such images (while in the first season they looked organically). The plus of the series was that the characters were played by little-known, novice actors (although of all of them I was only familiar with Romanovich in the films “Tender May” and “Crew”).
Much more difficult is the case with the antagonists of the series. Because in a good work of art there is both a hero and antagonist, in the series “Chernobyl: Zone of Exclusion” at the behest of screenwriter Ilya Kulikov, the role of the main villain passes from one character to another. Plus, the exclusion zone itself, albeit metaphorically, will also be the main enemy of the guys over time. Although of all the enemies I liked the former KGB-shnik Kostenko (Eugene Stychkin). Especially remembered his fight with himself in 1986 (when the “butterfly effect” worked, and the scar received in the fight, the young Kostenko immediately appeared a scar on the face of the elderly).
The first season was shown in the fall 2014 twice: first in theaters (for series this is a rare case), and then on TNT. However, despite the high ratings, it took several years to wait for the continuation. They even talked about closing the project. But, fortunately, a way out of the situation was found, and, having moved to work on TV-3, Fedorovich and Nikishov resumed shooting the series, but for another channel. But to be honest, the second season was worse. Yes, of course, it was clear that the budget increased, which allowed the film crew to fly to the United States (where the accident occurred at the nuclear power plant in the changed past), as well as improve the graphics. But it still wasn't that interesting. First, there were too many homages (if not plagiarism) from other well-known American films (Resident Evil-3, Mad Max: Fury Road, Terminator, Exorcist, Shining, Forbidden Zone). Secondly, time travel has become more, and the plot is more confusing. Thirdly, the plot about the USSR in 2013 (although the series shows Donald Trump as the President of the United States, although then there was Obama) turned out to be controversial. It seems ironic (Secretary General – Putin, Soviet iPhones and tablets, the USSR constantly send humanitarian aid to the Americans, Buzov in the role of news anchor), but at the same time secondary in relation to the second season of “The Far Side of the Moon”. This storyline did not last long.

Anyway, in general, I liked Chernobyl: Exclusion Zone. Of course, there are controversial points in the plot (as well as the topic itself). But against the background of other Russian TV series, it looks cool. Compared to American TV shows, it is above average.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to finish the series clearly and clearly, and the open finale gave the audience a chance to continue. However, a year later, the creators of “Chernobyl” went on another experiment, shooting the third season in the form of three full-length films and uploading them on the PREMIER platform. But that will be another story...

7 out of 10

The beginning of the first season is difficult to pass, it is designed to show how cheap we are made now. An unpleasant residue in the soul is left by meaningless, merciless parties of children raised by free media, calculated blasphemous reports of a thiefy video blogger, according to the format of speaking for a modern young intelligentsia that is silent. ..

In general, this series is a good adventure fiction on the verge of mysticism. The first season is original and ends with a perfect utopia, in its contrast with the current realities, you can catch sarcasm in the depiction of post-Soviet reality. In the second season, they try to breathe new life into familiar themes, techniques and images, especially when the action takes place in an American location. Therefore, after the end of the viewing, it seems that the third season in the same spirit - do not!
Or it should be entirely devoted to entering the infernal worlds.

I have to say, this series went pretty well. The older generation does not understand it.

If we talk about the first season, the disadvantages include computer graphics and too vulgar personality of such a character as Lesha Gorelov. However, at the same time, this frame adds more color to the series (my personal opinion). Very bright advantages here are the realism of the relationships of the main characters, their habits, their manners, their habits, and so on. They, like most of our young people, drink, smoke, swear, do obscene things, all one-on-one. In addition, the advantages of the series can be called: adventure, a little action, and perhaps the most important “horse” of the series is time travel.
If we talk about the second season, here the drawback is perhaps the unfinished plot and confusion in some parts of the series, that is, some moments there the first time you will not understand. And the advantages here are almost the same as in the first season, but I especially want to emphasize, again, the realism of relations between young people, in particular, Pasha and Ani.
In general, the authors have something to adjust in this series. However, all the flaws and blunders are more than paid off by the realistic play of the actors, albeit slightly incomprehensible, but exciting plot and of course a drop of action.
9 out of 10

The theme of time travel has always been attractive to creators, for it is an immense field of ground for experimentation. Here the whole world lives at the behest of the author, and he is required to observe only one rule - to remember: everything has its consequences.
Alas, this little one is often trampled; this little one is often neglected, trying to create a plot brighter and more confusing.

The theme of games over time is already vast, and there has not been a single work, either literary or, especially, cinematographic, in which the authors have exhausted at least one thousand available resources. You can close your eyes to something when it is done to expand the frames, but why punch holes in the wall when no one is in a hurry to go out even through the open door?
“Chernobyl” is a film about time, primarily about time: because its entire plot is tied to this, and time here acts as the main line, not an auxiliary one. And what is the value of the picture, when the authors failed to create the main line in any attractive form, in any way understandable and accessible. The authors simply could not do this, because they themselves did not understand what was happening, and the whole tangle was simply thrown to the viewer - figure it out for yourself.

The film will be interesting for teenagers, the film will be interesting for liberals, the film will be interesting for lovers of conspiracy theories, but never for those who tend to think about what they saw. Because the first attempts to think about the action of “Chernobyl” kill the picture completely.
Evaluation - exclusively for the first season, in which the authors still tried not to lose control over what happened, tried to remember what they did in the beginning, and continue to act in accordance with previous decisions. The second season - no compromises: two.
6 out of 10

Let me start with the fact that CZO is a really cool and unprecedented format in the Russian film industry. The first season, despite small errors and scarcity of scenery, captures from the first frames, and so much so that you want to review it again and again. And even at the moment when you realize that all attempts to understand the time loop collapse on the banal directorial imperfections, the series does not lose its appeal.

Another thing is the second season... The first thought that arises after watching it: and this is you, filmed for 3 years??? Such an abundance of blunders in the whole film does not save even a famously twisted plot with an assortment of American films. Why didn’t the writers follow the characters? How did it happen that Pasha at the beginning of the second season appears in a completely different form than at the end of the first season? Both seasons are separated by a maximum of several hours. And the worst part. Olga Buzova, in the image of a TV presenter from an alternative happy socialist future, briskly issues congratulations on the next anniversary of the October revolution. And this is despite the fact that, again, according to the plot, Pasha is transferred from April, spring Pripyat in 1986 to ... twenty years ahead in the alternative Soviet Pripyat, and from there moves to Moscow. That is, Pavel is also in April, but a couple of decades ahead and celebrate the Soviet people should May holidays! The October Revolution in the USSR was celebrated on November 7, and if the main character moved at this time, then at least it should be autumn and cold weather. Screenwriters like you could have so stupidly omitted the whole movie?
Against the background of such stupid mistakes, even a five-minute action with a downed Boeing 747 is lost. And again with a lot of misunderstandings. For example, where did the guy and the cat go after landing? And the miracle of the American aviation industry Boeing 747 or Jumbo Jet in the livery of the fictional “Soviet airlines” causes a bitter grin. In a country where the U.S. is helping torn by civil wars and even produces its own smartphones, similar to today’s Russia, has its own aviation industry collapsed? I will not dwell on the other shortcomings of the second season, I will only note that for me it became interesting only towards the end, when the action finally moved to Pripyat. Too bad there were very few scenes. The open finale and the unusual sequel promised from the writers on the one hand pleases, and on the other frightens. If for 3 years of work only a few completely unfinished series appeared on the screens, what will happen next?

The series can be attributed to youth, but unlike many representatives of this genre, produced in our country, there is an exciting plot. Perhaps the scenario is Chernobyl’s strongest side, compensating not too big a budget and not the most outstanding actors. The interweaving of mysticism, detective and time travel is intriguing and makes you watch the series one by one. There are also very beautiful views of Pripyat and many references to fans of the computer game Stalker. The second season is a great swell in terms of budget, which was reflected in the shooting in the United States with the involvement of American actors and a brighter and more colorful picture. But the script of the second part is not so original, many things are illogical and secondary to the first season. Despite this, the series receives attention as one of the few original and interesting projects of domestic television.

Surprised by the plot, never before appeared in us, filled with mysticism. Most importantly, the story is unpredictable. This is the first game series about Chernobyl. But at first it was not very inspirational, since in the first series the episode began with a teenage drunkenness, but closer to the middle of the series, the opinion has already changed greatly.

I will tell those who are just going to watch. It is impossible to watch with one eye, you need to carefully delve into the series. In the series will slip details, which will be referred to further. Otherwise, it will seem crazy.

Plot: After a party at Pavel’s house, in the morning, eight million rubles were found missing. By logical reasoning, the guys conclude that the thief is an IT specialist, as it later turns out, not called by anyone, to fix the Internet in Pasha’s apartment. Guys find a thief on the Internet, and just posted them podcast about where he is going. Teenagers “set up” in a state of “hunting”, jump into the car and chase the “podcaster”. All the Matyuks are covered with censorship, and you would not swear if you stole eight million?
The main character Pavel, brought up, quite a positive guy, sincerely wants to return the missing to his parents. I would say he's a leader in the campaign.

Lesha, the best friend of Paul, many write that he is a gopnik, categorically disagree, a windy guy, a little hooligan. In nature, the opposite of Paul. In addition, Lyosha, the only one who dilutes the plot with humor, although not always “decent”.
Nastya, girl Lyosha, with a very unusual appearance. Nose piercing, hair color, and behavior are all about teenage rebellion.

Hero Gosh, classic "glasses" in the campaign, IT, well, someone should hold a tablet to watch new podcasts. No, it's not fair. After all, the whole campaign is in his car.

Heroine Anya, a casual acquaintance in this company. Good, sweet is very similar to Paul in character. Of course, not for nothing, the main character must have a lady.
The main negative hero, IT expert Igor, later he became known as "podcaster" because of his provocative video clips. This is what a “killed thief” should be. Unable to assert himself otherwise, he took out other people’s money, went to spend it and still filmed all his “dream purchases” on video.
The actors did well with their roles.

There are a couple of minor blunders, but as they say, this is a movie, you can find fault with anything. Overall, the plot is interesting. The streets of Pripyat are shown, because the film was partially filmed there, the appropriate atmosphere was created. I suggest you look.

A very wide advertising campaign of the first season formed a fairly large fan base for the project as a whole, and a really intriguing finale of a quality product literally obliged to wait for the continuation. Well, "Chernobyl: Zone of Exclusion" from a youth road movie turned into a post-apocalyptic thriller of Hollywood scale, at the same time relocating from the TNT TV channel to TV-3.
So what do we see? The youth entertainment series has turned into something more serious, on which producers are not ashamed to invest big money. Is it necessary to say that part of the series was filmed in America?
You can see what so much money was spent on. The modern Soviet Union was created magnificently, the entourage of the fictional alternative reality is perfectly recreated with all the attributes including the new design of the towers of Moscow City, Soviet Moscow, the advanced automotive industry, Soviet Aeroflot, Runet, General Secretary of the Central Committee of Putin and a bunch of policemen in modern form.
At the same time, you experience completely different feelings, getting together with the main characters in the United States. The American Exclusion Zone is more like the sandy locations of Mad Max and Fallout. Also pleases the magnificently recreated entourage of America of the 80s and 50s, where the main characters will visit. About Pripyat, of course, here also will not forget, but the Ukrainian Zone in the first season was more catchy, and attention was paid to it more.
Special thanks to the creators for the original screensaver with the American and Ukrainian Zones of Exclusion, pleasantly reminiscent of the first season with an easily recognizable remix of the main musical theme of the first season.
The action here has also grown qualitatively and quantitatively. Special effects cooler than the underdrawn dog - the American Zone, explosions, chases, sometimes even shootings and absolutely fantastic episodes on the verge of reality - all this simultaneously turns the second season into a fantastic action movie for Russian television. At the same time, we are constantly reminded that this is primarily a thriller about time travel, where there are still more questions than answers.
It is worth noting that along with the series grew up and matured all the main characters (except, perhaps, Goshi). This is especially true of the female part of the team, which has become even more attractive. All the main persons remained at the same level, pleased with his cameo Epifantsev, but especially happy here again Stychkin, with his inherent gloss depicting either a terrorist who went, then a cool FSB general. Well, the main villain was very pleased, of course.
In general, the second season of “Chernobyl” was very pleased, it is really moving for the better in many ways, but the project still has a lot to progress (the finale hints at the third season), but the writers invented too much nonsense closer to the final, because of which it is not possible to take seriously such a successful project, which is slowly slipping into nonsense. Guys, have time to stop before you ruined a rare for our successful idea.
8 out of 10

In recent years, there are very few suitable series on Russian TV, on the same TNT, STS all new series are just a solid copypaste from other projects and not very long-lived.
In 2014, when the announcement of Chernobyl on TNT was shown, I thought that this was another crackpot and a passer. However, with a typical TV series in the first series, the series smoothly goes into a very useful mystical series and begins to drive at full speed in terms of action, and it is very interesting to watch. In the first season, we are introduced to the characters who, as the series continues, slowly begin to open up, change their attitude to each other and to everything that happens around them, the Zone constantly throws new tests in the form of phantoms and other mysteries, and of course, the main thing in the series is the scenes in the pre-emergency Pripyat, where the characters moved with the help of a portable time machine, and which are key for the entire subsequent story. And again, the end of the first season is extremely fascinating and makes you wait for the continuation - Pripyat is saved, the USSR did not collapse, and this atmosphere begins to reveal itself more and more in the second season.
So, three years have passed, and the second season finally comes out on TV3, which begins with a local newscast with Olga Buzova. Then there are shots from Soviet Moscow sample of our time. Everywhere slogans about the celebration of the revolution, red flags with a sickle and a hammer, in general, a real fairy tale for a communist. Again, the action does not keep itself waiting and immediately there is an explosion of the car in which Pasha and Antonov drive, after which the latter dies. And so in the course of the plot Pasha persuades his friends to go with him ' to save the world'. Naturally, everyone refuses, but thanks to 'Nikita' the trip did take place. And along the way, the old heroes begin from their USSR-ov personalities smoothly flow into their original ones. For example, Leha from his 'botanical' image returns to his original 'hooligan' Nastya from an ordinary shy Soviet girl again turns into a fearless and rather strong girl, and Gosha from a typical majorika again returns to his 'cowardly' image. Locations in the second season not only show the actions of the characters in these places, but also change the very atmosphere and quality of shooting the series. For example, the series in America in 1986 and 1956 make the series difficult to distinguish from what is filmed in the West, because the quality of shooting is simply colossal, and it generally remains the same in the series in the universe of our time. The second season became even more confusing and interesting – there were more mysteries and oddities, new characters that are also directly or indirectly related to the storyline, and so on. The ending, unfortunately, does not end the one started in the first season, but the creators of the series announced the continuation, but this will not be the third season, but a full-length film with 4 endings (ie, when buying a ticket, you get to a random ending).
In general, the series is really worth your attention, and again, as I said in the title of this review - this is the best that was shot in this country, although it is not without shackles.

And if you are a fan of this genre and want a really good sci-fi kinza, then be sure to watch this series.
9.7 out of 10

Not so long ago, the TV channel TNT announced that it would soon stop showing foreign films and TV series, and focus on its original product. The most interesting thing is that they can do it.

“Tell me someone, even a year and a half or two ago, that I would not scold, let alone praise, Russian filmmaking, I would have laughed in his face.” But everything has changed.

First was Sweet Life. A breath of fresh air in the abyss of sitcoms and cop series. I could not believe that we will be able to register interesting characters and a clear plot. And it's beautiful to present.

Then followed the series “Treason”, with a strong soundtrack. He began to dispel my doubts about Russian dramas. And Eugene Stychkin looked quite organic here. Before that, he was more like a comedian.

The policeman from Rublevka forced me to sit down and make me watch. For a long time I refused, but I had to agree that this series from TNT came to me. Alexander Petrov, played by all 200 percent. Even I wanted a red conversion.

When I started watching Chernobyl. Zone of Alienation, before my eyes popped up a cheap poster of the first season, which was made on the shelves. But the moment came when his hands reached him.
Pasha's parents sold the apartment, put the money in a safe and went to rest. The guy throws a party at home, and in the morning, of course, money disappears. The thief goes to Pripyat, leaving video messages for Pasha and his friends. The beginning of the plot looks drawn to somehow justify the trip of five young people to the radioactive zone. But only at the beginning.

The closer the guys get to Chernobyl, the more unexpected twists appear. What do you not expect from such a series?

The budget for the first season was not very big. I had to save somewhere, shoot on the same locations, to leave more on computer graphics, which is not very shiny. Road Movie with teenagers in the post-Soviet space, who meet paranormal phenomena. This is how the first season is described.

From the first few minutes of the second season, everything changed. Both with the world in which the action takes place and with the series itself. The budget has grown: the picture has become more vivid and dynamic. The action is now developing both in Russia and in the United States. There are more and better special effects. And the plot presents even more twists.

In addition to the same Eugene Stychkin, Vladimir Epifantsev and Olga Buzova appear in the frame. L'One is working on the soundtrack. And on the streets of Moscow there are beautifully filmed chases.

What I would like to highlight separately, since how well thought out the retro-future turned out. The futuristic Soviet Union looks warm, homely and cozy. It's like the good old days. Everywhere the symbolism of those times in new processing. Hightech technology that could have been invented here. And all this is seasoned with the mentality of the Soviet citizen in modern reality. A lot of work has been done on how to show it.

But the most interesting thing that worked on the script, the man who wrote and came up with “The Policeman from Rublyovka” – Ilya Kulikov. He, at one time, worked on the no less famous “Deaf” A talented author with his own approach to the matter. I am sure that the next projects will be equally interesting.

After all this, I want to believe that television in Russia is finally beginning to rise from its knees. And for the foreseeable future, we will stop talking shamefully about watching Russian TV shows.

Give me autographs of those who wrote this script!
It would seem that the first season was not bad. But when I finished watching the second one, I realized it was a level higher. The series has become so fascinating, thanks to the intricate plot and saturation with mysticism, that it is simply impossible to believe that it was shot for Russian television. The atmosphere is as close as possible to that in which the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series of books and games are immersed as possible for a wide audience. This series is presented as a symbiosis of novels about stalkers and a film about time travel, made in the best traditions of Hollywood.
For all young and not so people fascinated by stalker romance, this series is a must-watch. But other fans of non-full-length screen stories are also highly recommended to appreciate this, literally, masterpiece. After all, he is, without a doubt, one of the best series ever released in Russia.
Personal assessment of the second season:

10 out of 10

Opinion about the second season.

The explosion at the Chernobyl plant struck many. It is still unknown what and who caused such a large-scale explosion at the fourth power unit. One thing is known: the accident was a good impetus to create theories about this event. In 2014, Ilya Kulikov, a native of our capital, received an order to write a script for a mystical series, the actions of which will be based on adventures in Chernobyl. The story, which began three years ago, puts the final climax today, blowing the brains of anyone who has ever followed the story in the project.
The main difference between the two seasons is the rapid growth in the development of script work. If in the first season I had to follow the scenery of Pripyat, and I did not pay much attention to the plot, the second season made a rapid step in this regard. Ilya Kulikov, the author of the script, created a real Hollywood bomb from the second season. From now on, the plot does not just have to be listened to - it must be followed and done very carefully. Given the finale of last season, Ilya had to develop several varieties of continuation, which would not seem ordinary stamped idylls, and look modern and independent ideas. Fortunately, the series has succeeded. Unfortunately, it turned out to be too tortured. Ilya tried so hard to make the second “Zone of Exclusion” a unique project that he overstepped a stiff stick. There are too many theories in the sequel, each of which is not something that surpasses each other, no. They are twisted very interestingly, but in order not to get confused in them - you need to be Ilya Kulikov. The sequel suffers from too much unnecessary information, which clogs the brain in an attempt to solve all these puzzles. Ilya, chasing to Hollywood, did not understand one thing – the script there work a little more than usual. That is why even the most difficult-built detectives look amazingly simple.
The sequel took, no less than three years. As reported by the directors, the filming process took the group five to six months of active work, while the process of transferring all this to the computer was somewhat delayed than expected. Of course, three years, given the shooting time, is a very long time. In such moments, the director has a hard time, because he knows that one mistake can erase everything he has been doing all his life. But despite this, the sequel to Chernobyl is pleased with its result. This is not an ideal that could be achieved, but given that the same Defenders on a larger budget look like a childish surprise, this series is just a fairy tale in our cinema. Chromo-kei is lost in moments when the graphics are recreated from scratch. For example, a mini-race of two heroes on the territory of the alternative USSR. Or a failed flight sketch. In general, each of the frames is not so striking, and only good things should be said about the work done.
As we all remember, at the end of last season, everyone, except Pasha, died at the hands of Kostenko. One of the main headaches of Ilya Kulikov was the resurrection / reincarnation of old characters in a new shell. It makes no sense to describe how and what, in the first series everything is perfectly explained, so it will be easy to understand the idea of the writer. However, Ilya’s attempts to make new characters out of new characters, with his backstory, is a good idea, but with a very weak implementation. Sergey Romanovich, who played the daring guy Lyoshu in the first season, tries to portray the scientific genius Alexei. Whatever it may be, but the feeling of the original greatly outweighs the attempts to continue, and therefore it is not interesting to watch how Alexey turns into Lesha. Gosha (Anvar Khalilulaev) - the complete antipode of the original from the first part repeats the situation with his protégé. That's just, if Sergei still shows a decent acting, then Anvar all the "audacity" looks like a funny joke. Talk about the female gender in principle is not worth it, since it is rather a support group that helps the base when she is tired.
The verdict. Three years worth waiting for the second season of Chernobyl? Sure. The team showed amazing work compared to the original. “Chernobyl 2. The Zone of Exclusion is one of the best projects in all Russian cinema. The only thing that can scare the viewer away from watching the sequel is a completely fictional story with a recreated world around it. Fans were clearly unhappy that the whole atmosphere of the first season evaporated at once. But still, the series itself remained on the same bar, and perhaps better.
Konstantin Davydov (Pasha) is the man on whose shoulders the bet was made, as the main engine of history. To say that Konstantin played a small role in the development of the project is to say nothing. Thanks to Kosta, Chernobyl has become what it is today. Don’t think you’d choose someone else, the effect would be the same. No, absolutely not. It was Kostya who made of his character a real person, who you want to follow. It was he who brought the second season to such a height and certainly he will make the full-length film a hit. If you have anyone to thank, it is him.

"Union of the Indestructible Republics of the Free" plus Alaska and the Secretary General of such a young nation.
This is our state - hands off the Zastatov migrants.

How sad or joyful it is to watch O. Buzova and the American apocalypse in the desert.
All became slick and morally stable, and some switched places.

But as soon as that... abroad.

But who knows what will happen next in the world, except for the REN-TV channel.
The beginning is really cool, from place to quarry. I especially liked the scenes in the plane and the American fighter behind the window.
Wings rocked, finger down, followed me showed computer smear, not as an example of the Soviet paratroopers (blood, group three, Rh positive), who now serve overseas, albeit briefly, on our base of the Warsaw Pact countries. Where is the Washington Treaty?
Who knew before that that the Mattissons, a family of radiation terrorists, and not skillfully disguised patriots are not our homeland.
Why do you have false associations?

And I already want such a transparent “conversational calculator Electronics”, with a star and a Moscow city service, and such an intercom and virtual street posters with information and live pictures of party leaders and Soyuzero with such chairs.
And just as I was beginning to get a little bored with the alternate reality, the plot was making a new steep turn into the multiple unknowns of being.

Kostenko and the transient pennant are always heroes, forks do not bend, but squeeze in any worlds.
How are girls-boys, ex-Octobers, where are our stars-flags red, songs energetic schizgar about mani, party and Komsomol, mopeds real, supersonic, gum foreign-babs in GUM, and the men behind them with avos, catalogs glossy forbidden because of the hill with the Berlin wall?

We will discuss after watching where all this has gone - it seems to have sunk into another reality.

Give us a homemade cannon, together with the curator, where without him, as without a sight and a trigger with a brisk shot. We'll lock it up like a store so we don't get lost.

And in Riga, the Carpathians, Verkhovina and other anomalous delta zones-models of the past.
Afterword-resume: but still our former-union reality is somehow closer and closer to me and scares me more with empty eye sockets of windows, the glory of the CPSU and a rusty Ferris wheel, an analogue of a roller coaster in the smooth mode of Soviet non-stop eight hours of work-a good start-fourteen hours-continued should be twenty hours-polite American actors have long sprawled home as a creative sediment.
By the way, the slogan fame is still used in some countries.

Therefore, only a firm look-up for a retro essay in a social competition shines you comrades a trip to the new glorious season, which, as I understood, will not be very wise in the final.

Great show.

The first few episodes of the second season looked out of the corner of the eye with some prejudice, as there was an expectation of something low-budget and second-rate. But then I got involved, and the last series of the first season were watched with great pleasure. After watching the last one, I was surprised to find out that the second season was out, and immediately started for it.
If you compare the first and second seasons, the level increased with the budget. Moreover, the second half of the second season, filmed under the guidance of Pavel Kostomarov, I liked more than the first. The unexpectedly twisted plot speaks about the quality of the writers’ work, of course, it was not without small overlays, but they also happen in projects of a much larger scale. I did not expect such a product from TV3.
The game of actors is very different in level, very distinguished Kgbshnik Kostenko, but the guys also try.
I look forward to a sequel in the form of a film or a third season (which would be preferable).
Estimate in advance and adjusted for exceeded expectations.

10 out of 10

Season review #2

To say that I didn’t look forward to the second season of Chernobyl is misleading, but only partially: I was waiting for it when I first watched the first season, which ended in a clear comma. After the open finale, I really wanted to know how this story would go on and how it would work out, because the story really hooked me. However, then I stopped thinking about Chernobyl a lot and would not be particularly upset if the series was completed in one season.
The first season was not perfect in every way – its narrative itself was full of huge plot holes, striking: much of what was happening was unclear at all or clearly not to the end. This is not what the creators of the series intended. The fact is that not everything was thought out: many moments existed only as a plot assumption, without which the series itself would not exist. With some reservations, you could close your eyes to this, because the series took its atmosphere, actors, very well selected and, of course, talented. For some, that was enough to call Chernobyl “the best Russian TV series of all time.” Let it be so, but my view: if you measure by a common measure, without making an amendment to the fact that this is a Russian work of art, then this series turned out to be of average hand, although a certain charm was inherent in it: the hype around it only confirms this.
Then it turned out that on the day of the release on TV of the second season, I accidentally came across an advertisement on the Internet, literally announcing that the second season was about to start. So I sat down to watch it, somewhat intrigued. But the series, I'll be frank here, started rather sparsely, pale. The first two episodes seem to have been created only to explain by what a miracle our heroes came together again and went to the United States in the same lineup. Nothing happened in them and they looked too stretched: a lot of talk, very little action. In general, I was upset by what I saw, but after these two episodes, a rather promising teaser of the next two episodes followed with cheerful music, the teaser itself reminded me of Mad Max, I liked the teaser very much.
Then there was the “discussion zone” – a program in which the creators of the series and several actors gathered in the same room and discussed the series with Ksenia Sobchak. There, the creators themselves said that the first two series have little in common with the series – with what will happen next, and then, as usual, everything will be cool and interesting, and, in fact, the series will begin, for which everyone gathered. Sounds promising, and even against the background of such a cool teaser. I thought, I remembered that in the first season there was a series that looked torn apart from the rest of the series (the one about the wedding). In absentia gave the second season a chance for rehabilitation.

I waited for the next series... and I will immediately say that the teaser was clearly cooler than these series – the third and fourth. Mad Max is like walking to the moon. And the most banal here is that on the Discussion Zone, the creators of the series openly said that we would like these series, that they specially created them in the likeness of famous Western films. I perfectly understand what a tribute to Western cinema is, but not when everything is so mediocre, while being presented as a kind of chic, a curiosity that is far from reality in fact.
But let's drop the desert and chase the retro car. There was also a branch with a boy Derek, in which the devil seems to have invaded, and his mother called an exorcist. It all looked so ridiculous, especially considering the fact that Chernobyl is now the second season of The Exorcist and every Friday there is a new episode. It is clear which of them loses to whom in the naturalness and authenticity of scenes of obsession and exorcism. And managed to broadcast such a plot to put in parallel with the “Exorcist”! Did the creators think that the audience would not draw parallels with the Western series, or maybe they thought that no one was watching it? And what kind of self-deception is it when a clairvoyant is invited to the Discussion Zone, who tells (read: PR) a scene with an obsession, telling how everything is cool and authentically depicted? Advertising advertising, but in fact all this reflects the attitude of the authors themselves to their creation: they clearly believe that they have invented something grandiose, although on the output - they invented the bicycle, and unicycle.
In all this there is one common problem of the whole second season, namely: he passionately wants to be like a big American cinema, but he has absolutely nothing, no makings in principle, except the graphomaniac ambitions of its creators, and this does not count: in Hollywood everyone is striving to make something epochal, but how many of them remain in history, how many of them get something that truly can be called great? Not at all.
Yes, the first season was quite an independent creation, and I took it well, you can read my review, so that you do not get the impression that I am a hater and “rocking a barrel”. But that was season one. The second one immediately seemed paler and worse against his background, so when my fears were fully confirmed in the last series, I did not even feel particularly upset. The final two episodes turned out to be very bad: deliberately confusing (I would even say: stupidly confusing) plot completely confused, revealing only part of the storylines of the second season.
Don’t get me wrong: I understood the meaning of the second season, too. I did not accept the authors’ explanation. I had the impression that the story originally ended differently and had a logical ending. But then, as usual, the authors decided otherwise: they created a hype around the series, decided to replace the denouement so that the narrative could be stretched for at least another season. And if the second season was justified in principle, and overall I would have treated it better, then after the stupid open finale, I am extremely critical of it. Honestly, I’m not looking forward to the third season. But if he comes, I will definitely look. This is from the category of "clear for the tick" - to see if at least there will complete all this canopy with Chernobyl-alternative realities or we are threatened by a sci-fi analogue of "House 2".

An ordinary Moscow guy, whose family earns above average income, this implies a bird’s-eye view of everything and the relevant interests and companies of friends. The days pass under the throes, and the children are splashing on parental money, in one hand the power of the school handsome man in the other Kahal of faithful friends and best friend combining the makings of the right hand and the chain dog. A downtrodden botanist lurks in the kitchen, and another, bright party rattles in all pairs promising to become the best in this life. So it happens with honorable damage for the parent safe, the unknown kidnapper as if he had lost the nose of the arrogant major and mockingly placed clues as priorities, and now the main character has to unravel the tangle of secrets, in the shortest possible time, until the parents found a virginally empty safe. To confuse, and wander will have a long time, who stole money is not quite an ordinary guy, and our guys are waiting for an unusual journey.
What happened was that you went from the zero days of the Russian series, which managed to interest me, so much so that I watched all eight episodes in one go. The exclusion zone takes away the whole and does not let go as paradoxical as it may sound. In the first place, all the characters have a very real basis, everyday. You encounter such types in life, and therefore, looking at screen interactions, you clearly understand that a situation of this kind could have developed. Adjusted for the fanatical content. The leader of the group is typical golden youth Pasha, his right hand is a typical Gopnik Lesha, their typical walking gadget is a botanist Gosha, forgive the typical Gopnik Lehi, who suffers insults, driven and unwilling to do anything with it for the sake of changing the situation in life. Their friends. The springs of Anya and Nastya. Thanks to the creators for correctly guessed age qualification. You come across often and well played without overplay, praise to the gods, for the first time in my memory people behave approximately, as would behave schoolchildren of their age, caught in a similar situation with interference in their lives, a long-forgotten city of the dead at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
The story smoothly unfolds from a road movie about stolen money to a dark story about the mystery of survival on a god-forsaken station and, it is dear to look at, because the details were approached very professionally as for a TV series with TV-3. They did what they could in the scenery to play for the audience, which animated the long abandoned city on the screen. In terms of the inflated atmosphere of that very titled alienation, it revived. History is in history, and it all flows, suddenly, into another story. In addition to the brightest written and embodied psychology of characters, and created, well, on a solid four with plus scenery, there is also a cherry on the cake in the form of a very entertaining time paradox, which the characters again dealt with without the inherent characters of various tapes of a similar plan of stupidity and mistakes for which they want to immediately shake hands. Frankly strong series, no frills, dragging gradually and built on an unpredictable scheme. In the cons I can add only a single effect, I think for the budget of the series could draw on the computer and visually better, you will know what I mean. Looking. With all other factors, the first season becomes rather a voluminous prequel to a much more extensive, varied on the adventures of the second part.
Judging by the posters, she will mockingly show the kukish to the west, and the west will not be very lucky, for the mask on the head of the iron maiden - the statue of freedom does not bode well for the west. And a small fact - the first season was filmed by a foreign, in fact, Polish director, perhaps because of such a bright representation of the types and situations played in it, the second was entrusted to a certain Pavel Kostomarov, stock up on goodies and wait. I hope it will do without leaven patriotism and similar attributes.

As soon as I finished watching The Law of the Stone Jungle on the wave of inspiration a good product from TNT, I decided to get acquainted with this series. I must say, the series catches immediately from the first series and does not suffer from the sore of most series, where you watch with the thought: “When will it finally be interesting.” But after the abundance of foreign TV series, when you get used to the fact that the quality of most of them is not inferior to the films, a heap of shortcomings catches your eye. Let’s start with the downsides.

Minuses.

1. Poor computer graphics. The creators clearly had problems with the budget. If you close your eyes to certain effects, it is impossible to look at a dog without “bloody tears”. Anyone who has seen it will know what I mean.
2. At some points, you stop understanding the motivations of the main characters. Teenagers are incredibly stupid in one situation, then suddenly show wonders of fearlessness and intelligence.

3. The main characters as if nothing surprised. No, of course, they try to show a sense of fear and shock from what is happening, but sometimes you get the feeling that they and Afgan have passed and have seen shit in their lives.

4. Different blunders and not docking, which are very striking, even when relaxed viewing. Sometimes you do not understand the meaning of this or that mystical phenomenon.

But as you’ve already noticed by the color of the review and the title, the series still managed to conquer me. So let's move on to the pluses of the picture.

Pluses..

1. Elaboration of characters of heroes at height. There will be no ordinary “gray” characters, everyone has their own zest and it is interesting to follow their interaction with each other. In my opinion, the KGB major was especially successful. The actor reminded me of the Russian version of Jack Bauer from the TV series “24”.
2. The main advantage of the series for me is its atmosphere. As I watched it, I found myself thinking that reading the Strugatsky Brothers and Metro 2033 made me feel the same way. Fans of the computer game Stalker will immediately find in the series a lot in common with the game. Zone, anomalies, artifacts - all this is done at height. Chernobyl turned out to be very realistic, I would even say “live”. Due to the fact that part of the filming was really conducted in the “exclusion zone”, the creators managed to convey the magic of this place. What can I say, if after watching, I wanted to take a tour of this mysterious ghost city! Especially catchy game on contrast, when you show Chernobyl before the disaster and after it.
3. Ending. It turned out to be really unexpected and spectacular. The creators managed to intrigue and make me look forward to the second season.
Result. Despite its downsides, the series looks in one breath. I can’t remember the last time I was so excited about fiction. If the topic of the Chernobyl disaster is of interest to you, it is strictly recommended to watch. There are no other quality analogues on television.

8 out of 10

It's great. Starting to watch, I thought there would be another thrash from TNT, but I was wrong. The series is simply sucked, it has everything - the theme of Pripyat and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, beloved by many Stalker fans, a famously twisted plot, mysticism, time travel with a return to your favorite Soviet time, unexpected turns and of course the incredible ending of the film. I loved the movie even over 50.

Separately about the actors - here they picked up the composition, almost all I saw for the first time, finally unused faces, usually the same actors who are higher in status are shoved into the series and the series turns into a pile of young people from former operas, and now bandits. I saw a lot of actors here for the first time, it was nice to watch.
The actors played perfectly, except that some short roles were played poorly, the main cast played excellently.
Well, I will not forget about the minuses - in the series a lot of clichés, ranging from Americanized youth parties, which are never held in Russia and ending with the same American music in many moments. This was most likely done for a foreign audience, although I don’t know, this is my assumption But the music in the film’s screensavers is perfectly selected.
But all the drawbacks pale before a bunch of pluses of the film. I watched with great pleasure and even re-watched. The score is definitely 10.

After watching this series two years ago, I was wildly delighted, putting this work almost on the list of the best series I have ever seen. It took some time, and one day it so happened that TNT decided to show their creation again. When the show was on TV, it forced itself to reconsider for the second time. And then I suddenly realized all the cheapness, the sameness, the absurdity of what was happening and just the most disgusting play of some actors. I'm not so much shocked by the series as by myself - in 2014, as the 14th teenager, I watched the series all the way through and didn't regret it at all. Now I'm sick of this show. Let’s see why this happened.

The whole series, in its essence, as the director described, is a “very big movie.” I will say that the series about Chernobyl 50% consists of a trip to Chernobyl. The remaining 50%, when young people still get to a dead city, the viewer is given the opportunity to admire the recreated almost from scratch 2D panoramas of the city. Cheap effects can not be called, as our Russian animators / visualizers / fashion designers, etc., paying them even a million, will not be able to do something like that, which we are used to seeing in foreign films. Therefore, I can proudly say that the crumbling Chernobyl NPP and the nine-story Pripyat are the ceiling of our people’s capabilities. It is a sin to complain, as they say - you watch a domestic movie - prepare a vomiting bag.
Fortunately, in this work, it does not come to the vomiting bag, but I am afraid for some people who taste Hollywood effects closely, it is on the edge.
I do not want to devote the essay to dialogues, this thrash does not lend itself to adequate criticism. Actors, due to the age of their characters, speak for 14 years. Speech is imbued with stupidity, not emotional at all. Of the teenagers, Sergey Romanovich played the best, an actor who plays the boy’s fingers forever bent. I'm afraid that he not only drew the series, but also earned a lot of fans. The older actors played at the proper level, there is nothing to complain about.
Almost three years ago, Chernobyl: Zone of Exclusion evoked only positive emotions. A lot of intrigue at the beginning. A lot of mysticism. Interpersonal relationships, love, adventure, twisted plot with time - all teenage, shown extremely easy, as you want to see children. I dare say that fans of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., those who are already in the years, will not love this series, they simply will not master it. It will seem to them so pathetic and at the same time implausible that they will abandon to watch it before the heroes get to Pripyat and the viewer will present the main plot chips. Hence the neutral review. This is not my opinion, it is, the series is very much dependent on the age category. For those in their thirties, my prediction is that you won’t like the show. The young people are delighted with it.

7 out of 10

How few are good quality Russian TV series, and how many disgusting TV series filled with stupid humor and various vulgarity. Crime fiction "Chernobyl". The “exclusion zone” is somewhere in the middle.

It all starts with a robber stealing money from a guy. This guy gathers his friends and another girl, and they all go to the dangerous city of Chernobyl. And there is all the mix: then they will get criminals, then again robbers, then evil truckers, then generally hunters for people. And in this cycle of events, our heroes quarrel, make up, fight, kiss, and then great leaps in time begin.
The characters are all templates. A handsome leader, his friend is rude, but kind, his girlfriend is brave and not shining with beauty, a cowardly nerd and a completely incomprehensible character, completely colorless and unnecessary - an unfamiliar girl with some strange intentions went to Chernobyl. Why is this hero even needed? It just doesn't stick to the overall atmosphere! Whether the actress plays disgustingly, or indeed the character is unnecessary, but it is because of this girl that all trouble begins.

And, of course, the highlight of the series is a superduper trained KGB officer, catching up with his goals and catching up and killing those who prevent him from achieving them.
There's also the Zone. She is alive, with her own intentions and goals. A temporary anomaly from nowhere. A dog with a torn mouth that represents the Zone. And, of course, games over time. And people who do not understand what damage can be done to the future if you change the course of time.
I’m waiting for the second season, but I know the end will be predictable. It’s banal when you mix a thriller and time travel, but still fascinating. There is no humour, only darkness.

See if you like movies with teenagers, Pripyat and wanderings in the past.
7 out of 10

After the first viewing of the series "Chernobyl: Exclusion Zone", I was impressed. The series seemed very interesting to me, and I was looking forward to the sequel. Time passed, the new season never came out. So I decided to do what's called "refreshing my memory" and revisit the show. After watching the first series, I was surprised that I once liked it very much. The first thing you can argue with is that everything happens as if by the wave of a magic wand, I do not consider it necessary to give examples so that spoilers, besides, after watching at least the first couple of minutes of the series, I am sure you will understand what I am about, everything is very well developed by the main characters, and so on throughout the series. Secondly, the acting, everything is bad, it happened that the main characters stumbled, confused pronouns, but to reshoot the take, it seems, no one considered necessary. I especially want to focus on the acting of Christina Kazinskaya, the performer of the role of Anastasia. She has one of the most important roles that I think she can’t handle. Her face does not express any emotions, and in the frame she seems to read the text on paper. Ilya Shcherbinin and Evgeny Stychkin, on the contrary, were very pleased. It was a pleasure to watch them play, which looks even more worthy. Third, humor. This is a series from TNT, I think that’s already said.
Only the script remains in the dry residue. The plot is very -- specific. I've never seen this before, it's probably catchy. None of the series was not without some mystical story, even the impression that the writers overdo it. The story is fascinating, making you ask questions, the answers to which are sometimes frightening. Only the quality of the shooting upsets, for example: the main characters enter the house and climb the stairs in the afternoon, find themselves on the roof in the evening, come down - again during the day. No one cares about changing the day into the evening and vice versa. These little things are depressing.

7 out of 10

To be honest, it seems to me that somewhere in the office of the TNT TV channel there is an uncle in whose head there is a parasitic worm that prevents him from adequately perceiving what is happening. So it turned out that in fact the only normal series in the history of the channel, remained almost without advertising support.
It is worth noting that you need to work hard to make a bad film about time travel. This theme is not often used by directors and finally got to it domestic cinema.
I can't call it "Breakthrough" or even "Bringing Our Cinema Off Our Knees." It is pathetic and not true, because tomorrow TNT will release another ordinary and boring series on the screens. The film still sins overtly fake acting, the dialogue seems to have been written by an 80-year-old man who thinks that young people still use “cool” phrases from the 90s, and the company itself is a solid cliché: an alpha male, an idiot, their girls and a nerd. But...

But the show has everything we love. The atmosphere, series of 50 minutes, each of which sets the audience more and more mysteries, fantastic and unpredictable. You want to worry about the heroes and the young cast, looking at which you do not think “Oh, there’s that guy from such and such a movie!”
This is the series, which is not ashamed to advise your friends, however, with the mark “Do not pay attention to the acting and do not draw conclusions on the first two episodes”. I will put the highest ball, because it is Russian and shot it not HBO, but TNT.
10 out of 10

I watched three episodes.

Very similar to the books of Alexander Vargo: he, too, trying to make a strong impression on the reader, tries to mix in the plot as much as possible, as much horror, as much blood as possible, as much murder as possible, as much madness and maniacs. And it does not matter that the plot still turns out to be banal and predictable, and just cracks at the seams from blunders and inconsistencies.
Well, this series is not a horror, and of course there is no bloody Vargian thrash in it. But the plot looks exactly the same patchwork of common thriller stamps overlapping one another. And a set of heroes is absolutely standard for horror films and thrillers: alpha male leader, soldering arrogant, quiet smart, glamorous girl, gray mouse girl, murky type ... What's missing is a fat man and a panicker. Or a fat alarmist.

Already the first minutes cause a deep dislike for the heroes: do the authors think that all modern youth is like this? Drunk, impudent, with cannabis in her pockets, frankly stupid, stupidly falling into one story after another... If it were horror, I would look forward to their death at the hands of a maniac or the teeth of a monster. This is probably not the case.

... I’ll see if there’s a bit of a series! I wonder what else there is about the exclusion zone.

Quite unexpectedly, I watched the series ' Chernobyl: Zone of Exclusion & #39; in a matter of days, having bought into the lure in a post by one live blogger. The paradox is that I never watch the horror genre, extremely rarely - a thriller, and to the road Movie all my life was traditionally indifferent. And the age category, to put it mildly, is not mine.

Still, the movie was fascinating! Therefore, there is a strong desire to understand: what could attract a well-known moviegoer in the story about the creepy adventures of young Muscovites.

Despite the abundance of stamps, the atmosphere clearly manifested itself in the film. Unnatural, strained dialogues of the characters, at times, depressing, but the advantages in the form of a raucous plot, black humor and enveloping suspense outweigh.
A separate mention is a journey into the past. It seems that through the prism of this series, I was able to look at the realities of those days through the eyes of modern youth. Indeed, for them, the tragic events at the end of the USSR passed into the category of mythology. And now, thirty years later, the time has come for such unexpected film decisions.
The era of the 80s and KGB Stychkin on its background are worth a separate mention. From a really terrible - a crazy mother from a roadside tavern and a wedding in Malinovka.
The eighth series with the USSR that did not die anywhere openly cheered. Particularly delivered by the transformation of Ochkosaurus into a biker-heart eater. It is a pity that Ana was not found in the lubricated picture of the future place. Paul never dared to tell the Pope about his unborn daughter. .