Review of "Extrapolations," a starry-eyed caper about the dystopian future that awaits the planet
"Infestation" author Scott Z. Burns predicts the consequences of climate change in the ambitious Apple TV+ project.
The end of the 2030s. Mankind has not listened to the scientists who scaremongered about climate change, and now lives in a new world. The average temperature has risen noticeably - forests are burning, tornadoes are raging, glaciers are melting, many species of insects and animals are dead, people are sick because of polluted air, and so on. But Mars has been colonized and cancer cured! The only thing that has not changed is the cannibalistic appetite of those billionaires who see in every tragedy an opportunity to make good money.
This is how Scott Z. Burns, screenwriter of The Bourne Ultimatum, who rose to fame in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic with another film, sees the future. In the changed conditions, people suddenly remembered Steven Soderbergh's "Infection" and marveled at how Burns had accurately predicted the emergence of the virus, the speed of its spread, and most importantly, the global reorganization of the world with general panic and attempts by the authorities to manage hysteria through bureaucracy. It was then clear that sooner or later Burns would be asked to play the role of prophet one more time and tell us all what the future held for mankind. Alas, the filmmaker chose the worst possible option - to be taught and mentored in the voices of Hollywood stars and with the help of Apple's bottomless purse.
One of the main advantages of the same "Infection" is the dry and aloof fixation of the disaster. Soderbergh and Burns only cynically demonstrated the logistics and mechanics of spreading the virus by observing the sacrifices people make to save their loved ones. "Extrapolations" (the term means scientific predictions) is the exact opposite of a prophetic film. The catastrophe has already happened - the series, through an anthology format, shows how various people live with its aftermath. And the action constantly jumps into the future, in which things get even worse: if the first episode is about 2037, the final eighth episode is about 2070.
Rather pessimistic predictions (in addition to environmental disasters - the war for independence and the rise of terrorism) and interesting reflections on the development of technology (it turns out, the failed meta-villages are still waiting for success) spoil the ridiculous, and sometimes absurd plot. In the first three episodes alone, viewers are shown killer walruses and a talking whale. The creators divide the world into black and white: the villains are cartoon businessmen and corrupt people (Matthew Reese with disgusting veneers) who are always looking for a way to get rich. And the heroes are pet advocates who blame themselves for daring to give birth in such conditions, and children who believe that humanity gets what it deserves because...it's karma. One can't help but wonder if, at some point, the characters will break the fourth wall and beg the audience to sort their garbage or just look reproachfully into the camera, gritting their teeth.
The only thing that stands out is the third episode about Miami in 2047, which is noticeably submerged due to melting glaciers. The rabbi of an ordinary synagogue (David Diggs) asks the authorities to save the building and meets a teenage girl with a crisis of faith in God and humanity. The heroine, of course, invokes the most obvious parallels: the Ten Executions of Egypt, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Flood. And it doesn't even matter that the episode eventually comes to a moralistic conclusion and will be remembered for the great debating line, "If God created humans in his image, why do they suck?" (the original is a much more ridiculous suck). Importantly, it's still a rare story about the little man facing the consequences of global eco-problems. And it's exactly the kind of storytelling that the show lacks, where every other character has either wealth and power or the desire and ability to make a difference. In the end, where is the representation of the pacifists, who will even give up on the abnormal heat and say "well, it happens"?
Like most expensive Apple TV+ series, "Extrapolations" looks incredible, but neither an exorbitant budget nor two dozen Hollywood stars can save an overly serious and unoriginal series. Alas, Burns' brainchild evokes only indifference - isn't that the worst outcome for a project that was supposed to show the shocking future of Earth and make the viewer change at least something? Even if the creators are right, "Extrapolations" will go down in history as analogous not to "Infection" but to another pandemic masterpiece - a clip of the stars singing John Lennon's Imagine.
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