by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
HBO Max has been quietly putting out a lot of new content, as well as signing existing content to their already stacked catalog. Between HBO, DC, the Wizarding World, Adult Swim, Studio Ghibli, and Turner Classic Movies, HBO Max is separating itself between all the platforms as a literal one stop shop for amazing options to watch. New content is churning out faster than ever before, mainly due to such high demand for something new to help streaming platforms stand out. Whether it’s a brand new TV series or original movies, there’s always something new to watch. The mini-series has had a bit of a resurgence lately, and one of HBO Max’s newest additions to their platform falls in that camp with The Tourist.
The Tourist is a six episode miniseries starring Jamie Dornan (simply known as the Man for a chunk of the series), who wakes up after an accident in Australia with no memory of who he is. The bulk of the show is dedicated to unraveling the great mystery of who the Man is, what happened to him, and how he got to this point.
A lot of information is packed into six episodes that it feels almost borderline too much. My initial thought was The Tourist feels like a second season of a TV show. There are a lot of characters to meet, get to know, and get on board with. It feels a little overwhelming at times. However, with so little time, not a lot of time is wasted and every moment matters. Each new person the Man meets and each new discovery is one piece of the puzzle he’s trying to put together in order to figure out who he is.
Jamie Dornan has been making the most of his chances since joining the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise. The more distance he puts from that trilogy, the more I see how great of an actor he is. The Tourist won’t go down as his best performance ever, but it will be another nice feather in his cap for what is becoming a diverse catalog of roles that showcases his range and talent. Dornan gets to do a little bit of everything in this, from comedy to drama to action to tragedy and everything in between. He sells it really well as someone who genuinely can’t remember who he is, and he showcases a wide range of emotions upon discovery of some of the things that lead him to this particular moment.
Props are in order for the people around Dornan as well. He has unique relationships with a lot of the cast members popping in and out of the series. A particular shoutout goes to Danielle Macdonald, who plays a traffic cop named Helen. Helen is a bit of a crossroads in her life and where the show ultimately takes her is both fun and appreciated. Helen goes on quite the journey throughout the show and I like the decisions the writers made for her character. She’s one of the people I was rooting for the most. Another shoutout goes to Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, who plays Billy, a character with very specific job to do when it comes to Dornan’s character. My wish for him is more screen time, but he definitely makes the most with the opportunities he’s given. He’s terrifying in his role, mainly because he appears so calm for the most part.
The visuals in The Tourist are stunning, as it showcases the beauty of the Australian outback. There’s a lot to love visually about the decisions they made from a cinematography standpoint. In addition to that, the writers do a great job of not giving away too much of the mystery at first and attempting to let some of this stuff happen organically. There’s a lot of amazing tension that is produced, and I feel they made the right choice with making this a miniseries versus making this into a movie.
The story overall is a little paint-by-numbers. Nothing original or groundbreaking is happening, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad story by any means. There are a lot of elements of the story that I liked and some just didn’t work for me. The final episode reveal that explains who Dornan’s character really is, is crushing, not just because the viewer hears this with a little shock and awe, but seeing Dornan’s reaction to it is also brutal.
The Tourist is a fun and quick miniseries that is definitely worth giving a chance to. It may not blow you away with originality; however, Dornan’s performance on its own makes this worth a watch. It probably won’t drastically increase HBO Max’s subscriber numbers, but it’s fortunately just another great addition to an already top-notch collection of originals.
Score: 7/10
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