Your Entertainment Corner

<i>Mr. Robot</i> – “Pilot” Spoiler Free Advanced Review. 01001101.

Season 1, Episode 1

Air Date: Wednesdays, June 24, 2015, 10/9c on USA

Rating: ★★★★★

“I understand what it’s like to be different; I’m very different too.” – Elliot

During the SXSW Q&A. Photo by Greg Staffa /Your Entertainment Corner.

Last March while at SXSW, USA Network conducted a major PR stunt by taking over downtown Austin, TX with hooded guys walking around promoting its new series Mr. Robot. The campaign topped off with a screening of the pilot followed by a Q &A with the cast. At that time, the premiere date had not yet been set. Needless to say, I was hard pressed not to leak any information about Mr. Robot, especially with the stellar casting, and Christain Christian Slater sitting 15 feet from me.

The opening scene of “Pilot” immediately sets the tone for the psychological hacker thriller by introducing the audience to Elliot (Rami Malek). By day, Elliot’s job as a cyber-engineer seems harmless enough, but his nocturnal endeavors are quite the opposite.

Rami Malek as Elliot

Malek is mesmerizing in this role, especially when he meets with Ron (uncredited), a coffee shop owner with a dark secret. Composer Mac Quayle’s score pulsates throughout this scene, amplifying the intensity as Elliot’s motives are unclear. What is clear — Mr. Robot is unlike anything USA Network has done before.

Mr. Robot is told from Elliot’s skewed perspective. Series creator Sam Esmail employs some interesting visual mind games that may require multiple viewings to fully grasp. Elliot isn’t your normal hacker; he sees his gifts as a moral calling to expose pedophiles, cheaters, and other lowlifes by searching their digital footprint and exposing their secrets. Elliot’s talents catch the attention of an underground hacker group led by a character referred to only as Mr. Robot (Christian Slater). Slater is no stranger to playing a rebellious character and fits the role perfectly. I enjoyed the on-screen chemistry between Malek and Slater, which carries over into real life when the two interacted during the Q & A at SXSW. It’s interesting to see Slater in a role where he mentors the type of character he might have actually played earlier in his career.

The writers do an amazing job of creating Elliot as a complex, multi-layered character who Malek brings to vivid pixelated life. Just when you think you have Elliot all figured out, he surprises you. He marches to the beat of his own drummer, setting up some interesting internal struggles with his personal belief system after meeting Mr. Robot.

Who is Mr. Robot?

During the screening, one of the things Mr. Robot was praised for by some is the show’s portrayal of hackers. During the Q & A, Esmail mentioned he and the hacker community have longed for Hollywood to accurately portray hackers, commenting, “I’m sorry, Chris Hemsworth does not look like a hacker.” This is an obvious reference to Hemsworth’s hacker thriller Blackhat. Esmail seems to take pride in not dumbing down the ‘hacking’ scenes, terminology, and even the computer visuals often used in movies.

This realistic approach isn’t without risk as viewers might feel lost during key scenes. One scene in particular stands out for me as I understood the premise but wouldn’t have minded a little hand holding to explain what was going on. Time will tell if viewers who aren’t particularly tech savvy will find the complex characters interesting enough to keep watching.

Mr. Robot is a fascinating tale where the lines of good and evil are blurred. The pilot feels like a prequel designed simply to introduce the characters. ”Pilot” creates a lot of questions yet provides very little as far as answers are concerned. With only ten episodes, Mr. Robot is definitely worth checking out.

Before the screening, I had the chance to talk to Quayle.

Greg: What did you do before this?

Quayle: Well, I’ve done everything you have heard of I’ve done as an additional composer. I’ve worked a lot with Cliff Martinez. So starting back with Lincoln Lawyer, Drive, Contagion, Spring Breakers. And then, American Horror Story was sorta my first big, big gig as the composer.

Greg: That’s fascinating. People don’t appreciate music as much as they should. You look at what John Williams has done for film; TV without music would be a completely different experience. 

Quayle: It’s true; there is a saying among us composers that for a lot of people, when we’re really doing our job right, they don’t even notice we’re there. And you know that’s good; ‘cause I think that there are probably only certain moments when you should notice it and the rest of it is just to be helpful to the story.

Greg: What was your inspiration for the music in Mr. Robot?

Quayle: Well, it was a close collaboration with the creator Sam Esmail and he wanted a very electronic score. And so working with him back and forth, different ideas, and eventually ended up with what you will hear today.

Tune in to the series premiere of Mr. Robot, Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at 10/9c and each week on Wednesday at 10/9c, only on USA Network.

Visit the show’s website at http://www.usanetwork.com/mrrobot/home

 

Mr. Robot  social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhoIsMrRobot

Twitter: https://twitter.com/whoismrrobot

 

You can also follow the cast on Twitter: @Rami Malek, @Christian Slater, @Carly Chaikin, and @Portia Doubleday.

Photos © 2015 USA Network, a division of NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.