Altered Carbon is based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Richard K. Morgan. In this world, human can live in different body, aka sleeve, thanks to compulsory implant called stack which can download a person's consciousness and memory. The story begins when Takeshi Kovacs (Joel Kinnaman), who is dead for 250 years, is resurrected into a new sleeve and hired by meth (person who live long enough) Laurens Bancroft to solve his murder.
The series fulfils what a cyberpunk fans can dream of, blending a detective story perfectly with a sci-fi worldview. Viewers may need some time to get familiar with its complex worldview, but the basic is like other cyberpunk works - the rich and powerful ones live in their above-the-clouds towers and they can prolong their lives or do whatever they want, while the poor and underdogs live on the ground being treated like disposable things.
It is hard to imagine how grandeur the dystopian design can Altered Carbon pull off, but they did. From the clean and bright tower house the meths live in, to the dark and dirty streets everyday people live in, there is seldom a piece of world that gives you a complete picture of what a dystopia would look like. The fight scenes look like they are pulling it from John Wick, and are not pulling back the gruesome bits.
The story challenges what would society, religion and relationship be, when people can live forever, and how the society unjust will be amplified. While the story is centred around a murder mystery and when you throw AI, hackers, clones, off-world soldiers and invisible assassins into the mix, things only get complicated and there is secrets waiting to be unfolded around every corner. When one is solved, more arise.
Altered Carbon is a very bold piece of work that would expand your mindset on a sci-fi story, and keeps you thinking when the story / season ends.
S1E1 Out of the Past - 8.8
S1E2 Fallen Angel - 7.2
S1E3 In a Lonely Place - 7.1
S1E4 Force of Evil - 7.0
S1E5 The Wrong Man - 9.5
S1E6 Man with My Face - 7.9
S1E7 Nora Inu - 7.7
S1E8 Clash by Night - 9.2
S1E9 Rage in Heaven - 9.3
S1E10 The Killers - 9.6