The Machinery (2020– ) User Reviews

Not conceptional, but defnitely not a flop...

[BeneCumb · 7/10 · 8 September 2020]

Some viewer revies of this Series amaze me... Have you never seen most of e.g. US series with related themes, with focus only on funny lines, cute performer faces, politically correct characters and totally happy ending? True, Maskineriet has its flaws, including some breach of logic and arid female characters, but the thrill is maintained, and Kristoffer Joner as Olle Hultén and Gabriel Gunerius Fevang as Jimmy are far above average.

The thing just is that Sweden more and Norway less have dozens of catchier and more versatile series, and of course, Maskineriet is no Innan vi dör or Øyevitne, for example, but if you have seen them already, you are definitely not wasting some 6 hours of your life!

PS Season 2 is somewhat more interesting, but the amount of parallel storylines is excessive. On the other hand, there are some witty twists and turns. Again, better than mediocre.

Bad acting takes you out oft the story

[lolpolis · 5/10 · 24 May 2020]

Ok start. However that cop lady might be the worst actress i have ever seen

Not bad

[nicolascorreas · 7/10 · 20 March 2023]

The show explores the interconnectedness of these events and the ripple effect they have on the lives of those involved. The plot is tense and suspenseful, as the viewer is left wondering how these disparate storylines will converge.

The acting in The Machinery is superb, particularly by the lead actor, who convincingly portrays Olle's confusion and desperation. The supporting cast is equally impressive, with nuanced performances that bring depth and complexity to their characters.

The cinematography and direction are also top-notch, with sweeping shots of the Norwegian landscape and intense, close-up scenes that heighten the drama.

Overall, The Machinery is a gripping and well-crafted thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Its unique premise and strong performances make it a standout addition to the genre, and it is not to be missed by fans of crime dramas.

Worst acting

[mariusorrestad · 1/10 · 16 June 2020]

The cop lady is the worst I've ever seen. To many «tough cop lady» clichés and just over all terrible acting. The script is slow and boring. And when you're at the 3rd episode, you just wish it would all be over.

Really good show

[etpvsrw · 9/10 · 3 July 2022]

Really good show. A lot of suspense. Good acting. Season 2 even better than season 1. Binge watch worthy. I saw the 2 seasons in a couple of days and I loved every episode.

Avoid this piece of S***

[krissse28 · 1/10 · 4 June 2020]

This series is so bad that you will laugh instead of being thrilled. Terrible script & just awful acting. Seems like the actors are reading their lines from a cardboard in the back. And as usual with series from R. Holm the directing looks like its made with a couple of friends in someones backyard. The action scenes look like amateurs playing with toy guns. But if you like Gåsmamman & Heder this might be something for you, if not AVOID att all cost.

Maybe people whinging didn't watch it all

[mosquitobite · 8/10 · 5 September 2021]

Short attention span?

Solid enough thriller, Nina was wooden yes but that was NOT bad acting dillbrains, it was her character after a lifetime of dwelling on serious painful things which she portrayed very well. Personally i was grateful for an absence of the self conscious strutting tough hot she-cops serve up by the truckload!

Sure it became a bit unwieldy at times, but there was enough back story to provide an explanation for what had gone down, Olle s history etc. Good performance from him. Looked exhausting! Thanks for your efforts man, you did great.

Was just sorry not to see a sign that Olle and Josefine would reconcile, and also of hope that Jimmy was going to heal and make a life with them. Just a closing smile at his dad would have been enough. But we were denied this.

Oh well. Ill tell myself he did :)

Cliche, predictable and boring

[linusvormeland · 1/10 · 5 July 2020]

Way to many hollywood cliches that we've all seen in action movies from 2000-2010.

I am so tired of watching Kristoffer Joner staring at things and looking all mystic.

Also the cop lady Schacht. I cringed everytime she opened her mouth. And why does she always chase armed people by her own without any bulletproof protection or backup?

Please do not waste your time watching this

Totally Implausible

[crumpytv · 3/10 · 4 August 2020]

First few episodes boded well for this Nordic cop thriller, but the humourless female cop lead dragged it down and the last episode was just ridiculous.

8 episodes, would have been better if there were 5 or 6.

The male lead, Ole, was pretty awful and he kept reminding me of Kevin Bacon.

Ole's father was just totally miscast as a cop. Far too old.

Series 2 I thought I would give it another chance, but wished I hadn't. I gave up after episode 3.

I had no idea what was going on, what the character relationships were at the centre of the plot.

Also, you have got the like at least some of the characters, but basically there was nothing to like.

I mentioned in series one that the plot was implausible, and in the first episode of the second series it doesn't get more unbelievable than the 12 year old terrorist and him getting shot, blown up and incinerated and yet still survives (we see him in ICU with only a scratch on his chin). The teacher who had the bomb strapped to her also survives. Utter nonsense.

Fantastic show!

[MortenOtter · 9/10 · 23 June 2020]

I thought this series deserved much better reviews and ratings. I haven't seen all the episodes yet, i'm on episode 5 and all those episodes were full of excitement and action! I give the series and Kristoffer Joner 9/10

Decent start, becomes boring after a few episodes.

[grayjonte · 2/10 · 5 July 2020]

The serie started ok. Makes you wanna watch a few episodes right in the beging.

However, right now I'm watching the last episode and instead of looking at the TV I'm looking at my phone giving it 2 stars in review.

Probably all the hype around this serie when it first came out was paid ads.

Good suspense

[Petersellers79 · 8/10 · 30 May 2020]

I really enjoy this show. I'm not a great fan off all the Nordic noir. They really should start think differently and renew the genre . But I noticed that Maskineriet have the same director as Gåsmamman, another Swedish series I like with a different tone and great casting .

Great start but all downhill from there

[markfranh · 5/10 · 27 July 2020]

It's unfortunate that the great start couldn't be followed through with a plot that made sense. Swiss cheese has less holes than this effort.

It's a wonderful beginning with Olle waking up on the ferry in an unfamiliar car and with a bag of money beside him and that leading to an entertaining chase as he escapes immediate arrest. You'd think that at some point during the 8 episodes of this series it might have been explained as to how that scenario came about and, more importantly, why it came about but, no, you'd be mistaken in that assumption. It never is really explained. Why would the bad guys set him up as possible "fall guy" for the robbery and especially why would they stick him with 1/2 of the takings from the robbery in order to make him the patsy? No explanation for this at all.

Another rather glaring hole is that Olle ends up with the bag of money and some of the bad guys involved don't seem too interested in pursuing the matter. Like, what did he do with it would be a start? Can we have it back please? Yes, early on one of the bad guys tries to recover it but that fails and that's interest the others show in what happened to all that money. By the second half of the series it's a case of Olle has the money, the other bad guys have the other 1/2 of the money and don't seem to remember that half of their takings from the robbery have gone missing. Odd that.

Other nonsensical twists follow but I don't want to give too much away in the way of spoilers so let's just throw one more in.

At one point in a key episode, Policeman A ends up shot and lying on the ground as the bad guy escapes with hostages. Policeman B is following in a separate car and comes across the seriously wounded "A" lying on the road. You'd expect that "B" would then call for backup and ambulance before giving chase to the bad guy with hostages but, again, you'd be wrong about that. Instead, in the following scene it is a wounded Policeman "A" who, alone!, pursues the bad guy with Policeman B absolutely nowhere to be seen. Yes "A" is still wounded with a gunshot through the stomach and is last seen slumping to the ground after the confrontation but ... seriously?

Despite all the massive caverns in the plot, I still enjoyed the series on a scene to scene basis but if you try to make sense of it all, you are going to be really frustrated.

I just can't even.....

[pigsmiceandmen · 1/10 · 6 July 2020]

Most on here have it covered. Dreadful acting, At one point in Episode 3 the wife of the main character looks straight into the camera.And I'm posting a spoiler, there is NO ENDING!!!!!!!!. 8 episodes of the entire European police force can't catch one guy, and he lives to fight season 2???...Not on mt screen.

Amazing script and great cast

[anne-the-great · 10/10 · 1 June 2020]

Exiting and complex story with an original twist. Can't wait to see the next episode.

Bad acting and boring story

[emilliann · 4/10 · 13 August 2020]

I tried so hard to watch episode by episode, but the story gets very boring and the acting of some characters it's just cringe. Especially the cop lady. Just skip to the last episode, save your time.

Ridiculously hilarious

[Sara_Tor · 4/10 · 15 August 2021]

This isn't a 1 purely because it got so bad it became hilarious in a d movie kind of way. There are a lot of manhunts carried out by the world's worst cops, and more unlikely coincidences, bad shots, and obvious suspects than you can possibly imagine. They lost the plot early on, if they ever had one, but an interesting premise and twist halfway along kept us going. The ending is like a satire of action movies.

Don't Even Start

[steve-beth · 1/10 · 13 August 2021]

The script is truly pitiful. The police couldn't catch a cold, and even the dumbest bad guys keep evading capture, and so the show keeps being stretched out. It is like the Keystone Cops hunting down the Three Stooges. Laughably inept television.

Never gets going

[daggersineyes · 4/10 · 15 August 2021]

When you have a story centring on one character who has amnesia & a dillemma over whether he's a good guy or not, you need to make the character someone the viewer likes or identifies with. I disliked the main character intensely. Hes unattractive physically and psychologically. He's only interested in himself & doesnt stop to help others or empathize with other people. I couldnt care less what happened to anyone in the show so I had no investment in it. The acting, direction, production etc were low quality making it even harder to be drawn in. THe story itself I have no idea if it was good or not as I'm half way through ep 3 & not convinced to keep watching it. It was pimped as "Nordic Bourne" but it gets nowhere near that brilliant thriller. It's a bad imitation. Sadly.

1 star for the sheer stupidity

[Jenkins_macdaddy · 1/10 · 12 December 2022]

PROS:

• Beautiful cinematography.

• Great scenery.

CONS:

• Cringe at the world's worst police officers.

• Cringe at the world's stupidest civilians.

• Cringe at the detective who never calls backup.

• Cringe how selfish everyone is!

• Cringe at how they ruin a great story idea!

Watch people die in the most stupid and frustrating ways!

See how they conveniently push the plotlines along with the characters demonstrating hilarious incompetence!

Laugh at how the main characters all keep dirty secrets!

Realise how stupid the law enforcement agencies are at handling criminals!

Figure out why no-one tell the police anything as it will typically backfire on everyone involved!

Cringe at how all the adults in this show are subservient to self entitled children and criminals!

Am a fan of the actors.

[brainwerx-1 · 5/10 · 3 February 2023]

Things I liked: Actors Acting Suspense

Overall everyone did a great job of building suspense and getting me to give a damn about the characters. Normally, in a movie or series that has kids, I get bored and pass after a couple of episodes. For some it makes the characters and series/movie more authentic. For me, it's just boring. I don't cRe about the kids. I don't care about how they are used. I don't like the emotional Manipulation that usually comes with kids in a series or movie. That goes in this one as well. That said it was a good watch.

Didn't like: Kids It's The Fugitive (basically)

This type of thing has been done to death. And it's relatively predictable.

It's a NO from me

[nataliflach · 4/10 · 21 April 2024]

Why ? Complicated plot (for no good reason) and way too many characters. Adding more and more ingredients don't make a better result. Keeping it simple and cutting out 80% of all the unnecessary crap could have saved this one.

This is not by any means a low budget production. Boats, action shots, helicopters, well known actors and numerous locations must have cost a lot. But most of it doesn't really add anything to the storyline (that is very hard to follow) The positive is that the main roles are well casted. Overall good acting from the main characters. Something that can't be said about the rest.

Script on it's own isn't bad, it's just the plot and storyline that spoils it. It's a shame really.