Alright, action fans, you’d better settle in for a weekend of binging, because you only have three days left to catch what some viewers call one of the greatest shows of all time on Netflix before the platform kicks it off. While critics may not have been the biggest fans of this one, it managed to land a diehard fan base, firmly planting itself in the pop culture zeitgeist.
Prison Break, starring Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell, is nothing short of a wild ride from start to finish. It centers around two brothers, Michael Schofield and Lincoln Burrows, both men who find themselves in desperate situations: Burrows imprisoned on death row for a crime he didn’t commit, and Schofield robbing a bank to get himself locked up alongside him in the Fox River State Penitentiary. A series of shocking and elaborate plans is soon set in motion, meant to break Lincoln out of prison and prove that he’s innocent. But that is only the start of their troubles; Schofield and Burrows must then flee to escape recapture, taking on an intricate political conspiracy that now risks the lives of everyone they care about.
It’s Not Particularly Believable, But Still A Good Time
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Critics weren’t too impressed with what Prison Break was offering, rating the series overall a paltry 61% on Rotten Tomatoes. “The somber pretentiousness of it, reinforced by performances uniformly overwrought, make it a heavy weight to bear, yet one resolutely empty-headed,” says Tom Shales of the Washington Post. Samantha Bornemann of PopMatters adds, “The good and bad guys swirling around Michael might cry, fight, screw, and bleed, but they still look like cardboard to me.”
Casual viewers do not share the same opinion, lauding the show as exciting and the first season as “top-tier” television. About Season 1, one viewer said, “This was probably the best first season for a tv show I have ever seen anywhere, the plots and the characters are all so great that I truly couldn’t stop watching the show, the writing of the whole season is so smart, I’m honestly speechless on how good this show is.” Another said, “This show is absolutely amazing. You will be hooked from the very first episode, and get ready to binge-watch…you won’t be able to help yourself. I finished the entire series (5 seasons) in one week. A couple of years later, I watched it again and of course binged again! Amazing, and you will love it…PROMISE!”
With that promise, it might be well worth a weekend spent watching. Will you be checking out Prison Break? Let us know in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the ComicBook forums to keep the conversation going.