The premise was exciting and I expected this would be a really interesting show. Well, I can't tell exactly what made it not great: the acting, the direction, the script? There were stupid decisions by characters, and huge plot holes. One actor seemed to have an Australian accent, then surfer dude accent, then standard American accent, all at different times. Another character hates to wear pants, or shirts and for an interior designer knows how to crack complicated code, as you do. And the mom? Ugh, awful. I dislike her as much as the "bad guys". I'm still watching literally only because I want to know who is behind the code. (I'm on ep 5). I really wish more thought would have been put into making this. It really had promise, but did not deliver.
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shantiok20 March 2021
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hardworkinggirlto22 March 2021Story line started off good but completely fell apart. These are the most corrupt and inept FBI agents ever! The lead female agent meets a new guy during the investigation (online). Date 1 takes him home to her house....sleeps with him and then 3rd date takes him to the FBI SAFE HOUSE to drop something off before the head out to dinner???? Who does that??? Worst and most stupid cops ever!
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csedgman-6977620 March 2021The actors deliver their lines like they're still in high school, overacting in every scene. The mother is a lying witch with her 8 yr old daughter, and has ZERO redeeming qualities.
The story has so many errors, holes, giant gaping plot issues, it's almost unwatchable.
When the writer couldn't figure out how to move the story along, they wrote these genuinely boring (transition) scenes where one actor divulges a private, over-emotional moment, with all the subtlety of an explosion. Those scenes are nothing but filler, and don't move the plot along, or reveal anything about the characters.
I love spy shows and action-driven dramas. This isn't that. This had a promising premise, particularly regarding the actual cypher, however it was such a small part of the first 3 episodes, it just never develops.
Boring, badly acted, poorly directed, edited, and just not interesting.
I seriously hated almost every minute of it. -
bevstyle20 March 2021Could have e been a good show- poor writing poor acting and hard to track Would have been better if the story flowed better and believable and the acting was less forced Should have paid more attention to the acting and story plot line than the styling and trying to cover every character
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emmabmurphy26 June 2021The acting is so cringe, some of scenes are literally hard to watch. There are some major stupid aspects of the script too like an FBI agent casually dropping by a safe house on a date. The storyline has potential but the acting and the production is just awful.
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hllhouz-925-80948021 March 2021As much as I do like the storyline of this series, I have a hard time overcoming the dull and unimaginative dialogue. It is slow to say the least. The acting is not top shelf either but suffices. I am forcing myself to watch just to see where the story goes.
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Not great, not good, not awesome - not really worth watching. The acting is sub-par to terrible. I don't think I can bare another episode. Definite problems with continuity which is so annoying.
The divorce drama component is overdone, overused and not well played out at all. Pulls away and gives it no originality at all.
The plot almost seems original, but mirrors so many other 'specialty cop' shows. Then copycat clichés and unrealistic possibilities. Why would he go into the house, no gloves blah blah. Do people making shows actually watch other shows and read other peoples comments ever?
A) pretending to kill off the main character is a real put off B) how did he not have an autopsy and be kept sedated until he was put in the casket. C) the phone voice with him in the coffin is so freaking lame.
Sorry, but this super sucks. -
mhharleyd22 July 2021Appears that the writers weren't creative enough to fill each episode with good, well paced, relevant dialogue. So we end up with long pauses, filler back and forth dialogue that contributes absolutely nothing to the story and huge gaps in information as investigation takes place. I hate to simply mimic other reviews, but terrible and unimaginative writing. Acting was either over the top or stiff and awkward, so not believable. Daughter definitely the best of the bunch. Will was not bad, but still something left to be desired. With better writing, perhaps it would have boosted acting, as well. So many holes in storyline! Watching is torturous.
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margieporro2 June 2021Great series! Interesting story-line and after the first episode I was hooked.
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mangosteen5531 May 2021This series seemed rushed. The actors were not so convincing in their roles and yes the script is a little far fetched but the editing and production is mint. I'm into those cyber hacking type of films so this was right up my alley. I think Martin Dingle Wall was great in this though and that's one of the reasons I kept watching this.
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momontherandom21 March 2021Why would the Roku channel choose this garbage as their first original series? The acting was SO BAD. The best acting was done by a 10 year old girl. At first I was almost confused that maybe I was missing something. But no... it was just that bad. I think the positive reviews on here must be from the actors' families in hopes there will be a second season.
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jfricke-3255626 March 2021I really liked the show. Thought it was very interesting. I thought they picked great actors. It was action packed. Looking forward to more seasons. 🤞
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edblogr1 April 2021If atrocities like Following can carry 7 on IMDB, this little unobtrusive sleeping pill with all its flaws and mistakes deserves at least 6, most certainly not 5.4.
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And tells him all about her case and bring the guy to safe house to drop some needs and go home and screw the guy. Well poor acting and script all over All nonsense conversations bring nothing well Do not expect something will come out better? No It gets worse and boring
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earthsuit119 March 2021Saw the popup for the "Free Premiere" on the Roku splash screen and figured, why not? Not sure if the bad writing, worse acting, or terrible direction was responsible, but the 43-minute pilot felt like two hours. It's one bad line, one cliche, one hackneyed plot device after another.
On the bright side though, the photography is actually pretty good, so at least the crew has a good career ahead of them. -
randymcbeast22 March 2021[NOTE: I wrote the review below after watching episode 1. Then, I read a review that gave this TV series a 9 and mentioned that the low reviews were from people who probably just watched episode 1 and to give it a chance because it gets better. Well, I decided to watch past episode 1 and guess what, it gets worse. Shame on the reviewer for giving it a 9 and misleading people to keep watching. Some really dodgy people out there.]
There are some TV shows that you know right away are going to be bad. It's like food. You can eat a delicious plate of food made with the best ingredients and know from the first taste that it is the highest quality. Conversely, one bite of a stale ham and cheese sandwich out of a vending machine and you just want to toss it in the bin. Cypher is like taking that ham and cheese out of the bin and taking a second bite.
The storyline itself is interesting but the execution is terrible. Ham and cheese go great together but if the ham is chewy, fat and smells kind of funny, it's going to taste awful. For this TV series, the production is weak, the acting is horrible, and the casting completely misses the mark. I imagine though if this was done with quality production, direction and acting, it might have worked. The ROKU channel has great ambitions but needs to secure the exclusive first-window rights to quality content not this garbage.
I do want to point out the most obvious problem with this TV series, it's Martin Dingle Wall. He is so wrong for this role. One of the FBI's leading crypto-analysts? I don't think so. Maybe a divorced motorcycle mechanic who lives in a van and likes to surf when he gets time would be a more appropriate role. As a lead techie, no way, which makes this completely unbelievable and unwatchable. Watching him stumble and mumble through simple dialogue is painful.
Of course, not all the blame goes to Dingle Wall. Brian Krause is dreadful and looks like he could use a few dozen Red Bulls. In fact, all of the acting is some of the worst I've seen, which lands on the direction. I wish I could just erase this from my memory. -
holod-8914221 March 2021I watched the entire Season 1 and have 2 questions. If Will is the only one able to figure out the list, then isn't everyone on the list safe if he stops working on it? Ditto, if he is killed??? Terribly confusing with this logic issue.
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Love it. It has a realistic character about the film making. Maybe not the high polished films some are use to, but it is a good and worthy show for sure.
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deepakmnhr-8760424 March 2021Videography is done quiet well but the writing and acting leaves a lot to be desired. Quiet amateurish is the word that comes to mind. The so called FBI agents are either too emotional or unnecessarily emotionless. Trying too hard to be either but lands up unable to tap into the essence of the context at hand. ... Story has plots that have be done many times before. Feels like a rinse and repeat scenario...a brainless watch that doesn't really keep you hooked.
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keikoasmom21 March 2021Well-done, and interesting photography. I like the way the story builds. I also like the actors, and I think this could be a really good series. I hope it lasts more than two or three seasons like so many other series. I wish I knew who was responsible for all of the good series' being pulled after one or two seasons. I really like this show.
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garywitham24 March 2021Good plot. Second rate acting. Second rate script. Even the music seems wrong at times. Doubt there will be a second series.
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richard-4155920 March 2021The reviewers who thought this show was watchable should be banned from ever reviewing again. Roku deserves a refund. Request my time back.
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redjunket-7200920 March 2021Not perfect but a good Friday night roller-coaster. Forget all the negative review sit, watch, and enjoy.
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supernatural-1571230 March 2021The whole idea is really a great concept and seems intriguing but over all the acting seemed to be forced in certain parts and there was a few places where it created holes that you had to jump to your own conclusion and few other parts went by way too slow to give it a good flow. Overall I did enjoy it.
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moviewatcher522420 March 2021The storyline is decent. I actually wanted to continue after the first episode even though the lack of a good script, director, and actors were evident.
Definitely a low budget series that has the SciFy channel feel to it and by that I mean the low quality.