One of CBS’ highest-profile new projects for the 2011 premiere season is Person of Interest, a thriller with some very familiar names on both sides of the camera. Does it live up to months of lofty expectations? Read on to find out.
Person of Interest starts in a surprisingly tender way, with the first of a series of flashbacks between mystery man John Reese (James Caviezel, The Passion of the Christ) and his wife. Fast-forward to modern day New York City, where the same man sits on an empty subway car, cradling a bottle of rot-gut and desperately needing a friend and a shave. When a group of uppity gangsters give him the business, Reese dispatches all four instantly, gaining the attention of the police and a shadowy figure.
Enter Mr. Finch, (Michael Emerson, Lost) a mysterious, eccentric billionaire who offers Reese a job and a mission. Finch has access to the U.S. government’s most powerful data collection tool, a supercomputer that can not only analyze crime but predict it.
Finch steals information on low-profile victims-to-be before they become targets, on the basis that the higher-ups don’t care about anything that isn’t a 9-11 sized threat. Finch assigns Reese to observe and protect their first citizen, a young ADA (Natalie Zea, Justified) who may soon be the target of an assassination .
Throughout the pilot we’re given clues to the backstory of both Reese and Finch. The former is an ex-CIA agent who became dead to the world after the death of his wife. Finch helped build the (mostly) fictional surveillance network made possible by the Patriot Act after the September 11th attacks. The tragedy gave Finch a purpose for spending his billions for the common good, and he saw an opportunity when the more typical crimes being predicted by his machine were being ignored. He’s determined to be a more benevolent version of Big Brother. Both of them are presumed dead.
The action quickly ramps up as Reese tails his assignment and her would-be assignments. Reese tackles underground weapons dealers, mobsters and dirty cops -and all that’s before the twist. Along the way the audience is treated to monologues on the all-pervasive nature of modern surveillance and the morality of using it. Detectives Carter (Taraji P. Henson, I Can Do Bad All By Myself) and Fusco (Kevin Chapman, Rescue Me) have their own reasons for investigating Reese.
The first thing that most viewers will notice about Person of Interest is its undeniable and certainly deliberate similarity to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Everything points to the inspiration: characters, themes, atmosphere, even the music. It comes by it honestly – producer Jonathan Nolan worked with big brother Christopher writing for Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Knight and The Dark Night Rises. Other big names in the producer chairs are frequent partners J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk.
All that said, the new show feels like it’s taking the best bits out of Batman and using them to tell a more realistic action story, instead of simply repackaging the essential parts of the Nolan films. The central idea of predictive crime analysis is no longer the stuff of Minority Report sci-fi, and something similar may enter the world of law enforcement very soon. Person of Interest dodges the privacy debate by putting it in the hands of invisible vigilantes (again, see The Dark Knight) who are more of a somber A-Team than an Orwellian threat.
Caviezel hasn’t been seen in a regular TV role since The Prisoner two years ago. He returns on a high note, painting Reese as a broken, conflicted man with both an intense desire for justice and a hesitancy to use his lethal skills. The combination makes for a calm, calculated fighter who still comes off as sympathetic. His zen-like fighting (and wonderfully sparse dialogue) is at least as good as any B-action flick you’ve seen in the last year.
Emerson provides the counterpoint as a cold, calculating mastermind. His mysterious connections allow him an enormous amount of digital power that he feels a responsibility to use for good. The audience doesn’t know too much about Finch, and his past work with the government will likely be a major plot point in the first season. Emerson is admirably restrained, but those looking for a repeat of his energetic performances on Lost may feel a little let down.
Fans wanting no-holds-barred action will not be left wanting. Stunts and fight scenes in Person of Interest approach and at times surpass 24 in the realm of mostly-real action sequences, and the results are absolutely satisfying. It’ll be interesting to see if the writers and producers can keep up this level of intensity for more than a few episodes – they’ll certainly be worth a watch to find out.
The pilot features some genuinely surprising twists (much appreciated from a jaded TV reviewer) that will keep you guessing up to the last few minutes. The creepy themes of distrust and complacency make for an excitingly different mood, which are accentuated by the regular use of CCTV angles and “bugged” audio.
Person of Interest is one of the most exciting new shows on broadcast TV this year. If you’re looking for a thought-provoking thriller with solid action and storytelling, look no further – especially if you’re a fan of Nolan’s flavor of caped vigilante.
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Person of Interest airs Thursdays @9pm on CBS
Follow Michael on Twitter: @MichaelCrider
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Finally….a show without all the “fluff”, it’s raw and not “over thought”. It’s the best new drama out this fall!!! I LOVE IT!!! I’m hooked!!!!
Best new series, everyone in it is awesome.
Person of Interest so far is a great drama series. I hope that it is one of those new dramas that is kept – and not cancelled. There is great acting and each episode that I have watched, makes you want to continue watching. This series is a keeper!
person of Interest is the best series that I have seen since Lost, keep it on, it attention holding all the way through. I hope they keep it on forever. great themes, and Cavazel is great and so is Michael Emerso. He is full of wonder and interest as he was on Lost. too great actors.
Did anyone else catch the copy of “The Count of Monte Cristo” in the student’s apartment in tonight’s episode?
I did notice that copy of “The Count of Monte Cristo,” which Jim Caviezel starred in. Right?
That was a terrific episode about “Elias”!!!!!!!
This show is so awesome! Love it! Unfortunaltey it not airing today
Excellent show! Keeps your attention and look forward to the next show. Great drama, fantastic actors and this one is definitely a keeper!!! Thank you!
I am in agreement with the rest of the responders; it is the best new show on TV.
J. Caviezel is awesome as well as M. Emerson.
I don’t miss an episode!!
Love the show.
Reminds me of the Judas Priest tune “Electric Eye”. Great tune.
Best new show on TV. Can’t wait for season two. Caviezel is the perfect pick to play Reese–great acting and an awesome cast with Emerson and Taraji Henson as detective Carter. And Fusco only adds to the mix. Love Love Love this show
Eureka!!!
I am a 64 four year old menopausal female who was turned on to Person of Interest via of inner city youth in Detroit, Mi. We Love the program, and it has brought us closer together in the neighborhood.
We all agree that although Reese is the Star of the show, however, “Bear” the German Shepherd, who was taken from the criminals is stealing “Reese”s thunder.
“Bear” is cute, smart, vicious when need to be.
As the neighborhood kids have said, “Bear’s” Ass could make the Bad Guys a “Sunday Face!”
I’d like to suggest that you keep “Bear” in the script. He could be the next “Rin Tin Tin!”
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK CAST AND WRITERS as we Love your show!.
Do not appreciate the homosexual agenda being promoted. Will not watch again!
I fully agree. Gay is one thing. Putting it in your face by advocating gay marriage is totally unacceptable. I will not watch again. Too bad too. This has been one of my favorite shows.
I didn’t appreciate that the woman that played the surgeon couldn’t have just been married to a man. An interracial marriage is still a big thing in many communities but they went the extra mile to make them gay. I see that “they” are socializing the new normal but unless you plan to discriminate against real people you could run into in your lives then it is what it is. I am not blind to what’s going on in the socialization by the media/tv/film. Unless it happens every single show its not enough for me to watch. To the other naysayers you might as well agree not to watch tv as Gay agenda shows up in many tv shows.
Practically everybody I know loves this show, and they consider it to be the highlight of their TV viewing each week. We are shocked that CBS would risk losing its viewers by the brazen promotion of the same-sex political agenda.
The instant I heard the intent of this episode, I immediately turned to another channel, and felt that I had lost something I liked. I refuse to be psychologically ambushed again. I won’t be watching Person of Interest anymore.
I really enjoy this show, the level of intelligence, the actors and the theme. The gay aspect perhaps a sign of the times and not like it will be going away. I would keep it in check. What I don’t want to see are the villains that seemingly never die. Clearly they would be dead in an exploding car having a bomb strapped to their chest. The next week, the same villains are right back chasing the good guys and not a scratch on them… This is a turn off. Keep the show fresh. If it is supposed to be an ongoing continuous storyline keep it real. Since it could be heading in the direction of being predicable and not believable. That would be a shame since it is really one of my favorite new shows.
Wow. Last weeks show on 2/21 sure had a twist. I kept thinking to myself, who is this new duo taking it to the bad guys….same talk about numbers. Where was John? Super action with automatics that make a joke out of the NCIS crews with their silly 9mms. Of course, John and Michael
were there all the time trying to catch up to this new gal and her now deceased partner. Can’t remember her name, but she rocks. Her auto used in the apartment shoot out was very cool. Also, John’s gal nemisis didn’t die in the car explosion as we previously were led to believe…..one nasty sociopath. A flashback in the show would sure help to see how she pulled that off.
I have been watching Person of Interest from the beginning and i have to say the May 9,2013 was the most violent, digusting show ever witnessed. Is it necessary to have people being shot every 3 minutes of the show! Will probably not watch it anymore because of the very non challant shootings going on. Not necessary
Is anyone else sick to death of Root? Also, other gratuitous female characters running around with guns are unnecessary. I sure hope this show doesn’t lose sight of what made it good in the first place, Reese and Finch each doing what they do best, with lots of ass kicking by Reese. Simple, it works for me. Please don’t turn it into some typical cops and romance junk.