Latest news with #MrRobot
CNET
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Whatever You Do, Don't Become Obsessed With This Conspiracy Thriller on Netflix
Sometimes, the best TV shows come from unexpected places. Obviously, there were the big ones like Lost, Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad. When HBO's landmark fantasy hit and Vince Gilligan's drug drama ended in 2013, I was left wondering what series would be next to capture our collective attention. It took me a few years to find my next TV obsession, which aired on an unassuming basic cable channel. The show I'm referring to was about the internet, of all things. It was created by a guy with no experience in television and starred a relatively unknown actor who played the central, flawed hacker genius who becomes involved in a super dangerous shadow government conspiracy. Solid performances, relevant themes, slick writing and epic world-building made it a must-watch show. It dominated the conversation and regularly kept me on the edge of my seat. This show is an Emmy-winner, a game-changer and one of the best thrillers to ever hit television. Now, for the first time ever in the United States, it is available to stream in full on Netflix. This is Mr. Robot. Read more: Netflix Review: Our Top Pick in a Sea of Streaming Choices Rami Malek plays Elliot Alderson in the hacker drama Mr. Robot. USA Network "Hello, friend," Rami Malek's hacker antihero Elliot Alderson says in the opening moments of the pilot episode. He's talking to the audience. But moreover, I took it to heart that he was talking to me. As someone who related to his antisocial, black hoodie-wearing, outcast vibe, it felt as if Elliot was the TV embodiment of me -- if my goth outcast phase of the '90s and '00s never ended. Without getting too into the weeds here, Mr. Robot follows Elliot, a computer programmer who works for a giant company, named E-Corp (or Evil Corp, depending on who you ask) by day and flexes his chops as a hacker at night. He gets recruited by a mysterious Anonymous-like organization that wants to crash corporate America. The only issue? He works for the company at the top of the greedy corporate food chain. That's the nutshell explanation but there's more going on here than that. Add in a V for Vendetta-style anarchist cult, a mysterious mentor figure (conveniently named Mr. Robot) and a complicated mental health struggle and you have one heck of a layered onion to unpeel. Mr. Robot is an absolute banger of a TV show. It was different from anything else on television (and pretty much, still is). It was clear from the jump that this series was going to move the needle; it was a programming paradigm shift and it had a lot to say. Christian Slater plays Mr. Robot opposite Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson in Mr. Robot. USA Network Christian Slater plays Mr. Robot, whose recognizable cadence and smirky, sardonic delivery make Elliot's sidekick a compelling character who can be charismatic and abhorrent in the same breath. Cocky, confident, and a bit sociopathic, Slater's Mr. Robot is the antithesis of Malek's Elliot. Their relationship dynamic is reminiscent of the one between Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden and Edward Norton's Jack in David Fincher's 1999 cult classic, Fight Club. Mr. Robot explores a slew of heavy themes that can be tough to stomach. It's the rare occurrence where the use of voice-over narration elevates the whole story instead of feeling like a storytelling shortcut. Elliot regularly addresses the viewer and his narration is never ham-fisted. Carly Chaikin as Darlene and Rami Malek as Elliot in the hacker drama Mr. Robot. USA Network In fact, Malek is on another level here. Emotionally resonant, intense, vulnerable -- his range runs the gamut -- and he's simply enthralling as Elliot. As his world unravels and he's forced to question the chaos happening around him, he regularly breaks the fourth wall to talk with us at home -- which is welcoming and unnerving -- and invites us deeper into his reality. In the series' opening moments, all it took was hearing him say, "Hello, friend," and I was fully invested in the slippery slope of insanity that followed. Mac Quayle's Emmy-winning, techno-laden score kept me nodding my head, even during the show's twistiest twists. Rami Malek as Elliot and Joey Bada$$ as Leon in Mr. Robot. USA Network Slater and Malek are the powerhouses here, and their characters' storylines are the lifeblood of Mr. Robot. The supporting players also bring their A-games. Carly Chaikin, Portia Doubleday, Martin Wallström, BD Wong, Michael Cristofer and Joey Bada$$ deliver memorable performances that succeed in building out Esmail's sleek yet bleak world. The aforementioned hip-hop artist is an absolute delight. Recently, I wrote about FX's Legion and the ways in which that Marvel series pushed the envelope with what can be done on basic cable. Esmail did the exact same thing with Mr. Robot (on the USA Network, no less) by infusing style elements into the city streets and cold buildings, reminiscent of the aesthetic the Wachowskis brought to The Matrix. Elliot (go with me here) can even be viewed as a Neo but without all the supernatural sci-fi minutiae that came with that story. As kooky and bizarre as things get, Esmail manages to keep things grounded and believable. His attention to authenticity, like using real Linux code every time Elliot is seen typing on-screen, is on point. I said earlier that this was a TV show about the internet and, really, it's probably the most accurate-feeling representation of the dark web subculture I have ever seen on television. A hacker series winning Emmy awards? Yes, that happened. Yet, Mr. Robot was anything but mainstream, which, funnily enough, is what made it mainstream. A masked spokesperson for the mysterious hacker group F Society delivers an ominous warning in the conspiracy thriller, Mr. Robot. Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNET Even though things get pretty dark, Esmail came prepared. There is a surprising amount of humor threaded throughout the series that helps to offset the bleak nature of the show's looming dystopia. He uses pop culture nostalgia and disruptive production techniques to keep us on our toes. One specific episode featured a reality-altering flashback, curious visuals and an iconic '80s sitcom alien that made me sit up and yell at the television like Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It's been a decade since the conspiracy thriller first hit the USA Network. It was a time before TikTok, misinformation, deepfakes and AI. Yet, through all these social media and technological advancements, the show holds up. In fact, the overarching themes like political corruption, corporate greed and untreated mental health issues somehow make Mr. Robot even more relevant today.
IOL News
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Rami Malek goes rogue in new action thriller ‘The Amateur'
American actor Rami Malek in 'The Amateur'. Image: Supplied Disney+ has announced the highly anticipated arrival of the action-packed movie, 'The Amateur', which follows an IT specialist for the CIA, Charlie Heller, who embarks on a journey of revenge after he lost his wife, who was killed in a London terrorist attack. Heller is adamant about finding the people who were involved in the terrorist attack that killed his wife, as he travels the world in hopes of killing those responsible. However, because violence or guns are not what he is used to, the grieving husband resorts to using his knowledge and intelligence of technology to seek vengeance. 'The Amateur' features a star-studded cast which includes Rami Malek, an Oscar-winning actor who starred in multiple popular movies such as 'Bohemian Rhapsody' as well as 'Mr Robot'. He plays the husband. He has also won numerous accolades for his exceptional acting skills, including a Golden Globe award under the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture for his role in 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in 2019, as well as an Oscar for Best Actor. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ During an interview with 'People', Malek shared his thoughts on the 2025 film and what he loved about his character. 'I got to star in an action movie, that is something I never thought I would ever say. I love this character because I find him extremely relatable. A lot of people use the term geek or nerd, but I just see someone who is really underestimated or overlooked,' he shared. The rest of the cast includes Rachel Brosnahan, Caitríona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, Michael Stuhlbarg, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Adrian Martinez, Danny Sapani and Laurence Fishburne. Fishburne plays the role of Colonel Henderson, Heller's (Malek) supervisor, who has to train him on how to be an assassin. Training Heller, however, appears to be a difficult task because he knows nothing about guns and seems to even be afraid of holding the gun. 'The Amateur' is now streaming on Disney+
CNET
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Don't Miss This Iconic Conspiracy Thriller That's Now Streaming on Netflix
We may be past the era of Peak TV, but it's always fun to look back at the plethora of shows that hit television, propelled unknown actors to superstardom, and dominated the conversation. There are so many good ones, with obvious examples like Lost, Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad. When Vince Gilligan's hit drug drama came to an end in 2013, I was left wondering what series would capture the cultural zeitgeist next. I never thought it would be a show about the internet, of all things, but it was. And it was brilliant. The lead of the series was a relatively unknown character actor who took on the central role of the flawed, neurodivergent hacker genius who gets sucked into a shadow government conspiracy. It was a series that dominated the conversation week in and week out. It was lifted up by solid performances, relevant themes, slick writing and epic world-building, and it regularly kept me on the edge of my seat. The program I am talking about is an Emmy-winner, a game-changer and one of the best thrillers to ever hit television. Now, for the first time ever in the United States, it is available to stream in full on Netflix. This is Mr. Robot. Read more: Netflix Review: Our Top Pick in a Sea of Streaming Choices Rami Malek plays Elliot Alderson in the hacker drama Mr. Robot. USA Network "Hello, friend," Rami Malek's hacker antihero Elliot Alderson says in the opening moments of the pilot episode. He's talking to the audience. But moreover, I took it to heart that he was talking to me. As someone who related to his antisocial, black hoodie-wearing, outcast vibe, it felt as if Elliot was the TV embodiment of me -- if my goth outcast phase of the '90s and '00s never ended. Without getting too into the weeds here, Mr. Robot follows Elliot, a computer programmer who works for a giant company, named E-Corp (or Evil Corp, depending on who you ask) by day and flexes his chops as a hacker at night. He gets recruited by a mysterious Anonymous-like organization that wants to crash corporate America. The only issue? He works for the company at the top of the greedy corporate food chain. That's the nutshell explanation but there's more going on here than that. Add in a V for Vendetta-style anarchist cult, a mysterious mentor figure (conveniently named Mr. Robot) and a complicated mental health struggle and you have one heck of a layered onion to unpeel. Mr. Robot is an absolute banger of a TV show. It was different from anything else on television (and pretty much, still is). It was clear from the jump that this series was going to move the needle; it was a programming paradigm shift and it had a lot to say. Christian Slater plays Mr. Robot opposite Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson in Mr. Robot. USA Network Christian Slater plays Mr. Robot, whose recognizable cadence and smirky, sardonic delivery make Elliot's sidekick a compelling character who can be charismatic and abhorrent in the same breath. Cocky, confident, and a bit sociopathic, Slater's Mr. Robot is the antithesis of Malek's Elliot. Their relationship dynamic is reminiscent of the one between Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden and Edward Norton's Jack in David Fincher's 1999 cult classic, Fight Club. Mr. Robot explores a slew of heavy themes that can be tough to stomach. It's the rare occurrence where the use of voice-over narration elevates the whole story instead of feeling like a storytelling shortcut. Elliot regularly addresses the viewer and his narration is never ham-fisted. Carly Chaikin as Darlene and Rami Malek as Elliot in the hacker drama Mr. Robot. USA Network In fact, Malek is on another level here. Emotionally resonant, intense, vulnerable -- his range runs the gamut -- and he's simply enthralling as Elliot. As his world unravels and he's forced to question the chaos happening around him, he regularly breaks the fourth wall to talk with us at home -- which is welcoming and unnerving -- and invites us deeper into his reality. In the series' opening moments, all it took was hearing him say, "Hello, friend," and I was fully invested in the slippery slope of insanity that followed. Mac Quayle's Emmy-winning, techno-laden score kept me nodding my head, even during the show's twistiest twists. Rami Malek as Elliot and Joey Bada$$ as Leon in Mr. Robot. USA Network Slater and Malek are the powerhouses here, and their characters' storylines are the lifeblood of Mr. Robot. The supporting players also bring their A-games. Carly Chaikin, Portia Doubleday, Martin Wallström, BD Wong, Michael Cristofer and Joey Bada$$ deliver memorable performances that succeed in building out Esmail's sleek yet bleak world. The aforementioned hip-hop artist is an absolute delight. Recently, I wrote about FX's Legion and the ways in which that Marvel series pushed the envelope with what can be done on basic cable. Esmail did the exact same thing with Mr. Robot (on the USA Network, no less) by infusing style elements into the city streets and cold buildings, reminiscent of the aesthetic the Wachowskis brought to The Matrix. Elliot (go with me here) can even be viewed as a Neo but without all the supernatural sci-fi minutiae that came with that story. As kooky and bizarre as things get, Esmail manages to keep things grounded and believable. His attention to authenticity, like using real Linux code every time Elliot is seen typing on-screen, is on point. I said earlier that this was a TV show about the internet and, really, it's probably the most accurate-feeling representation of the dark web subculture I have ever seen on television. A hacker series winning Emmy awards? Yes, that happened. Yet, Mr. Robot was anything but mainstream, which, funnily enough, is what made it mainstream. A masked spokesperson for the mysterious hacker group F Society delivers an ominous warning in the conspiracy thriller, Mr. Robot. Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNET Even though things get pretty dark, Esmail came prepared. There is a surprising amount of humor threaded throughout the series that helps to offset the bleak nature of the show's looming dystopia. He uses pop culture nostalgia and disruptive production techniques to keep us on our toes. One specific episode featured a reality-altering flashback, curious visuals and an iconic '80s sitcom alien that made me sit up and yell at the television like Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It's been a decade since the conspiracy thriller first hit the USA Network. It was a time before TikTok, misinformation, deepfakes and AI. Yet, through all these social media and technological advancements, the show holds up. In fact, the overarching themes like political corruption, corporate greed and untreated mental health issues somehow make Mr. Robot even more relevant today.
CNET
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
I'm Still Obsessed With This Cult Conspiracy Thriller and Now It's on Netflix
Every once in a while, a TV show comes out of nowhere and changes the very fabric of the medium. Off the top of my head, I can think of five: Twin Peaks, Lost, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad. After Vince Gilligan's hit drug drama ended in 2013, I wondered what series would capture the cultural zeitgeist next. The answer came in the form of an edgy show about the internet, of all things. It starred a relatively unknown character actor as a flawed, neurodivergent hacker genius who gets sucked into a shadow government conspiracy. The show was lifted up by solid performances, relevant themes, slick writing, epic world-building and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing week in and week out. The program I am talking about is an Emmy-winner, a game-changer and one of the best thrillers to ever hit television. Now, for the first time ever in the United States, it is available to stream in full on Netflix. This is Mr. Robot. Read more: Netflix Review: Our Top Pick in a Sea of Streaming Choices Rami Malek plays Elliot Alderson in the hacker drama Mr. Robot. USA Network "Hello, friend," Rami Malek's hacker antihero Elliot Alderson says in the opening moments of the pilot episode. He's talking to the audience. But moreover, I took it to heart that he was talking to me. As someone who related to his antisocial, black hoodie-wearing, outcast vibe, it felt as if Elliot was the TV embodiment of me -- if my goth outcast phase of the '90s and '00s never ended. Without getting too into the weeds here, Mr. Robot follows Elliot, a computer programmer who works for a giant company, named E-Corp (or Evil Corp, depending on who you ask) by day and flexes his chops as a hacker at night. He gets recruited by a mysterious Anonymous-like organization that wants to crash corporate America. The only issue? He works for the company at the top of the greedy corporate food chain. That's the nutshell explanation but there's more going on here than that. Add in a V for Vendetta-style anarchist cult, a mysterious mentor figure (conveniently named Mr. Robot) and a complicated mental health struggle and you have one heck of a layered onion to unpeel. Mr. Robot is an absolute banger of a TV show. It was different from anything else on television (and pretty much, still is). It was clear from the jump that this series was going to move the needle; it was a programming paradigm shift and it had a lot to say. Christian Slater plays Mr. Robot opposite Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson in Mr. Robot. USA Network Christian Slater plays Mr. Robot, whose recognizable cadence and smirky, sardonic delivery make Elliot's sidekick a compelling character who can be charismatic and abhorrent in the same breath. Cocky, confident, and a bit sociopathic, Slater's Mr. Robot is the antithesis of Malek's Elliot. Their relationship dynamic is reminiscent of the one between Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden and Edward Norton's Jack in David Fincher's 1999 cult classic, Fight Club. Mr. Robot explores a slew of heavy themes that can be tough to stomach. It's the rare occurrence where the use of voice-over narration elevates the whole story instead of feeling like a storytelling shortcut. Elliot regularly addresses the viewer and his narration is never ham-fisted. Carly Chaikin as Darlene and Rami Malek as Elliot in the hacker drama Mr. Robot. USA Network In fact, Malek is on another level here. Emotionally resonant, intense, vulnerable -- his range runs the gamut -- and he's simply enthralling as Elliot. As his world unravels and he's forced to question the chaos happening around him, he regularly breaks the fourth wall to talk with us at home -- which is welcoming and unnerving -- and invites us deeper into his reality. In the series' opening moments, all it took was hearing him say, "Hello, friend," and I was fully invested in the slippery slope of insanity that followed. Mac Quayle's Emmy-winning, techno-laden score kept me nodding my head, even during the show's twistiest twists. Rami Malek as Elliot and Joey Bada$$ as Leon in Mr. Robot. USA Network Slater and Malek are the powerhouses here, and their characters' storylines are the lifeblood of Mr. Robot. The supporting players also bring their A-games. Carly Chaikin, Portia Doubleday, Martin Wallström, BD Wong, Michael Cristofer and Joey Bada$$ deliver memorable performances that succeed in building out Esmail's sleek yet bleak world. The aforementioned hip-hop artist is an absolute delight. Recently, I wrote about FX's Legion and the ways in which that Marvel series pushed the envelope with what can be done on basic cable. Esmail did the exact same thing with Mr. Robot (on the USA Network, no less) by infusing style elements into the city streets and cold buildings, reminiscent of the aesthetic the Wachowskis brought to The Matrix. Elliot (go with me here) can even be viewed as a Neo but without all the supernatural sci-fi minutiae that came with that story. As kooky and bizarre as things get, Esmail manages to keep things grounded and believable. His attention to authenticity, like using real Linux code every time Elliot is seen typing on-screen, is on point. I said earlier that this was a TV show about the internet and, really, it's probably the most accurate-feeling representation of the dark web subculture I have ever seen on television. A hacker series winning Emmy awards? Yes, that happened. Yet, Mr. Robot was anything but mainstream, which, funnily enough, is what made it mainstream. Rami Malek won an Emmy for his performance as Elliot Alderson in hacker drama Mr. Robot. USA Network Even though things get pretty dark, Esmail came prepared. There is a surprising amount of humor threaded throughout the series that helps to offset the bleak nature of the show's looming dystopia. He uses pop culture nostalgia and disruptive production techniques to keep us on our toes. One specific episode featured a reality-altering flashback, curious visuals and an iconic '80s sitcom alien that made me sit up and yell at the television like Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It's been a decade since the conspiracy thriller first hit the USA Network. It was a time before TikTok, misinformation, deep fakes and AI. Yet, through all these social media and technological advancements, the show holds up. In fact, the overarching themes like political corruption, corporate greed and untreated mental health issues, somehow make Mr. Robot even more relevant today. If I'm being honest, friend, I really can't think of anything I'd rather binge this Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Forbes
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
One Of The Best TV Shows Ever Made Lands On Netflix Today, A Must-Watch Thriller
Mr. Robot Netflix Evil mega-corporations, brilliant hackers, mind-bending twists and nefarious conspiracies. If you enjoy this kind of thing, you're in luck. One of the best thriller TV shows ever made just landed on Netflix, and you absolutely need to watch it ASAP. Created by Sam Esmail, Mr. Robot tells the story of brilliant hacker, Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek). Elliot is the tech security version of Superman: By day, he works at cybersecurity firm Allsafe. By night, he hacks wrongdoers. Elliot is recruited by a mysterious anarchist hacker known only as Mr. Robot and begins working with a group of hacktivists called fsociety, whose singular goal is to bring down mega corporation E Corp (referred to as Evil Corp by the hackers). Elliot ends up joining the hacker group and things quickly get wildly out of control. From here, things take . . . some very interesting and surprising turns. If Fight Club had been more about hacking than, well, fighting and blowing stuff up, you'd have a sense of what this show is about. Twisty, unexpected, and deeply creative, each season throws you for a new loop. The story can be downright confusing at times, but it's tightly written and the cast is exceptional. Just when you think nothing is making sense, a new revelation ties it all together. This is a great fan-made 'Cinema Style' trailer that really captures the vibe of the show without giving away any major spoilers. Give it a watch: Christian Slater plays the mysterious Mr. Robot, a character whose true identity is central to the plot and to Elliot's trajectory. Carly Chaikin plays Elliot's sister, Darlene, a founding member of fsociety. Martin Wallström takes on the role of corporate villain, Tyrell Wellick, an enigmatic and shadowy figure. Other cast members include Portia Doubleday, BD Wong and Grace Gummer. Fans of political thrillers and sci-fi who want something genuinely unique, that explores heavier themes like mental illness, near-future dystopian technology and surprisingly creative cinematography and narrative structure, will find a lot to love in Mr. Robot. Add to this the exceptional original score by Mac Quayle, and you have one of the best shows on Netflix period. Actually, I need to use this as background music for a tabletop cyberpunk RPG. It's been years since I've watched it, and I think it's time to watch it all over again now that all four seasons are streaming on Netflix. Have you seen Mr. Robot? What did you think? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.
