On HBO Max's DMZ, great acting can't overcome numerous plotholes

Salon.com

The Ava DuVernay-produced and directed four-hour dystopian DC-based series about a Second Civil War from showrunner Roberto Patino doesn't get enough time to tell the story it needs to tell, says Melanie McFarland. As a result, the cast led by Rosario Dawson and Benjamin Bratt excels, but the writing can't keep pace. "The actors stretch mightily in their performances to sell the many plot holes that DMZ requires us to ignore as we travel with (Dawson's) Alma," says McFarland. "Other details, including a ticking-down clock in the first episode, have no real purpose at all. "Whether the poignant performances and rousing visuals are enough to carry viewers through its inconsistent flow is as tough to say. Similarly, who knows if Patino would have satisfactorily filled in the gaps displaying his plot incompleteness with extra hours? What we can see is that DMZ gives incredible performances while asking us to ignore some massive flaws, trusting that an outstanding cast and timely premise are enough to compensate for the messy, pothole-ridden landscape it asks us to travel with Alma."

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• DMZ is too good of an idea to abandon like this: "DMZ bears the unfortunate distinction of suffering from one of the most severe pandemic disruptions on a show that’s made it to air," says Joshua Rivera. "Originally planned as a proper ongoing series for HBO Max, the series halted production in March 2020 after filming the pilot, resuming in late 2021 as a four-episode miniseries. According to showrunner Roberto Patino, this lead to DMZ becoming a smaller, more personal story. Under these constraints, it’s miraculous that DMZ has arrived with a focused, coherent story to tell. It’s just not a particularly satisfying one."
• DMZ’s greatest strength is its rebuttal to damaging assumptions, emphasizing humanity’s capacity as caretakers and the responsibilities required of anyone who seeks to govern
• DMZ is a one-hour pilot stretched to four poorly constructed hours -- it's full of big ideas that never materialize and characters without room to grow
• DMZ can feel overstuffed, as if it’s fighting to wrench depth out of its source material
• DMZ is a mishmash of half-baked ideas about anger with Shakespearean undertones of family struggle
• DMZ deserves props for being short and straightforward, but it ultimately suffers from its fast-paced storytelling
• In the end, DMZ seems meant to inspire us and remind us of our own power, even when the road ahead seems impossible