Creators:
Beau WillimonComposer:
Jeff BealCast:
Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Rachel Brosnahan, Mahershala Ali, Nathan Darrow, Michel Gill, Reg E. Cathey, Sebastian Arcelus, Kate Mara (more)VOD (2)
Seasons(6) / Episodes(73)
Plots(1)
A Congressman works with his equally conniving wife to exact revenge on the people who betrayed him. (official distributor synopsis)
Videos (25)
Reviews (8)
Kevin Spacey back in form. Even though his character is rotten through and through, he has such charisma that it doesn't matter in the end. But the others, like his wife Robin Wright and especially the manipulated congressman Corey Stoll, are no less worthy competitors. The start was great, so we can only wait for the next season of politics without gloves. The next season adds to the pace and benefits from being much tighter, you enjoy Underwood the most, and it doesn't even give you as much reason to hate him by his standards. But that just brings me to the third and final season so far. Surprisingly, the plot is again disjointed. We follow the fates of several characters whose decisions sometimes teeter on the edge of what the viewer can bear. It's "rough" entertainment, but I can't shake the impression that it's just a drawn-out prelude to the last stage of Frank's politics....Unfortunately, the last stage hasn't arrived even after 5 seasons. Thanks to Spacey, but mostly because of Netflix's haste, we now have the least dignified ending to a series I can remember. That’s America for you.
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Season 1 – 80% – Kevin Spacey chose an apt place for his resounding comeback. As a powerful and morally unbound politician, he can act magnificently in gripping dialogues, mischievously wink at the camera, give the viewer a sense of belonging, and convince with his charisma that sometimes doing something bad could be beneficial for one's own cause. The whole house of cards has the strongest foundation in Frank's tension with Zoe (and in general, the influence of these two characters), while some fail to fully captivate you due to their too calm storyline (Claire), or irritate you with their decisions and actions (Peter). It is the atmosphere and mood, which are not afraid to use a dose of irony, that make the series unique in its own way. Certainly not because of the script. It loses its presumed sophistication at the moment of the first revelation. Then the magic of the shocked viewer fades away, and with every plot twist, I suspect a bigger plan. However, thanks to specific characters and pleasantly ambiguous progression, it hasn't started bothering me yet. Season 2 – 60% – A surprisingly frustrating experience. The gradual carving out of the most interesting characters and storylines leaves the path paved for regular politics with all its routine dirtiness, and at that moment, the magical satire that could captivate the audience the most disappears. What's worse is that none of the sidelined storylines are satisfactorily concluded, and most of the closing scenes are just shortcuts or unbelievable jolts. Characters with nothing new to offer and are just cheaper versions of ones who have already left the Congress, the White House, and other locations, are pushed into the foreground inexplicably. Despite the occasional paperwork rustling in purely political circles, the pleasantly unsettling atmosphere never completely disappears, and Spacey manages to chill you with every raised voice. However, that's not enough for a series that wants to be an unforgettable event all at once. Season 3 – 70% – Surprisingly, even though it reaches higher political circles, the show plays on a more personal note, but it is not enough for victory. It is played using pawns whose role in the whole game is undeniable (Jackie, Remy, Seth), but if they are not in direct contact with Frank, I have no need to see them at all. Their side storylines are just filler, just like last year, not to mention Doug, whose driving force, an obsession with a certain redhead, should have been resolved long ago, but instead keeps repeating itself in tiresome loops. Luckily, the central antihero, who has found an equal opponent in Heather as well as Petrov, and best of all - in Claire, is still present. It's precisely the cautiously escalating dialogues between Spacey and Robin Wright that always captivate me as Mr. and Mrs. FU, even if the other storylines are unnecessary. Originally, I was aiming for a higher rating for the third season because politics this time aims pleasantly in the current direction, but the ending itself flinches. Unfortunately, it shows that showrunner Beau Willimon wants to appear very sophisticated, but at the same time lets go of the vast majority of possibilities to really work with supporting characters and instead randomly pulls them wherever it suits the next episode. Season 4 – 80% – For a while, it seemed that even the remaining sophistication would transform into pure politics, which would be a disaster for the original premise. However, in the fourth episode, it dramatically deviates from the indicated direction, and the whole House finally breathes lightly, bringing back to the game to my great delight almost all the more significant supporting characters from past years, and giving Spacey a chance for previously unseen acting expressions. The character of the writer Tom shows how creatively seemingly finished characters can return to the game, while in the case of Doug, for several years now, it has been shown that Michael Kelly must have some dirt on Netflix; otherwise, I don't understand why they insist on keeping him in the main cast at all costs. Thanks to the unexpected and daring development, I would believe in the whole project again, except for one thing holding me back, the departure of Beau Willimon from the position of the main creator. Even this season was far from flawless, but continuing at any cost without him seems highly risky to me. Season 5 – 70% – In the first two-thirds, I enjoy watching Frank's subversive deeds and have a great time until the climax of the election storyline. However, everything that comes after works worse, especially because the main couple is surrounded by increasingly uninteresting characters. Mark, Cathy, Alex Romero, Seth, and unfortunately, Jane Davis portrayed flawlessly by Patricia Clarkson, unfortunately, mean nothing to me, and most of the time, they only function as an advertisement for how perfectly Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright can play off each other due to their contrast. I would still believe in the series at this moment if it knew where it was going, if it wasn't for the events that left the show without its biggest draw. Season 6 – 40% – After Spacey's departure, I believed that the creators knew what they were doing. That the swan song wouldn't be just a weak attempt to pass the baton, that there would simply be something to play for. Now, on the contrary, I regret that the series wasn't canceled because the ship sank when the scripts started getting rewritten. I like Robin Wright, but without her eternal counterpart in the form of Frank, she is sadly an add-on to the picture, no matter how much she plays with the ongoing female victories. For a change, I even appreciate Doug for the first time in a long time, for there to be a decent counterpart at all and an attempt at a balanced dynamic. Otherwise, the Shepherd siblings steal a huge amount of space. Never-before-seen characters are positioned as the grey eminences of all of Washington, without whose oversight perhaps the entire cabinet won't turn around. When other bland Mark-type antagonists are added, it becomes definitively clear how far a once-ambitious undertaking has fallen. Long-running side characters hastily leave the scene to get any absolution at all, the finale fails to bring any logical point to the events so far, and the revelations that have been awaited for the entire eight episodes come across as a travesty, not to mention the overall direction being too much at the mercy of behind-the-scenes events. A regrettable ending that is only saved from ignominy by the quality of the actors they managed to get for even the smallest roles.
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Money. Power. Power and money. And politics is a means of getting both of them. Fincher spot on as always, Spacey again enjoys his role marvelously. So far I see this very optimistically. Season one: Naively I thought that this would be more encapsulated, but that would be wanting too much. Fincher set the tone, Schumacher moves on in a similar vein, but all those involved in the direction are doing an excellent job. In this beautiful to exemplary insight into the game of high-level politics. You are on Spacey’s side, Kate Mara at last shows her true colors of a little careerist bitch. What is missing when you compare it with The Boss is urgency and greater sympathy with the characters, as if the high-level politics was too perfect and cleansed. This isn’t downright bad, I just want to explain why I prefer the other series (even though it was certainly lower budget and less bombastic). This doesn’t mean that we won’t meet up with Frank Underwood again next season. Quite the opposite, I look forward to him tapping me on the shoulder again and taking me through that rotten place that goes by the name of the Whitehouse. Season two: A much better-knit game than the last, slowly-dosed season. But Frank is aiming high and he needs a larger screen for his masterpiece. The details undermining his mastery slightly bother me, but the last episode assuages my fears. America is in the right hands. Good things happen to good people. Season three: Political intrigue trampled by the relationship storyline. It is the dynamics of the first couple and mainly of Claire, played perfectly by Robin Wright, that drives this year’s campaign forward. Thanks to the Russians, foreign policy is heavy-duty and, along with probing the Underwood’s marriage, it exceeds all expectations. The ending is brutally open-ended. Season four draws on the very best historical events and decisions by the United States. Things aren’t easy for Frank and Claire, but they manage to pull an ace out of their sleeve when they are waist-deep in quick sand. The finale is brilliant, even though I’m sure that lots of nitpickers will be talking about a departure from reality, but they should brush up on some not so distant history. Barack is no longer a fan. And Donald is becoming one.
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A masterclass of Machiavellianism where, if we looked closely, we would surely find the vast majority of freeloaders in our illustrious parliament. And it doesn't matter if you are a democrat or a republican, a socialist or an atheist, you will all end up soaking in the filth of power. So finally we have a series that doesn't rely on would-be shocking twists or tired cliffhangers at the end of each episode to make the excited viewer want to come to the screen next time. On the contrary, there's a very sophisticated script that chills at times and where Kevin Spacey literally relishes being a political swine, even with his unusual on-camera monologues. Don’t let the weaker start discourage you, the best comes with the later episodes and it all builds up fantastically towards the end. So, now with the second season. It’s even better. The creators cut the subplots to a minimum, reduced the number of Underwood's adversaries, and let him face a single strong one, which benefited the series. The final episodes are emotional carnage, the last shot is a masterpiece, and I hereby officially declare Frank Underwood the greatest human scum in the history of TV.
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I'm writing this review after watching four seasons. I knew after the first episode that I was going to like this one a lot. Kevin Spacey is one of my favorite actors, and he's excellent as always. I never thought I’d enjoy a series about political intrigue, but I was wrong. The story completely drew me in, and I always find it hard to turn it off and go to sleep. I think a lot of filmmakers could learn from it a lot about how to create atmosphere. Frank and Claire Underwood can be so cold sometimes that I have to scrape frost off the screen. Edit (December 5, 2019): I rated and reviewed Season 6 separately. It wasn't even part of the series anymore, at least not to me.
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