One thing Netflix subscribers can always rely on is at least one new feature film or TV series dropping every Friday, with yesterday bringing the debuts of two instant chart-toppers via the long-awaited adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, and South Korean action thriller Carter.
The latter has gotten off to a phenomenal start on the platform’s global rankings, having instantly nabbed a Top 10 position in no less than 84 nations spread out across multiple continents, as per FlixPatrol. That includes 11 immediate entries to number one, but the real question is how long Carter can stay at the top of the rankings given its fairly mediocre critical reception.
Co-writer and director Jung Byung-gil’s latest effort holds respective Rotten Tomatoes scores of 43 and 55 percent from critics and audiences, which is disappointing when he was the mastermind behind phenomenal ass-kicker The Villainess, with Carter marking his first stint behind the camera in the five years since.
The plot is ideal high concept fodder, too, with Joo Won’s title hero waking up two months into a global pandemic without any recollections of his past. However, he does have a strange device implanted in his head, attached to an explosive device and a mysterious voice in his ear instructing him on how to stay alive as enemies begin to close in from all sides.
Carter could have been so much more, then, but as a slice of instant gratification at the weekend, it’s going down a treat among Netflix customers as ideal Friday night and Saturday afternoon viewing.
