TV Review: Black Mirror – Man Against Fire & Hated in the Nation

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

PLOT: In the final two episodes of “Black Mirror”, a soldier (Malachi Kirby) finds his military tech malfunctioning, discovering a disturbing secret in the process, while a London detective (Kelly MacDonald) investigates the murder of a despised blogger.

REVIEW: Well, the third season of “Black Mirror” has been one hell of a ride. Heck, part of the reason these reviews have taken so long to get up is that each episode was so draining, binging became a little hard – each needed time to soak-in. To me, that’s the mark of a great series, and these episodes are as good as any that have come before, while maintaining their own distinct identity.

Netflix’s funding of the third season seems most obvious in “Men Against Fire” with several actors from their shows being part of the cast. “Roots’s” star Malachi Kirby is our personable hero here, a rookie soldier stationed in an eastern European warzone under the watch of his gruff commander (PREDESTINATION’s Sarah Snook). They’re pitted against an enemy called “Roaches”, which appear to be genetically altered, zombie-like monsters. After killing a bunch of the enemy, but being zapped with a remote one of them had, Kirby finds the military tech he’s been implanted with, which allows him better combat accuracy, is malfunctioning – something that leads him to a horrifying secret.

An action heavy episode, Kirby is a revelation as the hero, who starts off as just another grunt but eventually becomes very aware of the ethical lines he’s been asked to cross in this nightmare vision of the future. Divided up between graphic war sequences, where he has to deal with a trigger-happy squad mate (“Orange is the New Black’s” Madeline Brewer), to his psych eval under the watch of Michael Kelly’s doctor, it’s as compelling as anything show mastermind Charlie Brooker has tried so far.

As ambitious as that is, the “Black Mirror” crew has saved a nifty surprise for the last episode, which, rather than the usual sixty minute installment is actually a ninety minute movie. Some may say “Hated in the Nation” is just an extended episode, but I disagree. It’s a movie – shot in 2:35:1 and paced like a feature, as Kelly MacDonald’s cynical detective investigates a rash of deaths somehow related to internet infamy. This is a scary prospect for any of us who’ve caught shade on Twitter, isn’t it?

Unfolding like a strong morality tale with a killer twist at the end (natch for “Black Mirror”), you could have played “Hated in the Nation” at the Sundance Film Festival and said it was a film, and no one would have known any different. As such, it’s a nice little treat to end the first half of the third season on, with MacDonald at her best, while “Game of Thrones’s” Faye Marsay is excellent as her younger, more tech-savvy partner.

At only six episodes, the new Netflix iteration of “Black Mirror” has proven itself to be as good as anything from the earlier UK edition, thanks to the continuity of personal – specifically Brooker himself. One can’t help but eagerly anticipate the second half of the season, which hopefully will come sooner rather than later!

TV Review: Black Mirror – Man Against Fire & Hated in the Nation

GREAT

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