Pentaverate review: Mike Myers’ Netflix show is quietly landing

Watch “pentagram“The purpose of his review gave me tremendous sympathy for Wile E.Coyote as he tried to corner the Roadrunner while he knew, beyond any doubt, that he would end up stabilizing. I felt the mission was doomed from the start, yet I kept moving forward. NetflixThe latest comedy starring a comedian with his most relevant and lucrative days behind him. Simply understanding “The Pentaverate” is not the point of “The Pentaverate”, which exists to allow it Mike Myers Do whatever he pleases after almost 15 years of starring in a project of his own.

With The Pentaverate, which dropped its six episodes on May 5, Myers is able to play many of the characters he loves in a story about a gang that resists discovery by a centuries-old gang. As narrator Jeremy Irons (yes) tells us in the opening credits, the difference between the Other Secret Cults and the Quinta—a group of men who seem to have directed world events since the Black Plague—is that these guys are “nice!” (It doesn’t seem particularly true when you see them in action, but hey, if Jeremy Irons said that, it must be true.) In each episode, Myers takes on the roles of a Canadian journalist undercover, the bodyguard of the Pentaverate chief, two conservative conspiracy theorists who… They seem to be aware of this, and the four old members are trying to find a fifth that isn’t just another Myers. Towards the end of the series, Myers tries to make some points about the internet, the truth, and the death of journalism, but it all gets lost in the Technicolor “yawn” of a vomit joke.

If any of Myers’ characters land, it’s probably a journalist, who might work for “Caca News” (really), but his extreme confusion when crossing the border from low-lying Canada into the high-resolution US makes him one of the show’s precious few smart moments. (Myers also makes a brief appearance from Shrek himself, but that sounds like cheating.) Among the many guest stars and cameos on the show, the ones who most quickly tie in the frenzy of The Myers Project are Keegan-Michael Key as member Likely in the Pentaverate, Debbie Mazar as their seductive assistant and Jennifer Saunders…well, it’s hard to say, but at least she’s committed. The very charming Lydia West (“It’s a Sin”) is the closest to playing a real character, but she still deserves better than the one she got.

At first glance, it is interesting that “The Pentaverate” is a limited series. However, upon watching it, it is clear that this TV show is actually just a feature film broken into six pieces. It’s tempting to say that this series, with its lack of editorial opinion and surprisingly high production value, is emblematic of what Netflix is ​​now. But the truth is, “The Pentaverate” is very much in line with what the streaming giant has been doing for years, collecting aging comedians like Pokémon, writing giant checks to anyone who might bring in more viewers, and letting them do shows and movies with bewildering long runs. In other words: this offer is a feature, not a bug.

As far as ‘The Pentaverate’ ever is concerned, it’s emblematic of Netflix’s commitment to giving Myers as much time, money, and creative freedom as he wants — a fact that the show dunks itself into in two parts featuring a bogus Netflix executive cut out to insist the show reclaim its raw material. Clearly, before that makes him more blunt. In the end, it does not matter that the resulting display is not good. You will likely find enough curious viewers to justify the partnership, and for Netflix, that will be more than enough.

“The Pentaverate” is currently available to stream on Netflix.