Alias (TV Series) So It Begins (2001) User Reviews

More thrills from J.J. Abrams

[DVD_Connoisseur · 9/10 · 1 September 2007]

J.J. Abrams and director Ken Olin deliver a strong episode set a week later than the first, with the action based in the US and Moscow. This is real escapist fun and every penny of the high budget shines on screen.

The cast of "Alias" is excellent and a pleasure to watch. Garner is a great lead, ably supported by the good and bad guys.

It has to be said, Kevin Weisman is superb as SD-6's equivalent of "Q", the highly amusing and super-intelligent Marshall Flinkman. Flinkman is a genuinely likable character, a good guy in the murky world of SD-6.

The soundtrack contains tracks from Roland Gift and the one-and-only Kate Bush.

9 out of 10.

Sydney returns to work

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 22 February 2012]

After an opening episode that introduced all the key characters and the situation they are in it is time for Sydney to return to SD-6; this time she is fully aware of who she is working with and each time Sloane sends her out on a mission for SD-6 her CIA handler, Michael Vaughn gives her a counter-mission. Her first task upon returning is to fly to Moscow with Dixon to acquire files pertaining to old soviet weapons. Of course it doesn't go according to plan which gives them a chance show off their fighting skills. The files are on two floppy discs which Sydney hands to Vaughn at the airport in Los Angeles; by the time she has cleared customs he has them copied and hands them back. It turns out that they concern a Soviet nuclear weapon that has been hidden somewhere in the United States. SD-6 send Sydney to find it but when she does she triggers a timer. With only two minutes before it detonates she calls Marshall and he tells her how to defuse it... this means that SD-6 know she has it so she has no choice but to hand it over to them. Vaughn isn't pleased that she called SD-6 rather than the CIA and tells her the weapon is in Cairo... she will have to get to it and disable it without her cover being blown; or getting caught!

This was a fine second episode with plenty of action; Jennifer Garner not only does these scenes brilliantly but looks great while going them; of course her slinky outfit helped. Carl Lumbly does a fine job as her SD-6 partner Marcus Dixon; a good man who doesn't realise he is working fort the bad guys; like most of SD-6 presumably. The secondary story where Sydney's journalist friend Will Tippin continues to investigate Danny's death isn't as exciting but it will no doubt develop into something in future episodes. While this is obviously a drama series there are still some very funny moments; the scene where the arms dealer demonstrated his new pistol and the magazine wouldn't stay in was hilarious and any scene involving Kevin Weisman, who plays Marshall, will provide a chuckle. After the cliff-hanger ending I'm certainly looking forward to watching the next episode.

Blue dress!

[gridoon2024 · 8/10 · 25 September 2009]

The second episode of "Alias" answers two important questions:

1) If the CIA knows all about SD-6, why don't they simply attack their base and arrest / kill all of the enemy operators? Because SD-6 is only the tip of the tentacle. There is an extended network of enemy spies and its destruction will be a long-term process.

2) Is there anything hotter than Jennifer Garner kicking ass in a hotel maid outfit? Yes, Jennifer Garner kicking ass in the revealing blue dress she wears underneath!

This episode is action-packed, it's only 43 minutes long but so much stuff happens in it - hell, Sydney gets involved in five different missions! (although the first two are short flashbacks and the last one ends on a cliffhanger). Gotta love that "sleeping device" as well. And Garner really does look breathtaking in that blue dress. *** out of 4.

It starts now

[CursedChico · 8/10 · 7 February 2021]

It starts now

After 1 hour of opening episode, we see an episode for 43 minutes.

Sydney returns to work, as double secret agent. I dont know how she can cover it.

I know marshall - Kevin Weisman from runaways series, which is after 14-15 years of alias so he is so young.

Sd6 seems doing good works, i mean they dont give tasks like killing innocent people so it will be not hard for sydney.