I started watching "Person of Interest" based on a number of different factors: my respect for JJ Abrams & Jonathan Nolan's work being paramount, but also the incredible word-of-mouth I had received from people about how great the show is. Plus, one would be hard-pressed to find a television program that is better reviewed on this site (I've never seen so many five-star ratings!). Thus, with all those factors converging, I thought for sure that this would be my "new show" after Fringe just recently departed the airwaves. Unfortunately, I discovered that this show just wasn't for me, for a couple of reasons.
For a basic plot summary, "Person of Interest" focuses on the team of Harold Finch (Michael Emerson) and John Reese (Jim Caviezel). Finch is a master technological mind who has created a "Machine" that crunches a huge amount of data and spits out a social security number at given intervals. This person is in danger of being killed in some form, which is where Reese comes in, as he is the investigator who uses Finch's gadgets and his own cocksure street smarts to make sure the "person of interest" remains alive. The Finch/Reese team are continuously pursued by NYPD Detective Carter (Taraji Henson) while at the same time being aided by corrupt cop Lionel Fusco (Kevin Chapman).
There are indeed many positives about this show. It is very well-produced (of great quality) and the acting from Emerson especially shines. Many people also will be intrigued by the surveillance technology used by the main characters throughout each episode. If you are "into" gritty spy fare, this will be the show for you.
However, here is why I couldn't quite embrace this show like other JJ works such as "LOST" or "Fringe"...
-At heart, "POI" is a cop drama. It pulls from other dramatic venues, of course, but when you get right down to it this is a gritty police procedural. If you (like me) prefer more fantasy or over-the-top drama in your television viewing, then you might not get sucked into this one.
-"POI" is also a show with a very grounded base. Each episode is based on the "number of the week" and, while providing some character backstory, doesn't shift too far from that premise from week to week. If you are looking for a show with complex, over-arching mysteries, this one doesn't fit that exact bill.
-Finally, while praised for his role as Reese, I found the acting of Caviezel to be only so-so. For whatever reason, I never viewed him as anything more than the "enforcer" and wish the humanity of his character would have appealed to me more.
I know that I am the outlier here and the "Helpful Votes" button on this review will probably severely reflect this fact soon enough, but those are my feelings about this show. One caveat is that I did not make it all the way through the season (about 10 episodes). Maybe I didn't stick with the program long enough for the big payoff? If so, just let me know and maybe I'll pick it up again. For me, though, after 10 episodes it began to feel more like I "had to" watch the next episode instead of "wanting to" watch the next episode, and that is when I usually know it is time for me to move on.
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