Black Mirror: Plaything – Review
First Reaction – Black Mirror: Plaything has an excellent level of suspense.
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Director: David Slade
Writer: Charlie Brooker (Screenplay)
Cast
- Peter Capaldi (World War Z)
- Lewis Gribben (Trainspotting 2)
- James Nelson-Joyce (The Nest)
- Michele Austin (Hard Truths)
- Asim Chaudhry (Bandersnatch)
- Will Poulter (Death of a Unicorn)
Plot: In a near-future London, an eccentric murder suspect is linked to an unusual video game from the 1990s – a game populated by cute, evolving artificial lifeforms.
Runtime: 45 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Black Mirror: Plaything starts when Cameron Walker (Capaldi) is captured by police. He is a murder suspect and dives into his story for the incident. A young Cameron (Gribben) is a gaming journalist who gets a chance to interview famous coder Colin Ritman (Poulter).
Cameron became addicted to a cute evolving artificial lifeform game, which changed his view of the world. He has played for decades, leading to him becoming the person he is.
Verdict on Black Mirror: Plaything
Recap
This episode follows a murder suspect explaining his story. He reveals his connection to a 1990s video game that began transforming his life, creating the understanding behind the murder. However, it doesn’t explain how he has eluded capture for all these years.
Best Parts
The way the story keeps you on edge is fantastic, you are drawn to Peter Capaldi’s performance as he keeps the secret to his story going. It blends nicely with a previous Black Mirror and how AI can be used in dangerous ways. This uses the tight runtime to keep us wanting more without ever running too long.
Worst Parts
The ending is a little bit more anti-climatic and leaves you wanting to know more, rather than being complete. It felt more like it was preparing us for a sequel in the next chapters too.
Final Thoughts –Black Mirror: Plaything is incredibly tense but slightly anti-climactic.