Below expectations The series tries to be a commentary on the human condition, wrapped in a sci-fi theme. Watching it, older viewers may be reminded of Twin Peaks, while younger ones, of Stranger Things. This is not a copy of either one. Dark stands on it's own; however, I found it underwhelming despite the raving reviews.
One might get even Stalker flashes of Tarkovski's pretentious monologues.
Dark riffs on issues like identity, determinism, free will, the nature of time, faith etc. Quite elevated for the current state of affairs, right? But what it fails to do, in my opinion, is to encompass all these topics in a truly original take. Twin Peaks for instance had a unique vision on the human condition, on good vs evil, and its poetry hits a nerve, even when leaving the novelty out of it. Twin Peaks was unique, visually and conceptually, with a timeless complexity on many levels.
Another fault of Dark is its repetitive nature. All the characters say the same things, and they repeat it across multiple episodes. We got the picture from the first time, and it's getting old pretty fast.
Soon enough, characters get in and out of time, and again, it's getting tiresome and confusing, leading to a lack of interest in whatever happens next.
The teenage actors' older versions are well chosen and the acting is decent; however they lack charisma. There is no star power here.
I doubt there can be such thing as star power in non American films. However brilliant these productions may be, Hollywood made its name for a reason. They know entertainment. They got the winning formula. They got the stars. They got the one liners.
That's not to say that Dark is bad, I just expected more.