Liaison: the series with Vincent Cassel and Eva Green is the first failure of AppleTV +

” Connection is a contemporary thriller in which the mistakes of our past pose a threat to our future. In Connection, politics and espionage intertwine around a passionate and unwavering love story. » By reading this summary, we can expect a hint of SF, unexpected turnarounds, discovering that things are not what we think… However, this is not the case. Like this first pitch, Connection, released on February 24, 2023 on Apple TV +, will be far too complicated for not much throughout its 6 episodes.

This series created by Virginie Brac (Gears, Cheyenne and Lola) begins with a frenzied game of poker led by the visibly tipsy Gabriel (Vincent Cassel) in a luxurious apartment in… Damascus, Syria. A few kilometers further, two hacker brothers try to escape the secret services, after discovering secrets that could turn the world upside down. Meanwhile, in London, Alison (Eva Green) works with the British government to prevent mysterious cyberattacks in the country…

Connection causes the effect of a wet firecracker

On paper, Connection could suggest a plot in an almost post-apocalyptic universe, where science fiction would make it possible to repair the errors of the past. But in front of the first minutes, we finally understand that Connection is heading especially in the footsteps of a series of espionage seen and reviewed. At first glance, the narration seems to summon strong references. We think of Office of LegendsTo The AmericansTo 24 Hours Stopwatch or even to A.k.a. But as much to tell you right away: the invocation of these models rather causes the effect of a wet firecracker.

Over the course of the first episodes especially, we are wandered from one office to another, painfully following characters having long discussions on diplomatic questions, between France and Great Britain. It wouldn’t be a problem if Connection had the eloquence of a Black Baron or a Game Of Thrones. But when a member of the DGSE (General Directorate for External Security) ends a dialogue with “There are no details in this job, Didier” or that another character talks about ” good wife “we end up giving up.

An elephant in a china shop

The scenario thus advances with the subtlety of an elephant in a china shop. The narration mixes crimes, diplomatic and geopolitical conflicts, Syrian crisis, cybersecurity or even immigration in a whole that ends up being totally indigestible. The 6 episodes link the foreseeable events and also conclude with a banal resolution, which completely defuses all the issues built up until then. Rather than offering a satisfying ending, the final minutes instead leave us with an impression of ” All that for this ? ».

Well, you could tell me that if the action is there, these scriptwriting weaknesses can go under the carpet. Especially since the production of the series was entrusted to Stephen Hopkins, who precisely directed several episodes of 24 Hours Stopwatch And… Predator 2. These two contrasting examples suffice to describe the extravagance of certain scenes. We thus witness a chase in the streets of London on a very nervous electro music, a train crash at lightning speed, the near-crash of a plane a few episodes later… In short, Connection does not skimp on the means to try to occupy us with a bit of action. The problem is that the bad guys are so stupidly bad that you end up believing those gunfights and fights that are supposed to be crucial. Even the emotional sequences end up leaving us unmoved.

Vincent Cassel and Eva Green save (a little) the ship

But we can at least recognize one quality in this spy thriller: setting up a rather convincing relationship between Vincent Cassel (Hatred) and Eva Green (Penny Dreadful). Their love-hate ties, weakened under the weight of an unmentionable secret, thus develop over the course of 6 episodes. But where the summary of the series sold us a love “passionate and unwavering”, Connection rather gives us the crumbs of a flame extinguished for several years already, revived by the song tear drop by Massive Attack.

We obviously have nothing against this musical hit nor against their frenzied (or not) alchemy. But using this song from 1998, already adopted by Dr House for its credits and in dozens of other works since, it smells a bit warmed up. Fortunately, there remains the performance of the two actors, who do what they can to keep their heads above water, while sometimes showing themselves as lost as we are.

So why Connection is she a failure?

It is a fact : Connection is far from the ambitious series that we have been waiting for for months. The fault of several factors, including a slightly lazy writing, a narration that relies too much on the simple notoriety of its cast and an astonishing lack of means on the part of Apple TV+. The platform, which has accustomed us to original and daring series like For All Mankind, Severance, Shrinking, Servant Or Foundationunveils here his first truly frustrating production.

We would never have thought of writing that, but at a time when French linear television is taking more and more risks with genre series like Vortex on France 2 or E-syndrome on TF1, Connection pales in comparison. And even other American SVOD platforms have succeeded in their French turn, such as Disney+ with Parallels And Oussekine. Faced with this increasingly strong competition and increasingly qualitative French series, Connection looks like an old world in an ever-changing universe of platforms.

An observation that should not reinforce the bad reputation (wrongly) of French productions, but simply encourage you to (re)discover real good surprises, such as UFO(s) on Canal+, In Therapy on Disney+ or The world of tomorrowavailable on Netflix.

The verdict

We liked

• Eva Green, always
• Her relationship with Vincent Cassel, rather credible
• Villains so mean it’s funny
• Not much ?

We liked less

• The subtlety of an elephant
• Hollow dialogues to roll your eyes to the sky
• Soft action scenes
• All ?

In this spy thriller in French and English, Vincent Cassel and Eva Green try to prevent cyberattacks while unraveling the secrets of their past… Presented this way, Connection could come close to Office of Legends or of The Americans. Unfortunately, the first Franco-British series of Apple TV + does not compare, the fault of a predictable scenario and average action scenes, among others. Only Vincent Cassel and Eva Green somehow manage to hold their own. In short, don’t waste time waiting for a new episode, every Friday. Instead, run to discover other French series that really deserve your attention.

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