Start Up marks the return to television of Adam Brody and Martin Freeman, so we were eager to discover it, here is our opinion.
Broadcast on the American platform Crackle, Start Up is composed of 10 episodes. It was created by Ben Ketai, who also founded Chosen with Chad Michael Murray and Milo Ventimiglia.
To promote this new series, the marketing team has put a lot of emphasis on its cast: in Start Up we find Adam Brody, known for his iconic role of Seth Cohen in Newport Beach, and Martin Freeman, Watson in Sherlock, this time in an American accent and as a villain, it changes.
The plot
In Miami, we follow Nick Talman (Adam Brody), a young banker in search of meaning in his professional life who inherits his father's dirty money when he mysteriously disappears. At first reluctant to hide it as requested, he finally decided to invest this money in a start-up with a potentially revolutionary concept developed by Izzy Morales: a virtual currency used via smartphones, accessible by everyone and for all. The latter is ready to do anything to develop its project which is logically rejected by all banks because they see it as a threat to their business.
This money is also coveted by a corrupt FBI agent named Phil Rask (Martin Freeman) who wants to find Nick's father, not yet knowing that the windfall has changed hands. We are treated to a magical exchange between Phil and Nick, a scene to see absolutely.
In parallel in this first episode we follow Ronald Dacey (Edi Gathegi), gang leader with a big heart: he tries to do things differently. In a scene of torture to obtain information, he shows leniency and saves the life of the man questioned. He explains this choice by comparing himself to the Cubans who reign in the gang world: they are less violent but just as respected. To which his partner replies: they have money.
With this last protagonist, an infernal trio will form: a banker with a respectable base, a hacker ready to do anything for her project, and a gang leader in search of money. Opposite, we have the FBI embodied by Phil Rask, who officially wants to dispel tax fraud, but unofficially wants to get his hands on the money invested in the project.
Our opinion
I was expecting a chase against a backdrop of technological innovation, a bit like Mr Robot, but we are more in a mafia atmosphere, thugs looking for profit and dirty money.
In this first episode which lasts 1 hour, the characters seem well written and developed, they have a certain complexity and are not stereotyped. For example, Ronald the street gang member seems to want to adopt a respectable and non-violent attitude when possible; Izzy Morales is a girl, which is rare enough to note in the world of developers, and she is Hispanic, a minority often stigmatized in the United States.
I can't wait to discover more about the character of Phil Rask who seems to have a rich personal story, we could understand it especially during this steamy scene in the shower with his partner.
Violence, sex, mixing different worlds… This series brings together good elements and promises to be revealed over the episodes. The trailer is available here.
