It's never a slow moment in the world of the best streaming services, with Netflix's latest no.1 a 'Limited Series' from the streamer itself – and pushing recent sci-fi successes back down its chart.
Not that Untamed is in any way a sci-fi. It does happen to star a couple of Marvel big-hitters, though, in the form of Eric Bana (Hulk) and Sam Neill (best known for Jurassic Park, but he did play Thor's father, Odin) – but that's about as loosely associated as you'll get.
Untamed is set in Yosemite, California, one of the most beautiful natural parks in the world. And that's the word viewers are using to describe the series' visuals – 'beautiful'. The storyline is anything but, however, following the investigation into a woman's death...
Untamed trailer
What's Untamed about?
As you can see from the trailer above, the basic premise of an Investigative Services Branch agent of the National Parks Service, Kyle Turner (Bana), investigating this woman's death doesn't tread a straightforward path.
"She was running from something," concludes Turner's New Park Ranger assist, Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago), which furthers their investigation into one of hunting for a killer. But there are "dark secrets lurking in both Kyle and the park’s past," describes Netflix's own Tadum page about the show.
Expect twists and turns, expect thrills and spills, don't expect any Marvel-like moments, and certainly do expect some serene cinematography that takes in the best of what Yosemite has to offer.
Is Untamed highly rated?
Untamed has been available on Netflix since 17 July, with many adsorbing the series' six episodes – with a runtime that's shy of 5 hours all in – over the weekend, and imparting their verdict on the show in double-quick time.
"Exciting, surprising, and visually beautiful!," reads one 5-star review on Rotten Tomatoes. "This limited series does nothing but showcase the beauty of Yosemite," says another, albeit with 3-stars, less convinced about the series itself.
The score average sits at 79% from critics and 71% from audience on said aggregator site, which is a pretty decent – but hardly stellar – overall rating. That could change, of course, as more viewers catch wind of Eric Bana and the all-star cast in the show.
For once it's nice to see a visually beautiful, truer-to-life cinematic series, rather than the CGI-heavy sci-fi – some of which is now controversially AI driven – grace Netflix and sit top of the chart. Untamed looks to be a big-hitter for Netflix.
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