Steve A
Omg ! what incredible acting and story lines! Loved it ! :)
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/02/24
Full Review
Xena S
Astonishingly inept, it's almost capable of undermining Leonardo's genius. So many things are wrong with it, that I don't know where to begin to do it justice.
A twisted plot where absolutely nothing makes any sense. Leonardo's girlfriend has an illegitimate child from a duke, but possibly from another nobleman. The duke, who is in prison far away in France, nevertheless takes close to heart the child's existence, fearing that the child may be his and that the French, who rule his dukedom of Milan, may instal the child as a duke in Milan to rule in his name. So, the duke decides to kill the child, and Leonardo's girlfriend too thinks it could be a real possibility and decides that the child is in danger. Sorry, what? An illegitimate child who could be anybody is a threat to a duke and the key to power for a foreign nation that seems to be doing a good job holding it without any key? How can anyone prove that the boy was conceived from the duke in the age before DNA testing? How can an illegitimate child from a peasant woman lay a claim to a dukedom?
In a fit to save the child, Leonardo moves his girlfriend with the child to Milan. Why? Because it's ruled by the French, who are the duke's enemies, and therefore it's safe from the duke's supporters. What? And where on earth would you find supporters of a Milanese statesman if not in Milan? Allow and behold, they indeed are there, and with close links to the existing government. They soon raid Leonardo's house looking for the child. Then Leonardo devises a cunning plan (he's a genius after all). He decides to hide the child in a monastery and to make sure no one ever finds the child, he resolves to poison the child's mother (the love of his life). Furthermore, he burns all the drawings and paintings he has ever made of her, so that no image of her remains either (talking about a cover-up). Then he invites a witness to see her die of poisoning to make sure he is reported as a murderer. Before he is arrested, though, he administers an antidote to her in secret and brings her back to life. Then he is sentenced to death and almost hangs... We do remember this is all to make sure that the child is safe from the evil duke (who is imprisoned by the French, who rule his dukedom without the child who is the key to their rule). Tell yah, child protection agencies are hopeless amateurs.
But this is just a plot and in the end it's not the plot twists themselves that suspend disbelief. It's always the concept, the underlying spirit, the inspiring idea... All of which completely fail in this particular case and for one big reason.
In order to bring the story into the mainstream, Leonardo's homosexuality is badly downplayed. The hetero-normality is desperately woven into the fabrics of the film, but struggles to hold them together. Leonardo is given a female love of his life, with whom he appears to never consummate a relationship, because of his natural inaptitude in all things worldly, pertinent to all geniuses. Leonardo brings her child into their relationship and does what he can to make it look as a proper family unit. He longs for that coveted "normal" life. This relationship is so contrived that it's not difficult to see that it has absolutely no basis in reality. The real life Leonardo never had a romantic or sexual relationship with a woman. He had it with Salai, whom in the series he barely touches and never sleeps with. His famous homosexual encounter which landed him in court facing allegations of sodomy is duly mentioned, but Leonardo is portrayed as inexperienced and seduced, practically coerced into the liaison (shall I mention that the guy he sleeps with on that occasion is a male prostitute acting in the course of his duties?)
We all know that Leonardo was well ahead of his time. Seeing this, you're beginning to realise that he was also well ahead of ours.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
08/31/23
Full Review
andrei d
Needs more actual Leondardo
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
daniel m
They completely fabricated a murder mystery that has nothing to do with the actual Leonardo. They completely ignored any actual information about Leonardo's actual personality and just wrote a story with a bunch of tortured artist tropes.
(When he meets Michelangelo, it's hard not to think they switched roles!).
The acting is good, but maybe I've just watched too much Good Doctor to believe Freddie Highmore in this one. Caterina is lovely, but a complete fabrication.
This might have been a good drama if they had just totally made up a renaissance artist and left out all of the Leonardo references, but the show is an insult to the intelligence of anyone who has actually read a biography, any biography, of Leonardo.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Bart C
I rarely agree with the critics, but on this one, I must. Rarely has a life been shown to be so tedious, so wracked with pain and agony, so much grief and indecision as this drama presents. If Leonardo was truly this much of a coward when it came to his personal life and making those around him feel inadequate and unworthy - I doubt we would be paying any attention to him in the 21st Century. This series reduces him to a person with a stunted personality whose only way to express his genius is to scream, yell, rant and rave that both he - and his apprentices are never up to the task. And the silly murder sub-plot is just cringe worthy.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
09/28/22
Full Review
james r
Very few shows are worth seeing lately, thank goodness Leonardo is airing now. Really enjoy! What's with the critics, sometimes I think they live in a different world than normal people. I always go by the audience ratings, don't pay attention to critics.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
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