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Critic Reviews for 15 Million Merits
The most brutal blow of Fifteen Million Merits doesn't come until the end, and it's brutal precisely because you did not expect it to strike where it does.
Brooker puts the carnivorous culture of reality TV on trial in this diabolical hour, set in a world where lower-caste citizens pedal stationary bikes to power their surroundings and earn meager currency.
[It's] a dazzling piece of science fiction that builds its world out slowly but perfectly over the course of an hour-and packs an emotional wallop along with the "15 minutes into the future" warning you already expect.
Black Mirror has never been one to shy away from an unsettling ending.
"Fifteen Million Merits," the first great episode of Black Mirror, takes the world of YouTube and mobile gaming and pushes it to hellish extremes.
It's beautiful to look at, and offers a lot to chew on.
"Fifteen Million Merits" has some of the most intricate world building Black Mirror has ever managed to pull off.
"Fifteen Million Merits" might showcase the bleakest history on Black Mirror.
Like the best science fiction, "15 Million Merits" makes you think, tackling the important issues of the day in a way that a mass audience can comprehend.
Boasting fine performances from Daniel Kaluuya as Bing and Jessica Brown-Findlay. (Downton Abbey̢۪s Sybil) as Abi,... 15 Million Merits sounded a salutary warning about the dehumanising direction technology is taking us.
The whole episode is full of astute social observations and brimming with sharp black comedy, but it stood out for me because of its unexpected beauty and tenderness.
Fifteen Million Merits at times feels like every futuristic science fiction idea rolled into one hour-long package... And it works. Largely because the human story within it works.