Hype for AMC’s Better Call Saul is at an all-time high, but what are the reviews from TV critics saying about the show? Good things, actually. Read below to find must read reviews for this season’s most anticipated new series starring Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk).
Better Call Saul Reviews
IGN admits that you don’t need to be a Breaking Bad fan to love the show.
“For now, I’ll say that Saul is both unique and highly reminiscent of Breaking Bad. That may sound like a paradox, but the truth is that the tonal and thematic links, as well as the distinctions, between the two series are both inevitable and organic. This is a shared universe, after all, with the same creative team. Gilligan and Gould co-wrote the premiere with Gilligan directing, while Breaking Bad alum Michelle McLaren helmed the second episode. Jonathan Banks reprises his role as unparalleled fixer Mike Ehrmantraut and there’s a Breaking Bad character who show’s up early on that will likely have the fan base buzzing (no, it’s not Walt or Jesse; Gilligan and Gould have already said that neither will make an appearance in the first season.) However, Saul also firmly establishes itself as its own entity. Ehrmantraut’s role is minimal, initially, and the relationship between Jimmy and Mike will likely be a slow burn.”
Esquire thinks that you’ll be happily surprised with the beginning episodes, unlike Breaking Bad.
“The first few episodes that I saw are better than Breaking Bad. They are smarter. They are sharper. I have never seen a prequel handled so cleverly. What we know from the previous series about Saul Goodman, or James McGill as he is known inBetter Call Saul, provides a kind of counterintuitive suspense mechanism. In the very first shot, in silent black and white, we see the ruins of Saul Goodman after the action ofBreaking Bad, just as he said he would be. He’s working at a Cinnabon in a mall, terrified of anyone slightly threatening who walks into the store. The question for the plot is: How did he become this way? How did he fail so catastrophically?”
The Huffington Post reveals that the biggest question the show looks to answer is “Who are you?”
“Better Call Saul” also asks similar questions that we’ve heard before in “Breaking Bad” and other epic shows like “The Sopranos.” Make no mistake, this show is all about identity. “Who are you?” James is frequently asked. Indeed, who is he? How does he become Saul? What finally breaks his resolve? This is a journey you’ll be all too willing to take, and you’ll have a blast along the way.
Variety believes that we’ll have to wait for the next few seasons before we can truly judge Better Call Saul.
“To be fair, the series is unlikely to ever approach the operatic highs of “Breaking Bad,” which also traced a middle-aged guy’s moral descent into darkness, but did so with the heightened stakes of a fatal diagnosis, a family and the notion of Mr. Chips becoming Scarface, as Gilligan has described it. And matching one of the great series ever is too much to ask.
Indeed, it seemed pretty obvious going in that this spinoff promised to be a narrower concept – and unlike “Breaking Bad,” the show won’t have the luxury of sneaking up on anybody. For now, “Saul” contains some attractive elements, fine moments and a fabulous pedigree, but even Jimmy/Saul might be forced to concede the jury’s still out in terms of proving it has the right formula.”
Entertainment Weekly points out the series packed with metaphors.
“Co-creator Vince Gilligan, who directed and co-wrote the pilot, packs the hour with clever metaphors for Jimmy. He can never get enough validation stamps for the courthouse parking attendant—Hey, look! It’s Mike (Jonathan Banks), Saul’s future fixer!—to let him exit and move forward. His car, a Suzuki Esteem, is beaten and yellow, just like his character, and he drives it recklessly. It’s only a matter of time before he hurts someone, and wrecks himself.”
