As the series progresses toward its climax, its frequent tonal shifts distract from the substance of the story.
The film is a slick, soulless spectacle whose jokey banter and space-opera action drowns out the story’s emotional beats.
The series suggests that winning hearts and minds is a naïve pipe dream, a strategy more fit for TV than for electoral politics.
It suggests four episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic smushed together with a Sia music video tacked on at the end.
Facts about each character are dutifully punched out, in earnest speeches or actions that are wildly overdrawn.
The series remains compelling in its devotion to exposing its characters’ public hang-ups and private strengths.