Taking on big ideas and future anxiety, the Netflix adaptation of “3 Body Problem” is a sci-fi epic lacking in philosophical heft. Based on a series of seemingly unadaptable novels by Chinese author Liu Cixin, there are grand ambitions at work here, but not enough to propel the series into a “Game of Thrones”-like phenomenon.
That last reference is inevitable. Of the show’s three creators, two include “GoT” showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. They have teamed with Alexander Woo, whose credits include “True Blood,” and together they tackle the project with admirable seriousness and a focus on world-building — skills sharpened in their previous work — and yet the deliberate pacing and overall results are strangely underwhelming.
Every particle accelerator on the planet is on the fritz and no one knows why. Grasping for any explanation, a scientist turns to a colleague: Maybe it’s God? “I accept that this defies all known laws of physics, but I don’t think that’s an argument for God,” he says. So what’s going on then? “3 Body Problem” has some answers, but takes its time getting there. The fate of the world is at stake and — unlike most narratives with this premise — the series emphasizes brain power over brawn.
The story begins in Cultural Revolution-era China in the 1960s, when a young physicist named Ye (Zine Tseng) watches stunned as her father, also a physicist, is beaten to death by the Red Guards. This breaks something in her and pushes her to a momentous decision. It would be a spoiler to say more, except she’s driven by anger and despair. Humankind is incapable of not destroying itself, over and over again, she’s seen that firsthand. Why not speed up the process? Or introduce another variable, at least, and see if things play out any differently?
The timeline toggles between China of the ’60s and London of 2024, where the ramifications of Ye’s choice are slowly revealing themselves. The twist: This isn’t a “now” problem, but one that will affect people centuries in the future. A group of old friends — who became close years earlier as science undergrads — come together to figure out what the hell is going on and if there’s any way to stop it. Some of that intellectual process takes place inside a virtual reality video game where the challenges play out like an allegory for the climate crises. What kind of game is this? “I don’t know, I played Pong,” someone shrugs. “3 Body Problem” can be a grind at times and these glimmers of humor become a lifeline.
Diverging from the source material, a single character in the book has been transformed into five. The writing isn’t especially rich, but the show has an appreciation for the entertainment value in grumpy men, and every so often the dialogue has a wonderful way with metaphors: “You don’t have to believe in Santa Claus to believe people give gifts on Christmas.” If the repeated mantra of “Game of Thrones” warned that “winter is coming,” there’s a similar theme of dread undergirding everything. (Plus a few actors recognizable from that series appear, including John Bradley and Liam Cunningham.)
This is a story about sacrifice and the ability to be concerned about more than the moment you’re in, and when faced with these kinds of large, ruminative dilemmas, humans tend to be remarkable, both good and bad. And yet somehow “3 Body Problem” does not, in any way, feel urgent.
A sign of the apocalypse will apparently include Jake Tapper yammering fatuously on CNN in the background, as if this were just the latest crisis de jour, which isn’t so much a dark joke as an uninspired way to undercut the story’s emotional stakes. Will people care about a calamity that is not immediate but hundreds of years off in the future? The more pressing question: Will audiences?
“3 Body Problem” — 2 stars (out of 4)
Where to watch: Netflix
Nina Metz is a Tribune critic.
