How did Fandorin turn out? Azazel" - a series in which the Romanovs rule Russia in 2023

On January 19, at Kinopoisk, the premiere of the first episode of the series Fandorin. Azazel." The famous detective changed the era to solve a difficult case.

The series is based on the novel Boris Akunin "Azazel", but the action of the book is transferred from the 19th century to the alternative 21st. The Romanov dynasty continues to rule the Russian Empire, and the young investigator Erast Fandorin is looking for criminals in the capital, Petrograd.

The series was directed by Nurbek Egen. He was already working on a project that interprets literary sources in a peculiar way - he shot Sherlock in Russia. Egen also directed Major and Alibi. Above the script "Fandorina. Azazel" worked Nikita Popov ("Monastery”), Sergey Popov, Dmitry Ivanov (“Method”).

Starring Vladislav Tiron ("Trigger"), Mila Ershova ("Difficult Teenagers"), Alexander Semchev ("Election Day"), Milena Radulovich ("Balkan Frontier").

2023 20-year-old investigator of the Russian Empire Erast Fandorin is investigating a strange suicide committed in the center of the capital. Studying the details, he realizes that a mysterious organization with close ties to officials is behind the student's death.

Alternate history raises questions

The authors of the series create alternate history more than 100 years long, but they do it as lazily as possible. The preservation of the throne is not just the presence of an emperor, but also the absence of the Civil War, collectivization, the cult of Lenin, Stalin, and much more.

But instead of at least somehow explaining what happened over the course of a century, the authors show the Russian Empire of the 2023 model as something like The Russian Federation of 2010, but with the Romanovs, the “ъ” after consonants at the end of words, and palaces that serve as some kind of proof that the monarchy is not destroyed. The problem is that there are palaces in real Petersburg.

The semantic emptiness can be justified by the fact that only one series was released. But there are only six of them. So, either the writers will insert information into the next episodes on top of the detective line, or everything will remain as it is. Both options look dubious.

If the voids in the past can be forgiven, then problems with the alternative present negatively affect viewing. For example, on party a random person can get with the emperor. And even the counterculturist Ulyanov (Lenin's great-grandson) drinks in the same room with Nicholas III.

However, Emperor Nicholas III himself constantly raises questions. He looks like a lazy parody of Nicholas II from Soviet historiography - a weak-willed, pathetic and stupid autocrat who is afraid of his own wife. Perhaps for an alternate reality, it was worth coming up with a more interesting emperor.

Writers try to be funny, but fail

From the first minutes of “Fandorin. Azazel fills the viewer with predictable humoresques. Constant mockery of the real history banal. Lenin's mausoleum is located in Argentina and people even pay to get into it - probably the funniest joke. The rest are worse.

Not only events are alternative, but also technologies. So, all the heroes use tablets with the Portrait application - this is an analogue of ordinary social networks, which in 2023 allowed women to show nipples. The writers seem to be madly in love with The Portrait, so they show it every three minutes.

But the climax of the humorous attraction in the first series is a costume party. Fandorin knows the password and can go to a closed social event, you just need to put on something decent. And he chooses... an evening dress. This is not to deceive anyone. No, the writers just want to show a man in a dress. It turns out not funny.

Actors overact

Fandorin is an adventurer with extraordinary ingenuity, quite a rogue. But he fails to be charming and charismatic, and the rest of the details of the image crumble from this. He's just too emotional.

Vladislav Tiron in the role of Erast Fandorin frankly overacts. Any information he receives almost gives him a heart attack - he opens his eyes and mouth wide and freezes.

The problem here is not only in an overly emotional game, but also in the script - the hero experiences such a shock for any reason. He's too bad a detective. Therefore, the idea that it is worth looking at the photographs of the victim uploaded to the “Portrait” delights him. It is even surprising that he is not amazed at the rising of the sun or the existence of electricity.

Fortunately for Vladislav Tiron, he is not the only one who overplays. The girl who helps him conduct an investigation, as well as the emperor, his wife, students - all the characters are hyperemotional. It seems that the problem is not with the actors, but with the characters.

However, not always. Against the background of the son of Igor Vernik, the rest of the actors do not seem to overact. Gregory is more grimacing than playing, and he does this not in the first series. Why he is needed in Fandorin is a mystery.

Ekaterina Varnava also looks ridiculous, playing Evelina Bledans, that is, a super-megasexual heroine with a languid voice who does not sexy from the word at all.

"Fandorin. Azazel is an ambitious project where too much has gone wrong. The rejection of historical tediousness has led to the creation of a boring reality that is only outwardly alternative. An attempt to add a story of humor resulted in many unfunny jokes. Overacting actors do not allow the characters to be taken seriously, and in some scenes they are simply annoying. Perhaps the only thing that really managed to be made alternative is St. Petersburg, where it is light and sunny.