While I wouldn’t consider myself a Netflix junkie, “Money Heist” has me addicted to my computer screen for hours on end. Originally a Spanish television show, it follows the story of a group of criminals who are planning to print billions of Euros in the Royal Mint of Spain in Madrid. However, it’s not that simple.
The story begins by introducing “The Professor” — a regular-looking man who has an undeniable talent for planning criminal activity. He is well aware that successfully executing a heist of this magnitude needs something that authorities won’t risk harming: Innocent individuals. The eight criminals who The Professor recruits capture 67 hostages and keep them locked up in the Mint. Initially there is no plan of torturing the hostages; rather, they are used as a type of shield from armed forces. Even more so, The Professor knows that if hostages and criminals all look exactly the same and all wear Salvador Dalí masks, authorities will have no way of differentiating between the two. Everyone is put into bright red jumpsuits and ordered to carry fake machine guns. Even if authorities spot what may look like a criminal, will they shoot? What if it’s a hostage? The National Police Corps must handle the pressure of not only making sure the hostages are liberated, but also doing it in a proper way to avoid dealing with the media’s wrath.
Unfortunately, the first three or four episodes of “Money Heist” are a bit slow. They seem to drag on with the same repetitive problems that are never resolved. However, by the fifth episode, getting caught by authorities is not the only problem. The criminals begin to get power-hungry, romantic relationships form, The Professor becomes paranoid and disagreements arise. I no longer was watching to see if The Professor would get caught, but more for the plethora of issues that were rising inside the Mint. After all, how long can someone be enclosed in a small area before going crazy?
The promise of having a nonviolent hostage changes when Denver, the most intimidating criminal, orders death to a civilian. The eight criminals are immediately torn and unable to keep their opinions to themselves. Meanwhile, the rest of the hostages notice that one of them has gone missing, creating fear amongst them all. Before The Professor knows, his strategic plan has gone to shreds and everyone is fending for themselves.
“Money Heist” is the perfect television show for people who love watching criminal shows but don’t enjoy anything that’s too scary. For example, I love watching suspenseful TV shows only if the events are very unlikely to happen to me. Its mixture of violence and other regular events — love affairs, family issues, work problems — create the perfect balance for any viewer.
Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars
Thumbnail photo courtesy of @money_heist Instagram.
Jordana Castelli is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at jordana.castelli@uconn.edu.