Dark Matter (2024)

Matt Roush says...

Much of the best science fiction deals in the “what if,” and what makes this thrilling and emotionally provocative adaptation of Blake Crouch’s bestseller so riveting is the dilemma an everyman named Jason Dessen (the appealing Joel Edgerton) finds himself in when he’s shown the path not taken—many, actually—against his will. The mind-teasing action begins when Jason, a physics professor living an ordinary (as in, imperfect) life with a wife (Jennifer Connolly, never more alluring) and son (Oakes Fegley), is violently kidnapped from his world and dropped into a disorienting alternate reality, while a second Jason, who created the device allowing for multidimensional travel, takes over his life. The high concept fueling the series: “Our choices create worlds, and so theoretically we simultaneously inhabit an infinite number of them.” Watching the original Jason try to find his way back to his family is a compelling, disturbing and wildly entertaining journey, and Edgerton brings subtle shadings to each Jason. This is the best sort of head trip, one grounded in matters of the heart and soul. Launches with two episodes.

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