User Reviews

The series was a brutal portrayal of an atypical life, but warm at heart. The series crossed several genres successfully; drama, comedy and crime with a touch of fantasy. The success of the series was based on the fact that no genre was overemphasised, but all fit together in a way that supported each other. The characters in the series were colourful and well written and, above all, acted.

The problem was the last two episodes. Jumping forward four years to the moment when Eli and Gus's mother was released from prison changed the dynamics and style of the series. The last episode seemed rushed and the last-minute trill twist was implausible and didn't fit in with the overall series at all. The series was based on a book. I haven't read the book, so I don't know how faithfully the ending of the series represented the book. However, I found the last two episodes quite disappointing compared to the first five episodes of the series.

But overall, the series was a pleasant surprise and well worth watching.

I was about to get tired of the same stories from all the crime movies and series. If you've watched enough of them, it becomes predictable and not refreshing at some point. However, 'Boy Swallows Universe' is something new. There are many crime genre series with horrendous plots, but this one is told by a thirteen-year-old boy. It talks about drug dealing, domestic violence, child abuse, gangs, mutilation murder cases, and medical experiment, but it never gets heavy, uncomfortable, or disgusting. I love that the series keeps a minimum amount of vivid graphics to tell the audience enough of what's going on. At the same time, it maintains hopeful and witty tones throughout and adds a fantasy element, and it's all possible because the narrative is told from Eli, a brave young boy. If any other movie or series revive two people who are stabbed in the neck and the stomach, I would criticize them for being unrealistic as heck. However, I never wished for a happy ending this much because fantasy should be fulfilled. Great crime story and fantasy at the same time.

'Boy Swallows Universe' is also a great mystery; how the last episode builds tension by blurring the line between Gus's dream and reality is splendid. All the pieces of puzzles come together at the end. Freaking satisfying.

Final 2 episodes are too rushed after a decently paced first 5. Storyline starts off with drama, action, comedy, thrill, perforated with elements of suspense and tragedy in the middle. However the climax and conclusion turned out quite mellowed after the great build up. A few loose ends and unanswered questions remain unsolved or deliberately left open to the viewers interpretation of them.

Adult Eli alongwith the Shelley character undergoes a drastic transformation in later episodes suffering a continuity error, while all other characters remain unchanged including his brother supposedly a few years older than him and peer to Shelley.

Id definitely go for a season 2 if there is one, though I doubt there will be.

I wasn't expecting an episode six time jump. It Killed the whole story for me because things just got really convoluted from there. I mean episodes one through six were a little bit loopy anyway with the red phone etc. But what I loved about the series was the endearing child actor who played Eli in his younger years and as soon as he was out of it, I got lost. Then episode seven we find Lyle's head in some sort of container? The climax seemed to mimic that of Harrison Ford in the fugitive, when he confronted his old medical pal, at a symposium.

The movie just went off the rails. First off, I couldn't understand why the mother was in prison in the first place. Why did they need her to be in prison for four years? I didn't quite understand that. Why not just abduct Lyle and leave the rest of the family alone or kill them all?

Plus every single adult in this show was trash. The way they treated children. I know it was the 80s but come on. The female journalist told Eli (when he was older) that she "likes to get to the bottom of things" then why didn't she do so when Eli was 13? And then Eli fell in love with her even though there would've at least been a 10 year age gap? He didn't seem interested in any other female in the whole movie but for some reason he kind of had eyes for the milf. Although none of the characters except for him physically aged in the story, so by episode seven, they looked all the same age anyway.

I just felt like everything didn't add up. I was Lost when I suddenly found Eli as a 17 or 18 year old.. And then we had the terminator druglord. Shot in the face, mowed down by a car and still kept going on his cycle. For a moment, I thought he might survive his skyscraper fall. Then we had the older brother who in a couple of episodes just couldn't talk and then suddenly he started talking and you had to wonder why the show portrayed him as a mute to begin with. You had Lyle as a major character, and then he was abducted, and there was some hope that you might see him again someday as part of the mystery of the series, but then he was just dead. Then there was Teddy who nurtured the relationship with the mother for four years while she was imprisoned and then in one odd explosive scene he beat the hell out of her and then that was over. And what about the girl with the muscle disorder who was supposed to die?

I don't know. It did not all add up.

I gave it a six because the character of Eli, when he was 13 was captivating. His journey and coming of age story was the hook. Once the story took that away, it was just all just about let's see how it ends attitude.

All in all started off as one movie, ended as another and I like the first episode the best they should've figured out a way to resolve the story while the kid was 13.

It's started off okay and then unfortunately went a bit far-fetched. It is interesting if you live in Brisbane to see and hear place names of the city, but really, the nostalgia only takes this show so far. Many of the scenes were unrealistic and far-fetched, especially the fight scene, the ex convict comes to save the family from Teddy, he just comes out of nowhere. The overdramatised clocktower scene at the end was way too much for me, and Eli breaking into the prison to see his mother on Christmas day was way far-fetched.

Simon Baker was good in this and the young Eli was a brilliant actor, but I really didn't enjoy the series much at all.