The Sympathizer: Limited Series | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

89% Tomatometer 72 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings

Near the end of the Vietnam War, a spy who was embedded in the South Vietnam army flees to the United States and takes up residence in a refugee community, where he continues to gather intelligence and report back to the Viet Cong.

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The Sympathizer — Limited Series

The Sympathizer — Limited Series

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Critics Consensus

The Sympathizer does a solidly satisfying job of adapting its ambitious source material, conveying its core themes even as it occasionally struggles with its structure.

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Critics Reviews

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The Sympathizer: Limited Series | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Camilla Long Times (UK) Once I’d got the hang of it, though — it probably helps to have read the original book by Viet Thanh Nguyen — it gripped me. A seriously gorgeous, intelligent, complex show. Jun 3, 2024 Full Review The Sympathizer: Limited Series | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Hugo Rifkind Times (UK) I wouldn’t call it bad. But it’s uneven as hell. May 31, 2024 Full Review The Sympathizer: Limited Series | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Rebecca Nicholson Guardian The Sympathizer is exciting, meaty and a reminder that drama that demands your full and complete attention can be well worth the effort. Rated: 4/5 May 29, 2024 Full Review The Sympathizer: Limited Series | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Miles Surrey The Ringer The Captain might struggle to come to terms with who he really is, but under Park's dynamic direction, the same can't be said for The Sympathizer: a winning synthesis of style and substance. Jul 23, 2024 Full Review The Sympathizer: Limited Series | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Nelson Acosta Koimoi A combination of powerful camerawork, snappy storytelling, amazing actors, and great production value makes The Sympathizer a very different kind of spy-thriller. Rated: 4.5/5 Jul 4, 2024 Full Review The Sympathizer: Limited Series | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Ernesto Diezmartinez Letras Libres The Sympathizer, a miniseries created by Park Chan-wook and based on the novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen, skillfully moves between espionage thriller and political satire, without leaving aside the over-the-top Hollywood parody. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 2.5/4 Jul 1, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Nick I I get it really I do, everyone loves RDJ again. He is fantastic normally. As a Viet person whose father was in the war for South Viet Nam, his involvement made what could have been an excellent show about a war that is rarely talked about from the non US side of the coin into a farce. Him playing 5 characters badly just seemed like his ego run amok. This is an important story to tell, and should be told without making it into a farce of a really tragic thing. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/16/24 Full Review Sal D Excellent limited series….acting across the board was top notch, and the multiple roles for Robert Downey, Jr, was must see! The plot’s twists were not predictable in any way - in fact, the script went in a direction I didn’t anticipate. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/26/24 Full Review Erik N The early episodes develop at a pretty slow pace -- or maybe it just seemed slow, occasionally punctuated by having to guess which of the 5 characters Robert Downey Jr was supposed to be playing at the moment. I don't know exactly how to put it, but most of the series was sort of bland, even during situations involving torture and murder. It wasn't until the last 2 or 3 episodes when the more surreal aspects of the story started to gel that I started to see what the series might have been trying to accomplish. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 07/28/24 Full Review Audience Member Got to episode 3 and gave up, was this supposed to be serious or a comedy? Downeys 4 persona's were confusing, yes he's a groovy actor but just wasn't needed...I just found this whole show a snoozefest..pity Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/22/24 Full Review Clutch C Very uneven series, goes from sometimes interesting, to insipid. Often confusing, often feels like i missed some important clues. Great actors but given boring roles, lacking depth (e.g., Sandra Oh). WHY WHY WHY does Robert Downey Jr have to play so many characters???? I couldn’t tell sometimes which character he was playing! I realize that RDJr cartoonish portrayals were also meant to point to the negative role of US official, but in this movie, it just comes across as clownish instead of satirical. The good parts include the life of Vietnamese immigrants in the US, the making of 1970s vietnamese movies, and also a North Vietnamese point of view. This movie could have been a lot more, but I barely had energy to finish it. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 06/17/24 Full Review Daniel W Enjoyed this unique take on the Vietnam War from the perspective of the Vietnamese people. The ending did not land that well for me; I'm still trying to understand the ending. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/13/24 Full Review Read all reviews

The Sympathizer — Limited Series

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Cast & Crew

Park Chan-wook Creator Don McKellar Creator Robert Downey Jr. Claude Hoa Xuande The Captain Scott Ly Hefty Gunner Dao Fred Nguyen Khan Bon
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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Apr 14, 2024 Death Wish A communist party mole, the captain juggles the demands of his South Vietnam Army boss, the general, and his CIA handler, Claude; with the fall of Saigon imminent, the captain must round up a list of evacuees for a flight to the U.S. Details Episode 2 Aired Apr 14, 2024 Good Little Asian The Captain and his fellow Vietnamese refugees attempt to settle into life in Los Angeles; the defeated General grows suspicious and demands the Captain locate a mole he believes has infiltrated their ranks; as the Captain narrows in on a target, he reconnects with his former teacher, Professor Hammer, and meets his beguiling assistant, Ms. Mori. Details Episode 3 Aired Apr 28, 2024 Love It or Leave It With the General's order to eliminate the spy in their ranks weighing on him, the Captain seeks Bon's help to craft and execute a plan timed for Independence Day; at an upscale lunch, Claude introduces the Captain to the Auteur. Details Episode 4 Aired May 5, 2024 Give Us Some Good Lines The Captain, a North Vietnamese spy, navigates the challenges of living a double life as he begins to symphatize with a community of South Vietnamese refugees in the US. Details Episode 5 Aired May 12, 2024 All for One After a lengthy hospital stay, the Captain finds his life in disarray; Lana is working a new gig away from her parents; Ms. Mori is romantically involved with a familiar face; the General has concocted a plan to reclaim his homeland. Details Episode 6 Aired May 19, 2024 The Oriental Mode of Destruction Convinced that the General's plan is doomed to fail, the captain's mission is to trace the General's funding, his desperation grows as he searches for ways to expose the military operation and to achieve his ultimate goal, to save Bon. Details Episode 7 Aired May 26, 2024 Endings Are Hard, Aren't They? Before sending them into Vietnam, Claude treats the squad to a night out in Thailand and reveals some terrifying intelligence to the Captain; the Captain finds himself in a reeducation camp, forced to confront the decisions that haunt his past. Details

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The Sympathizer — Limited Series

The Sympathizer: Limited Series Trailer The Sympathizer: Limited Series Trailer 2:12 The Sympathizer: Limited Series Teaser The Sympathizer: Limited Series Teaser 2:15 The Sympathizer: Limited Series Teaser 2 The Sympathizer: Limited Series Teaser 2 2:35 View more videos

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The Sympathizer — Limited Series

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Director
Park Chan-wook, Marc Munden, Fernando Meirelles

Creator
Park Chan-wook, Don McKellar

Executive Producer
Jisun Back, Amanda Burrell, Park Chan-wook, Robert Downey Jr., Niv Fichman, Kim Ly, Don McKellar, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Mark Richard, Ron Schmidt, Susan Downey

Screenwriter
Don McKellar, Naomi Iizuka

Network
HBO

Rating
TV-MA

Genre
Drama, History, War

Original Language
English

Release Date
Apr 14, 2024
The Sympathizer: Limited Series | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)
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