The series revisits hostage-takings in eight countries from Brazil to Chechnya to Yemen, using first-hand interviews, archival footage and glossy reconstructions to explore hostage situations and negotiations around the world with the stories told by the victims themselves.
If additional seasons of the series make their way to Netflix in the coming years, one hopes that Captive's creators will learn to better let these stories - of survival, struggle, human nature, and chilling circumstance - speak for themselves.
It's a compelling topic, and the series certainly delivers the expected drama, albeit in a heavy-handed manner, meaning those looking for a docu-diversion should find it worthy of delving into.
The testimonials themselves are gripping, as they range from touching to frightening. In many cases, watching this series is to be a witness to the innocence of the well-meaning brushing up against the trauma of the brutalized, and it's not pretty.
It is cinematic and slickly produced, with production value visible in nearly every frame, including impressionistic re-creations and gorgeous aerial shots of Rio de Janeiro.
This offshoot of the true-crime genre (Making a Murderer and so on) is another effective way to experience the worst moments in other people's lives from a safe distance.
