Reel Pop

Think of "Coma" as the anti-"Gemini Division": While the NBC Universal/Sony/Electric Farm series offers a nicely acted story in visually uninspiring fashion, this latest addition to Sony's Crackle.com (seven episodes premiered Aug. 20) is a stunning piece of art direction that makes up for lackluster writing and acting.

Like "Gemini," "Coma" manages to get some recognizable faces in the frame including Michael Madsen and George Hamilton. Behind the scenes, there's some brand names active on the producing side, with Miguel Melendez of Will Smith's company Overbrook Entertainment teaming up with WIMO and Anonymous Content.
Madsen plays a mobster who gets gunned down to the consternation of Hamilton, who hams it up as a crooked mayor in cahoots with said mobster. In the first two episodes I saw, Madsen isn't given much to do given he's in a coma, and Hamilton actually lets loose a a Pacino-esque "hoo-ah!" as if he can't come up with his own patented style of overacting.

Explaining one more iota of storyline feels pointless given the weak plot quickly takes a backseat to some dazzling imagery that mixes influences from comic books and noir. Shadow and light seem to be dancing around each other in every scene, while split screens dice up the imagery with panache. "Coma" wants to be compared with "Sin City" and "300," though lesser films like "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" and "Smokin' Aces" feel like more apt comparisons given both would be forgettable were it not for a full grab bag of visual tricks.

Even bigger props have to go to the soundtrack, which had me scrolling to the credits and hopping on iTunes to download Robin Thicke's "Shooter" and Radio City's "Hop." (Andrew Wallenstein)