Mind Games (2014) User Reviews

Great show doomed by overly Manic behavior of lead actor

[wineaux3 · 7/10 · 6 March 2014]

This show has all the elements required to be a very successful show. Great Actors, Great Concept, Excellent interaction between the entire ensemble. The problem is that it's missing one very important thing. Great Writing. In order to write for a Bi-polar, Manic personality there has to be a balance in the characters behavior. Here we seem to be only seeing the lead character in his most whacked out Manic state. And it's always only a question of time before he flips out into a full blown episode at just the wrong moment. Destroying an investors office, making a huge scene at a party that embarrasses his client. In order for this show to work it needs to change quickly. The Manic episodes need to be in their office while working with his brother and their team. While actually out pulling off one of their jobs the Manic behavior can only manifest in ways that HELP them succeed. We want to see great capers like Mission Impossible or Leverage or any of the other great TV series of this genre. Tension about them getting caught is good. Tension about how the main character is going to screw things up is bad.

Cancelled for Celebrity Wife Swap

[dee_lited_1 · 7/10 · 29 March 2014]

Mind Games had an original concept and a fantastic cast, with dramatic and humorous moments that intelligently produced a well rounded show. Critics of Zahn's performance calling him over the top probably haven't had much experience with manic people who function without medication between unmanageable episodes. Slater did a great job portraying a con man who was able to con his own brother, a brilliant psych profiler who should be able to read anyone yet is repeatedly fooled by the people he loves. The show was gearing up for a confrontation between the two brothers which could have potentially destroyed their brotherly bond forever but alas, we will never know because Celebrity Wife Swap, (the ringer show) has swooped in to fill the gap between shows cancelled by ABC yet again. There is no question that this show should have been on a network like USA or FX or anything other than ABC.

Have to agree: Steve Zahn is way too annoying

[my-glass-box · 5/10 · 26 March 2014]

The character of Edward Clark really lets this show down. The concept of him is great but the fact he has to ALWAYS do something wrong and then ALWAYS throw a tantrum and then ALWAYS attempt to fix things and ALWAYS fail but then ALWAYS succeed.

The rest of the characters are not as thought out (maybe that is the good thing!) but I was really intrigued with getting to know more about them. I want to know less about Edward Clark please. He is the one bringing the series down even though the whole thing is focused around him! Christian Slater is great but wouldn't expect anything less. He also manages to give his character quite a bit of depth and mystery.

However, I cannot bear the agony of sitting through a whole episode with the most annoying man on earth so I will give this a miss.

PS I watched 4 episodes in the hopes the formula would change. It did not.

One of the most promising new series so far

[ich_david_und_gott · 10/10 · 26 February 2014]

While the last series with Christian Slater I watched (Breaking In) crashed and burned after a fabulous first season, I sure do hope that it won't this time. It is a promising and intriguing set up for a hopefully great first season. The whole dynamic between the to brothers - one borderline insane, the other an ex-con with truth issues - and the ex wife of said con artist who is beginning to develop feelings for the bipolar brother creates a whole lot of future possibilities. Add to that the sudden appearance of the "lost" girlfriend of the bipolar brother and you got yourself one hell of an emotional roller coaster. Moreover the idea of altering or influencing behavior of people in order to make them act the way you want them to is fascinating. Many shows before have benefited a lot from some form of mind/behavior controlling features (the early "The Mentalist", "Lie to me" etc.) so it stands to reason that it will do the same for "Mind Games"; at least if the creators of this promising show are able to keep up the balance between humorous and more sincere parts, between personal matters and the business part. The only fear I have so far is that the supporting actors will fade too much compared to the to brothers and the ex wife, since they don't seem to have that many connecting points to the main characters (or at least so far). Nonetheless this is one of my favorites this year and I strongly believe it will keep the level they set with the pilot maybe even exceed it!

Chaos and so much screaming and not much more. :-(

[Imakeitso4me · 26 February 2014]

UPDATED REVIEW: Third time is NOT the charm. This last episode I'm not sure how they can take credit for getting the girl out of the cult. However, on the flip side of this show, I put the TV on a timer and use Mind Games to put me to sleep in mere minutes. Or I watch it while doing doing dishes, working on the computer or whatever because I might as well do something productive so I can stay awake to see if the episode does get better...to be fair I'll keep recording it so if I have run out of other shows to watch, its something to consider as it's almost better than nothing.

FIRST IMPRESSION: Absolutely chaotic and ultimately underwhelmed.

As much as I adore Christian Slater, I'm a bit surprised that the other actor seems like the main actor.

They replaced Killer Women after only a few episodes for this new show, but it wasn't that impressive of a premiere, and unless the second episode is dramatically better, this one will definitely will be on my ignore list.

Since the network so quickly cancels the better show, but keeps the poor ones - regardless of the talent of the actors - I'll be curious as to which side of the network "brains" will win.

It's not entertaining, it's annoying

[aadams · 2/10 · 5 March 2014]

I stuck it out to the end, but this show is awful. It describes itself as "a little bit of science, a dash of con-artistry, plus a smattering of Jedi Mind Tricks…" Ah… no. It's two brothers, one played by Christian Slater (who I normally like) and the other by Steve Zahn who along with a couple other "team" members mainly just tell big stupid and very risky lies to manipulate a situation. Anyone with zero ethics could do the same thing. The Zahn character is bipolar and is so manic and out-of-control that the very idea that he would be a viable team member is insane. Plus he is exhausting and annoying to watch. I kept hoping he'd be killed off. He brings nothing to the table but CRAZY. I enjoy a clever ruse, but the fact that these "encounters" were successful is really not believable, nor is it clever. In one case I felt it was flat out wrong and hoped they'd fail. If you liked Leverage or Psych for their clever trickery, you probably won't like this. I didn't care for any of the characters even a little bit, whereas the Leverage and Psych characters were all enjoyable in their own well-developed ways.

Come back Claire!!!

[scwCO · 8/10 · 11 March 2014]

This show has a lot of great potential! I'm liking it more and more as the stories and cases become more personal for the characters. BUT, I am so sad that Claire (Wynn Everett) appears to have left on tonight's show (the 3rd episode). I love her role on the show, and it's fun to see how she interacts with Carl (Steve Zahn's character). It seems like there is a chance that she could come back at some point with the way it was left, so I hope that she does! Her character was smart, witty, sensitive, and light-hearted, which was a much-needed addition to the cast. I'm guessing that her reason for leaving for Florida was just an excuse to get away from her dishonest ex-husband (I don't blame her!). But, she seems to care too much about how the business is truly helping people to be able to stay away for long.

Steve Zahn's Character Incredibly Annoying

[djammons · 3/10 · 9 March 2014]

I was really looking forward to this show as the concept was so interesting. Production values are fine and the cast / characters are all fine except for the character played by Steve Zahn. I have no opinion of Mr. Zahn's acting because I am not familiar with him previously and I don't know if how he is playing this character is how he has been told to do it or his own idea. In any case the character is written and portrayed so annoyingly I thought after watching the pilot I could not bear watching another episode. However since I enjoyed the rest of the cast and the concept I just watched the second episode in case the Clark Edwards character being so annoying was limited to the pilot. Sadly that was not the case. Two episodes and I am most certainly done with this series. I don't see it lasting beyond the initial episode order.

Good start

[annajw · 10/10 · 28 February 2014]

I'm intrigued by this show. I thought it was unique, entertaining, and left me wanting more. The cast is impressive….Christian Slater and Steve Zahn of course, but the actress who played Claire (Wynn Everett) stood out to me as well. I enjoyed watching her and thought her character was a nice balance to the brothers more extreme personalities. She gave a solid performance and held her own next to some of my favorite actors.

The plot line "hooked" me and by the end of the show I was already thinking about what will happen in the next episode. I thought it was unique and a nice change of pace from some of the more predictable shows on air now. I enjoyed it and look forward to watching again next week.

who when yes no where how help

[pensman · 3/10 · 27 February 2014]

I like Christian Slater and can't figure out why he can't get a TV show to fit his talent but Mind Games isn't it. Slater is the somewhat saner of two brothers: Ross Edwards. His job is to try to get someone to buy into his brother's, Clark played by Steve Zahn, plans to manipulate people into doing what someone wants by tricking their minds into believing it is what they actually want to do. I can live with the premise. I can't live with Zahn's character who is so ADHD that I get a migraine watching him imitate Robin Williams on steroids mixed with Aderol and Ritalin turning him into a super frenetic Dervish whose only calmative is Ross' ex-wife. I was so worn out that by the middle of the pilot episode, I had to turn the show off. Maybe there is an audience for this 1, 2, 3, brought to you by the letter G fast moving grown up Sesame Street short attention span theater show; but it ain't for me.

Too Annoying to Watch

[redwriteandblue · 1 March 2014]

Like Christian Slater. REALLY like Steve Zahn. So I tried this for about halfway through the pilot, and found Zahn's character especially so manic, so loud, so annoying, I had to shut it off. If I had to watch his character every week, I think I'd start pulling the wings off butterflies, or something. Fairly weak writing, as well. Decent premise, truly annoying execution. There are too many good series on TV right now to make room for this one. I've known bipolar people before, had a close friend for years who was afflicted with it, but never experienced anyone like this. Too manic, and so grating. Sorry to repeat myself, but had to fill up ten lines; in short - PASS ON THIS ONE!

Was the best show on TV

[andrewthomasabbott · 10/10 · 1 April 2014]

I thought this was better than any of the other garbage on TV. I actually looked forward to Tuesday nights, now that they canceled this, and with Faceoff season ending soon, there is absolutely nothing on TV. To the actors and writers of this show, you guys did a great job, I'm sorry I liked your show because that's the easiest way to get canceled. I'll just add this to the list of shows I liked that got canceled, Happy Endings, Outsourced, The Cape, and I'm sure some more I can't think of right now. Goodbye TV, you are officially worthless. And for some reason I have to make this review 10 lines for IMDb to accept it, which makes total sense, because 8 lines would just be a stupid review.

Provocative premise

[lynwarmun · 4/10 · 28 February 2014]

Although I admire and enjoy the work of both lead actors and looked forward to this premiere, I found it difficult to get through the first fifteen minutes of the first episode. Why all the yelling? While finding order in chaos and directing same to a good purpose is the underlying plan of this show, it seems chaos was the operative word here. Give me the intellectual dissections of behaviors and manipulations for good aims without the loud and unappealing yelling. No one can be understood through shouting! Even though I couldn't make it through the first episode, I will watch the second episode hoping for more clarity, less shouting and 'noise'. This good cast with superb lead actors can be a great watch and think show.

Canceled too soon

[amindy_2000 · 8/10 · 21 April 2014]

I had been waiting for weeks for the return of Mind Games, only to do some searching today and discover it was canceled.

I'm really disappointed; even though the pilot was a little rough (Clark was manic for much of the episode and it was difficult to watch after a while), I've liked the episodes since and how the characters were growing. I also like the behavioral science aspect, trying to explain how the brain makes decisions. It's unfortunate that network execs are looking for a show with a quick payoff, rather than letting the show air it's 11 episodes and give it a chance to grow. After all, how many times was Castle on the chopping block at the end of a season before it became a hit?

Great work to all the cast, writers and crew who worked so hard on this show. I really appreciated it and hope to see more shows like this in the future.

Annoying

[Plazeebo · 4/10 · 30 March 2014]

As a long time student of the very psychology this show is based on, I had _really_ high expectations. A lot of the research they quote is real, and some of the stunts they do could actually work.

So - why is this not the greatest show since the Mentalist?

Because it's so God damn annoying it makes you want to throw stuff at the TV.

The concept of this show is so great (ok - I'm biased since I love the the psychology, but still :) and they still manage to screw it over royally. It will probably be cancelled after one season, and the premise will become "tried this, didn't work. Let's do a vampire show instead" with the TV bosses.

So - not only do I hate the show - I hate that they used the idea and blew it.

Well - I will continue to watch it and throw shoes at my TV.

we love this new show

[gougie2001 · 10/10 · 26 March 2014]

We are loving the show!!! Very interesting premise and lots of cool info on how the human mind works. Steve Zahn plays his role perfectly!! Love Christain Slater!!! and like that against Christain's character's normal instincts that they are helping people with what they do. Though it does make you wonder and realize that since these things are known...I'm sure these techniques are being used on us, the public all the time. as in: The only thing we did NOT LIKE was the anti-gun agenda in the last episode...but that is typical in a lot of shows...using their show to try to change viewers minds to their way of thinking. LOL! But that's what this show is about...isn't it??? Ironic.

Another Christian slater let down

[afijamesy2k · 3/10 · 19 May 2014]

Christian slater has not had a good TV show and/or movie in years and he fails us once again with this lame pathetic and abysmal attempt about a man who has bipolar disorder and the rest is history, the story is just completely terrible, the acting is wooden, the teleplay is a big time and the only reason people watch this is because of the title that is all, when I Look at shows like this it makes me wanna puke so badly, Steve zahn looks like he's lost in this thing and he brings nothing new to the screen, the story goes nowhere, this show is pathetic and it should be cancelled thankfully, for a better TV show about the same theme see amazing stories.

This junk gets a D+ and one of the year's worst TV.

Not so much love

[Narce · 27 February 2014]

I'm afraid I was somewhat underwhelmed by the debut of Mind Games. At first it sounded like a version of "Psych", but the first few minutes of the show made it clear that the two precepts had nothing in common.

I really enjoyed Steve Zahn's performance in Treme, but I found him just a little too frenetic (and loud) as the bipolar brother here. And Christian Slater, who was supposed to be the "normal" brother, came off as a bit unhinged as well - in his case, more sociopathic.

I'm not writing it off after only one episode, but I'm hoping that these portrayals will mellow out just a bit as the series continues. If I want to see erratic behaviour and people bouncing off the walls, I can find something closer to home.

Absolutely brilliant! And, extra points for having a lead character that has Bipolar!

[deanssam · 10/10 · 20 October 2020]

This show is fantastic and really engages you, with two brothers who each have their own unique backstory with challenges giving them depth. The relationships are tangled and the other characters are exciting as well! The first episode was great, the second episode, EVEN BETTER!! I highly highly recommend this show, it is clever and just what i was looking for!

Brilliant New Series

[andiec71 · 10/10 · 12 November 2014]

I stumbled on this series by accident and I was very glad I did. I couldn't stop watching, the characters were very likable and the story lines interesting. Even though the theme of this series is complex mind games, it was very easy viewing.

Each episode had a scenario which could have gone in any direction. It was very entertaining watching it unfold and the conclusion was always surprising.

Christian Slater is one of my favourite actors and it was one of the reasons that I watched the series. He didn't let me down and neither did the rest of the cast, especially Steve Zahn, whose brilliant portrayal of Clark Edwards kept me glued to the screen.

I really hope there are more episodes to come.

I think it's great !

[britt10793 · 8/10 · 9 April 2014]

I am a psych major and the way they present their theories intrigues me to further watch this TV show. I think it's interesting fun to watch and a very educated show on psychological theories. Another big thing is that it's pretty constant so your not confused on what happened last it's a continuum and I like that aspect also. I like how the theories are also proved to work because a lot if people make fun of psychological studies saying that it's not possible but being a psych major and working for a job to put these theory's to test and know that they will work help me further in my career studies. Thank You, Brittany D

Mind Games is Fabulous !!!!!

[Right-Wing-Man · 26 February 2014]

Wow, I just watched the first episode, and most shows typically take about 3-4 shows to really get going and develop the characters and story to a comfortable level. The whole cast is just great, but the chemistry between Christian Slater, Steve Zahn and Wynn Everett is stellar. I did enjoy Slater's last effort (Breaking In), but the show itself wasn't great, but Christian was. This show, "Mind Games" is excellent. The bi-polar issues, the ex-con issues, the exes, t's all in the in a believable, heart-felt and emotional way. You are immediately drawn into the characters and just root for them. Flawed characters are always the best, and the cast will not disappoint. Great job cast and director. The writing is excellent as well... thanks for such an excellent show it, I am already connected to it.

A good show. In time it could be a great show.

[LMRusso-1 · 20 March 2014]

"Mind Games" is the old "Mission Impossible" with a soft, mushy heart and a helping of humorous lunacy.

I don't mind the mushy heart or humorous lunacy. What needs to be fixed is the setup & believability of the schemes employed and their eventual conclusion. With "Mission Impossible" the plans were very straightforward, understandable & clear, A+B=C. Problems would come up, and they'd have to adjust (just like in 'Mind Games'). The difference is Zahns character is so manic and all over the place one gets the sense his inspirations are founded perhaps less in logic and more in THC. In order for me to properly get engaged in the plot and suspense, I need to be able to believe in it. I think this can be fixed with a little better/longer setup of the initial plans.

The characters are interesting & good looking, the acting is good, direction is decent (didn't like the circular merry go round camera shot in the second episode) & Chicago is a great setting. The team aspect is a big attraction to me. Like the original "Mission Impossible" (not the Tom Cruise versions) having a group of different people covertly work together to passionately achieve ethical goals just makes me feel good.

The greatest asset going for this show is its theme of scientifically manipulating human behavior to achieve a goal. "Mind Games" is intelligent, identifiable and lends itself to interesting, compelling introspection. I hope the show improves and succeeds.

Annoying politics!

[Yallow-952-943439 · 19 March 2014]

I was a fan but this last episode about guns was super annoying! Why does there always have to be someone's political agenda shoved in my face?! I seriously liked this show but I'm not watching again I get enough politics in my life. I don't want to think about politics or have someone's emotional views about gun control shoved down my throat while I'm just trying to relax and to be entertained by a t.v. Show. Talk about mind games! Couldn't you have tried to be more subtle about it sheesh! And what is all this malarkey about my review needing to be ten lines? I just want to say my piece and be done for real! Abc I'm done with you! Be warned it's all propaganda!

I can't give it a rating...

[ADtheThird · 5 March 2014]

The premise of the show sounded REALLY amazing to me- Leverage with a bit of The Mentalist, House of Lies and a few other elements taken from other TV Shows- I was in for a good ride... I was mistaken.

The pilot was fairly decent. Introduced the brothers and a bit of the back story to get the viewers interested in the characters themselves. It was very loud and chaotic but not too much that it would make the show seem completely unwatchable.... and then I watched the second episode, well, part of it at least; I don't think I can finish it.

There is just TOO much chaos. The eccentric and bipolar brother is just completely out there, very loud and obnoxious to the point where you start to feel embarrassed for the rest of the cast. It's completely ridiculous! So much broken glass, unorganized schemes that go nowhere because one of the brothers completely ruins it and all in all, just a bunch of chaos.

I'd stay away from this one. I'm going to try to finish the second episode but I doubt I'll make it through it.