One of the brightest domestic new releases of the first half of the year was the series “Fandorin. Azazel.” We talk about the pros and cons of the new and ambiguous reading of the famous detective’s adventures.

We have already discussed what the dream cast could be for the next film adaptations of Boris Akunin’s literary hero’s adventures. Now it’s time to ponder whether it’s even worth continuing to film stories about Erast Fandorin based on a modernized vision.

Evgenia Smykova

“Coronation. New Adventures of Fandorin” from “After the Credits”

The series “Fandorin. Azazel” is launching on Kinopoisk. Hoping for the franchise’s development, we decided to immediately select a cast for the next project.

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Story

Petrograd, the capital of the Russian Empire, 2023. A 20-year-old investigator, Erast Fandorin, joins the police detective department. A strange case falls into his hands: a young millionaire commits suicide right on the street in front of a crowd of people and a robot policeman. Fandorin realizes something is wrong and that the deceased did not kill himself. During the investigation, Erast picks up the trail of a mysterious organization called “Azazel.” The story is based on the novel of the same name by Boris Akunin, which marked the beginning of a long book series.

The action was moved from Moscow to Petrograd, and this is where the duality of impressions begins, which we will discuss throughout.

Atmosphere

To be honest, it felt like we were presented with an updated version of the 2002 series “Azazel.” For those who love that adaptation, it might seem that the creators simply took the old script and based their narrative on it, only occasionally adding something of their own. That’s why it seems like we’re just looking at an update of the old film. Like a software update that brings its own features... and bugs.

So, in the first episodes, we are actively immersed in a new world where we have to spend 6 episodes. New technologies, a new city, everything is different and not what it was, everything is like after an operating system reboot. “Where do I click? Where do I look? And why is there so much of everything?” These are exactly the feelings that remain right after watching the first episode. And in all this unnecessary novelty, the characters and the story are completely lost.

Will There Be a Detective Story?

The main features of the project are its ambiguity and its attachment to the original material. Therefore, 4 episodes look like merely a modernized adaptation of the old version, and all additions seem superfluous and absurd. Some scenes are recreated down to the smallest detail. For example, the fate of Ivan Brilling. But starting from the fifth episode, when the screenwriters gave themselves more freedom and began to come up with an alternative ending to the story, the most interesting part begins, and even some semblance of intrigue appears.

Modernize Cannot Improve

That’s exactly what you can call the series “Azazel.” The comma runs from one place to another, and this changes the impression.

And what about the main character?

Erast Fandorin (Vladislav Tyron) is not such an inspired, naive young detective. Many have noted that he is nervous, sometimes looks ridiculous and unsure of himself. But by the middle of the series, we learn that the future detective witnessed his father’s death. Of course, this event changes him radically. This Fandorin can even deceive, although the book version was largely portrayed as a completely naive and honest hero.

The screenwriters gave more power to Elizaveta (Mila Ershova). While in the novel she only maintained the image of a sweet and innocent girl who, like a “genius of pure beauty,” only occasionally appeared in our hero’s path, this Lisa actively participates in the investigation and worries about the children at the boarding school. A love triangle between Erast, Lisa, and Oleg was also added. Was it necessary? Everyone will decide for themselves.

Of course, the most significant addition and update is the image of Emperor Nicholas III (Maxim Matveev). He is comical at times, especially in moments when he is tired of power, and at other times it’s completely unclear why he was invented. But all this is in those episodes that strictly follow the novel. The changes to the Zurov/Amalia storyline can also be added here. But again, it’s only in the last episodes that it becomes clear why all these changes were made.

There are characters and their behaviors that have not changed since 2002. In some cases, this doesn’t interfere, while in others, a slight feeling of annoyance remains. The first case is with Zurov. Artyom Bystrov created a wonderful image, bringing a little more life to his character. But with Ivan Brilling, the extravaganza didn’t happen. The image of Sergey Goroshko is too similar to Sergey Bezrukov, sometimes even in intonation. It’s a pity that the character seems to exist, but you don’t see anything new in him.

It seems that the creators were constantly maintaining some kind of balance. They added the emperor’s wife Anna, played by Urszula Malka, who is a rare guest on movie screens, but then they undermined the image of Countess Esther, even though they cast the wonderful Marina Ignatova for the role.

In the end, “Fandorin. Azazel” leaves very chaotic impressions. For lovers of detective stories and those unfamiliar with the book of the same name about Erast Fandorin, it is an unusual project with an original alternative development of Russian history. For those who love and expect exactly the story about a 19th-century detective, it is more likely to bring disappointment, although the series has many references to the source material, and the finale gives hope for further development. Thus, the entire project is filled with “Although,” “Well, okay, let’s say,” and other assumptions and interjections.