I recently changed my T-Mobile plan, which gets Netflix free. I was excited, because it gives me another movie and show outlet, and I love watching movies. It’s the basic plan, which means only 720p, which I can live with. Only one stream at a time, I’m OK with that. No commercials. But, would it be worth $9.99 a month?
Not really.
I’m actually a bit underwhelmed by the amount of content. That could be due to me mostly watching horror, scifi/fantasy, and period pieces (mostly things from hundreds to thousands of years ago). And while there’s certainly some different stuff than on the other ones, it’s not that great. I thought there would be much, much more. And most is within this century, mostly from the last 10 years. A few that are older, but, not many.
One problem is that many of the shows and movies look fantastic, and then you realize they’re dubbed. The problem with dubbing is not so much that the words do not match lips, but, that the voices sound separate from what’s going on. It’s rather like someone doing karaoke: you know the voice and music are separate. Like listening to a 3.1 soundbar where the voice channel is overpowering the rest of the music and sound. Barbarians looked great, but, it’s in German.
Then there are the shows that are not complete. Cursed was exactly the type of show I would love. Except, there was no season 2 and will never be (partly due to COVID), and it ended in a cliffhanger. Nope.
Then there’s the interface, which is a pain to find things. It’s almost like you have to know what you’re looking for exactly and hope they have it. There is a good outside site, Just Watch, but, it shouldn’t be necessary to use it.
I had been, and still do, use Amazon Prime, Freevee, Tubi, and Pluto TV. They have massive libraries. Sure, a lot is crappola, but, you might find a gem that most do not like but you like. I’ve found a few of those. I find a ton of movies and shows (especially Freevee for those). I also pay for the basic Paramount Plus, which had been free for a year. It’s mostly about CBS shows, and I do love putting on Survivor and The Amazing Race, a lot of the time as background. They have a few good movies here and there, such as the new Dungeons and Dragons (good movie. Not great, but, a fun watch with zero woke, zero messages). Scream 6 (that was good). The Star Trek shows and Halo. I saw Top Gun: Maverick on it first. And Smile (it was Ok). It’s worth the money for me. Even with ads, which you get on Freevee, Tubi, and Pluto.
Then there’s Peacock. Is it worth $4.99, and deal with ads vs $9.99? It probably is, they come out with some movies from the theaters before others.
But, Netflix? If I had to pay $9.99 a month, I probably wouldn’t. I appreciate The Witcher, though a bit dark. Vikings Valhala, yes. Definitely going to watch The Last Kingdom movie, might even rewatch all 5 seasons. Some other stuff. I just expected more. Maybe it will surprise me in the future.
Read: My Netflix Thoughts »