User Reviews

Just reading through the different reviews here and you can get an idea how the audience is divided (or lost) accusing the series of being biased to the left or right political parties propaganda. But this is because the country's population is divided and blinded now and cannot see anything beyond their political parties agenda and ideologies

What the series show in reality, specially in the second season, is that corruption in Brazil dates as far as democracy and that, unfortunately, it is not an exclusivity of the left or right parties, but all over the country's political system.

But by doing this, saying everybody is corrupt, it fails to please both sides interests, because if corruption is all over it, there are no victims or villains, everybody is to blame.

But contemporary Brazilians are unable to see this, just because the polarization is convenient for both sides, and politics became passion, just like soccer in Brazil, with supporters hating and accusing each other all the time, unable to see or recognize their own team mistakes.

As for the series quality, it is a quite enjoyable well crafted and well acted series, although it lingers the events a little too long sometimes for dramatic purposes, or the lack of new events in the Car Wash operation.

Watch it with an open mind and get over your own political convictions.

This series talks about a very polarizing and hot topic in Brazil. The Car Wash investigation is still ongoing, and nearly half the country believes some of its allegations are "fake news". As a result, despite the show's bipartisan view, many party loyalists are furious about the show and have flooded it with 1 star ratings and bad reviews. On the other hand, people who agree with the show's message are giving it an overly good rating without judging the actual quality of the show. Overall, the show follows the same formula as Padilha's more famous Narcos, so if you're a fan, chances are you will enjoy this one as well. The only difference is the lack of action-packed gun fight scenes and focus on politics and money laundering, but the narration and the police investigation aspects are still there. The show really takes off after the end of episode 2, where it loses the introductory aspect, so I recommend making it past those first episodes before making any conclusions.

The show does not portray any of the real life persons and parties as super heroes. In fact, it has an openly anti-ideology overall message, and every character in this show has significant flaws, so personally it's really hard for me to believe this show would be somehow biased towards any party or ideology. My guess is if you believe the facts involving the car wash operation are legitimate, and don't happen to be loyal to any of the people who inspired the show, you'll find this a great political thriller with interesting characters (some entirely fictional, some based on real people) and beautiful cinematography of multiple Brazilian cities.

It's grate police insvestigation and explain really well the Brazilian bad system and corrupt.

This show really grabbed me. I almost never binge-watch and this was one of the few shows I did. Everyone has a motive and the characters aren't flat.

Don't listen to the Ministry of Truth. This show is not a political piece. It's actually as unbiased as it can be. Too bad the facts don't leave much room for tweaking.

As for calling it "fake news"... It's not a news piece. It's a TV show. Right at the beginning of each episode it says it was loosely based on a true story. I guess some people just can't read (which is why they believe in fairy tales).

I just hope Netflix doesn't budge to the naysayers and gives us a second season. This is truly one of the best TV shows to come out of Brazil.

Incredible political thriller based on the current situation in Brazil. More instigating than House of Cards.

It shows the reality behind the scenes of the politics of the largest South American country and how it is fought.

Padilha understands deeply the reality of the country and knows how to adapt it to the fiction. Unfortunately, sometimes, the reality here is worse...

The series tells the story of an investigation from the federal police and the judiciary system from Brazil called Lava-Jato (Car Wash in english). This investigation has showed how deep the corruption is on brazilian government. Many supporters of the Worker´s Party are saying the series is biased. Yes, it is, but it doesn't run away of criticizing the other side also. So, watch the series and search the internet to form your opinion. There are good sources from both sides. At least you will understand why brazilian people would always joke about how House of Cards was soft in comparison to brazilian politics.

This is such a quality production. Its cinema quality in every aspect. I've seen six episodes so far but if this show keep this up I give it an even higher grade. Netflix is now really starting to compete with HBO and this is much better than Netflix anchor House of Cards for example. This is a very classy production. Everything from the detective who is the narrative voice to the quality of the camera work. The actors are spot on and the scenes are amazing. Good job!

A great series, which shows all the corruption installed in Brazil in recent years. Only those who have pet thugs, and we know who owns them, complains about the series. Usually people against capitalism, but loves Netflix with a Coke on the side. Brazil is rotten with corruption and we know who the culprits are and the series shows this well.

Nevermind the fact that the series lies and put quotes from the extreme right wing as something our ex-president said, just to hurt his image and make him look like the biggest corrupt in Brazil, when he isn't. This is irresponsible, badly acted and just tries to cash in the hate for the left wing, while trying to look as a critic for our politics, when it overlooks everything the right wing did, and defending the worst politicians.

If you are expecting it like Narcos or other crime thrillers, I have bad news for you. Many will be misled by the trailer but it actually is somewhat around narrative and hopeless twists.

Brazil is a big country but the scandal didn't hit worldwide like other true events, so I was not sold to the series facts from the beginning just like every other viewers.

Because of this weak reputation of the story, Netflix should have ended it in the first season but left its audiences on a huge cliffhanger by not finishing the series. No one's waiting for the 2nd season and there's no anticipation. Even if it gets cancelled, still nobody would complain.

Season 1's direction is pretty good. From videography to acting. I was expecting to be alienated by the acting styles of a different culture but I did not. I am really impressed with that.

If you have spare time, I will suggest you to watch it. You won't feel worthless nor disappointed or satisfied. It will be like weird mixed feelings after watching it, trust me. You won't be able to tell whether you liked it or loved or hated it. That's how this show is; it's like a hot chick you pass by randomly and after 30 minutes, you won't even remember it.

Netflix or production house didn't invest money for fake reviews for this show, that's why the rating is low or maybe that's how the rating should work; appear original. At least legit 7 ratings are better than fake 8+ ratings *cought*cough*cough*MIND HUNTERS*cough*cough*cough*.

Anyway, give this series a try.

Intrigating t.v show that criticize not only brazilan political system but also all latin america corruption model. As you can notice on reviews below, many are giving a low score for the show based on what they call "fake news" about a popular leader in Brazil. The truth however is that despite the show is not 100% loyal to the real events (as expected for a tv show, not a documentary), it gives enough information to understand how the entire system is corrupted. The show is thrilling and educative.

Why I think this is a great show

• characters are well constructed and have enough of a personal angle to keep you engaged
• narrator adds a lot to the story from his perspective and helps creating tension, mistery and food for thought in a lot of scenes
• basically draws much of the story line from reality (all names from actual Brazilian people are changed, but easily identifiable) and creates a drama out of it. This shows just of impressive the corruption scandal was in Brazil
• show is produced by the same Team who did Narcos, enough said

Who should watch this

• People who like reality-based dramas such as Narcos
• Some who may have bene dissapointed with other Netflix's Brazilian originals (3% premise is good, but the Mechanism is superbly executed)

There are ome facts that aren't true, but the they did show the "this is a fiction" disclaimer. Really enjoyed watching it, last time I had that much fun was with Narcos! Congrats Padilha and Netflix!

Before I start my review take this as a fact; this is nothing like City of God, neither Elite Troop even using some actors from both shows. Being that said, you should expect a heavy and complex plot about Brazilian political scenary since the begining of the operation Lava Jato (Car Wash), with politicians, corporations, public institutions that actually exist and are part of the huge corruption scheme in Brazil. For example, MFP (MPF - Ministério Público Federal), Polícia Federativa (Polícia Federal), Petrobrasil (PETROBRAS), Miller & Brecht (Odebrecht) and many others. After being completely seduced by this show, you will be caught thinking on how corrupt you were in your "small" acts in your daily life and how you could not be a bad example like those corrupt politicians. Of course it's not a completely accurate series, and what really disturbed me more was the fact that the delegado federal (Federal Deputy/Xeriff/Federal Police Chief) is represented by 2 persons wich actually do the work of agents! The Delegados are much more like the masterminds behind the scene, the experts in criminal law and who structure the case so the MPF can represent in court to the federal judge. they do not chase proof like that in the show, so, it's a dramatical change so the series would not be too much in the office, since there are no shots or fights in this show.

To finally end my review, I must create an index to you of the more important government institutions in the show and what they do in a brief way. 1- Polícia Federal (Federal Police) -> They investigate and create the case to be represented after by MPf in court. 2- MPF (Federal Prosecution) -> they take the case from Federal Police and take it to the justice (federal court) making accusations based in the criminal law, producing more proofs and making deals when necessary. 3- Federal Court/ Judge -> judge the MPF's case, accept the order for some proofs like telephone tapping and many others and all the things a normal judge would do. So, as you can see, things are not that easy to be done here, all because we respect our constitution wich preserve the due process of law.

Some people have had their brains washed right here in Brazil. Only the zumbis who belives blindly on thiefs will rate this as a bad one piece. They kinda belive and cooperate for the secular game from politicians here. The rulers always say that charges on them are lies from rivals and supporters repeat that argument without questioning nothing. Their words here on IMDB reflect that. Our country is tired of so much robbery.

I have lived in many countries around the world, and I have lived in Brazil for almost two years (my spouse is Brazilian). I am always AMAZED when many people in Brazil defend the very clearly corrupt and nasty politicians and leaders who have literally torn apart the country over the past 20 years... Most of these leaders (mostly from PT) have all been convicted in front of the high courts, there is nothing left to defend. What are we arguing about?

This series is a fantastic exploration of trying to bring justice within a corrupt system - It is very difficult and costly for the people trying to bring justice.

I have watched 3 episodes so far and it is very good (what else would you expect from the creator of Narcos and Elite Squad?). I'm hooked!

This is such a quality production. Its cinema quality in every aspect. I've seen six episodes so far but if this show keep this up I give it an even higher grade. Netflix is now really starting to compete with HBO and this is much better than Netflix anchor House of Cards for example. This is a very classy production. Everything from the detective who is the narrative voice to the quality of the camera work. The actors are spot on and the scenes are amazing. Good job!

Don't trust all the haters and Lula's widows they compact with all the corruption and robbery made with the last government.

Don't give up this great series; it gets better in the middle of the second episode and takes off from there. It's a rollercoaster ride through the political and bribery games widespread played in Brazil. The world needs to know how much pain and suffer were inflicted in the Brazilian people by the bad politicians fuelled by the greediness of almost 15 years under the Labour party. The two former presidents of Brazil claim that they have been victimized by a coup from bad people It actually the bad administration that both performed that caused one of the biggest economies of the world, to flop too brutally. The direction is a bit chaotic but the movie happens regardless.

Poor sound quality. unfamiliar characters and full of fake news to show their point of view. zero grade

As everybody knows, this series is based on the real events of the investigation "Lava Jato" - it's written based on the book of the same name, and its pilot episode is titled that too. "Lava Jato" seems to have raised as much dust in Latin America as the Arab Spring has in Middle East, minus the warfare. As a result, it seems that opinions of the show, and of each season, are sharply divided among Brazilians based on their political views, and what they believe each season's message to be. I'm a person rather distant from Brazilian politics, and thus cannot quite speak to the accuracy or neutrality of the production - only to its quality. And it is... alright.

I have learnt some things about Brazilian politics and corruption from the show, but a lot (especially in Season 2) was quite confusing. I fear I might not have been pausing enough to try to understand a particular scheme, stance or piece of evidence - perhaps you just need to have followed the real-world events from day 1, or at least keep a Wikipedia timeline handy; and have knowledge of Brazilian law to boot. Some of it becomes understandable with some effort - the finale of Season 1 has an awesome scene which helps - but on some points I'm still confused.

"O mecanismo" has a strong fixation on relationship drama in a series that you'd think would be about the broader picture. We learn about families of nearly all of the main characters, and witness quite a few of them randomly having sex (mostly in S1). I'm not sure if it's the creators checking some boxes on their thriller-making guide, or just Brazilian culture manifesting. Style-wise, the series has a noirish narration (some lines bordering on the absurd or devoid of meaning), and is a slower boil, with a lot hinging on whether the criminals are going to make a mistake or start cooperating with the law. The characters' behaviour and/or decision-making are not always clear - I could never keep track which investigator was enthused and which was depressed, and who placed hopes on what course of action, and which criminal hoped for what way out: everything is a relative blur, which I guess is kinda bad?.. Finally, the camerawork is often very stylish and cool - you have a lot of still, centred shots that ooze gravity and atmosphere. The editing is a mixed bag.

Overall, S2 is marginally better than S1 but more by Brownian motion than anything, and there are some inconsistencies between them - perhaps at most one could say that S2 takes itself a bit more seriously and has a grander scale of events to work with. If you're looking for a political crime thriller, give both a watch - and potentially await new seasons, if they're going to come about (as "Lava Jato" has been forced to close this month, on one hand they wouldn't have as much to work off with after catching up to the current state of affairs, but honestly the story is flexible enough to follow any Brazilian corruption case straight off the headlines, so who knows).

(I've watched "Lava Jato" in English and the other 15 episodes in Russian)

My ratings by season: S1: 5 S2: 6

Careful with all the fake commentaries made by corrupt and zombies, the series tell us the truths and what happened on the biggest operation and corruption scandal in the history of Brazil's government so far. The most interesting thing is to see that leftys know how to write in english, google translate is a saviour to those people that neither portuguese can understand.

Definitely better than Ozark and worse than Narcos.

It's Ok, I would say. If you are addicted to thrillers involving corruption schemes like me, it's worth watching. However, do not put your expectations so high, because the series will not surprise you or make you claim desperately for the next season.

One thing that I noted is that the series waste time exploiting love stories between the charachters. From my perspective, the audience of this sort of series does not want to watch romances. Instead, it would be better if the series focused more on the turnoarounds starred by the Federal Police and the Judge in face of the corruption schemes done by politicians to stall the operations and avoid prisons.

I would give 7 stars, but as it is based on a true story, which makes things more interesting, I gave one more point.

This series was perfect in all ways, story, characters, plot, cuts, direction.