The story opens with a gumshoe plot straight out of the pages of Raymond Chandler, involving a disillusioned antihero with a past; a duplicitous millionaire and his sultry wife; a locked room-style murder; and a cast of supporting suspects with their own complex criminal agendas.

Like "Westworld" and other twisty-turny flashback-driven shows, untangling the various crimes and conspiracies requires a bulletin board covered in Post-its, but don't worry if you lose track of the finer details.

The neon-drenched cityscapes look a lot like those in "Blade Runner", but "Altered Carbon" finds its own identity with atmospheric VR sequences, novel future-flavoured fight scenes, and heavenly towers floating in distinctly uncyberpunk blue skies.

The jokes are generally of the grunted sarcasm variety, and in a world where human flesh is disposable, the noir genre's trademark sadism gets turned up to 11.

Netflix The most entertaining support comes from Chris Conner as a gothic-inspired AI, and Matt Frewer as a grinning synth, but most of the cast sticks to sultry growling.