Daniel Dae Kim has formally returned to the small display with Butterfly, an action-packed addition to the 2025 TV schedule courtesy of Amazon Prime Video. Primarily based on a graphic novel by Arash Amel out of Increase! Studios, the present additionally stars Reina Hardesty, Louis Landau, and Piper Perabo. Critics have already seen all six episodes, and whereas some have been greater followers than others, the consensus appears to be that the plot performs it “too protected” with motion vs. storytelling.
The trailer for Butterfly was an early clue that the spy thriller had the potential to ship Reacher-esque ranges of motion. Hyped by Prime Video as a spy thriller pushed by characters additionally coping with sophisticated household dynamics, Daniel Dae Kim performs a former U.S. intelligence operative by the title of David, dwelling in South Korea till he has to face the implications for previous selections. He should flee an murderer and thwart spies, all whereas his daughter Rebecca (Hardesty) is within the combine.
In the event you’re on the fence about whether or not you wish to take a look at Butterfly with a Prime Video subscription, take a look at what critics should say in regards to the sequence! Beginning with THR’s Angie Han, who writes:
Packed because the sequence is with fistfights and shootouts and automobile chases, its coronary heart really lies within the household drama, pushed by heightened however recognizable impulses. And whereas the sequence, created by Steph Cha and Ken Woodruff, by no means fairly takes that intriguing premise to its fullest potential, its mixture of sentiment and thrills makes for a pleasantly innocuous addition to the platform’s ever-growing catalogue of reveals about guys who know their means round tactical gear.
THR
With a streaming catalogue together with action-packed reveals like Alan Ritchson’s Reacher and Jensen Ackles’ Countdown (which has not but been renewed for Season 2), it was a protected guess that one other Prime Video sequence may ship with regards to “fistfights and shootouts.” The household drama is seemingly extra compelling and distinctive to Butterfly. Aramide Tinubu of Selection writes:
Because the present leans virtually solely into motion, loads of the emotional beats of the story are forfeited. It could have been sharper if the story had been contained inside a two-hour-long characteristic movie, eliminating a lot of the present’s empty area. . . . Nonetheless, the present isn’t all unhealthy. There are a few intriguing twists, and it’s entertaining sufficient for audiences to stay round till the tip, to see whether or not Rebecca and David can really rebuild the bond that was severed practically a decade in the past.
Selection
Contemplating that Daniel Dae Kim is finest recognized for TV work as a member of the Avatar: The Final Airbender live-action present forged, a longtime Misplaced star, and after a stable run of greater than 150 episodes of Hawaii 5-0 regardless of the CBS drama unceremoniously writing him out, it simply appears pure for him to star in Butterfly as a TV present relatively than a two-hour characteristic movie. The six episodes could give a special impression upon viewing, nonetheless! Robert Lloyd of the LA Occasions writes:
Though the spy stuff accounts for the working and taking pictures, the automobile chases (which Rebecca appears to particularly get pleasure from), the martial arts dust-ups and close to fixed risk of dying, it’s additionally inappropriate. Butterfly is a kind of an motion cleaning soap, an prolonged household melodrama with weapons. The political story, must you care to trace it — not that you really want to — issues lower than the non-public one, set in movement by David’s reappearance and his need to reconnect with and save Rebecca, which places him into battle with Juno. (And with Rebecca, who isn’t satisfied she wants saving.)
L.A. Occasions
It appears like Butterfly is an efficient candidate for a binge-watch with out essentially requiring a break or two to course of a tough political plot, which can be a superb factor. Not like many different Prime Video reveals that launch new episodes weekly, all six episodes can be found streaming now. RobertEbert.com’s Sherin Nicole says:
Regardless of these highs between the daddy and daughter—an reverse for mom and son, Juno and Oliver—I wasn’t absolutely engaged whereas watching. If it appears like I’m going backwards and forwards on it, you caught me. All through the six-episode run, I saved questioning whether or not this sequence works or not. I’m nonetheless undecided. Nevertheless, by bridging South Korean and American cultural cues, with the heritage of Korean craft, juxtaposed towards the present world, Butterfly takes on extra depth. The cities within the episode titles aren’t simply important locations, however a sign that the sequence needs to take the viewers someplace.
RogerEbert.com
Whereas the trailer largely hyped the shootouts, automobile chases, spies, and motion sequences, a well-liked sentiment amongst reviewers appears to be that the household moments in between are extra intriguing. That does not essentially imply that the present suffers for splitting focus, in line with a overview from ReadySteadyCut’s Jonathon Wilson:
The important thing to Butterfly is that each halves work. It may be a taut spy thriller when it needs to, with stable motion and suspense-building throughout a wide range of areas and codecs, however the household drama doesn’t really feel tacked on and tokenistic. There’s a pleasing symbiosis between the 2, which concurrently lightens what is perhaps a dour conspiracy plot whereas including welcome hazard and stakes to the character drama. You couldn’t have one with out the opposite.
ReadySteadyCut
On the entire, Butterfly could attraction to followers of different intense reveals on Prime Video, in addition to to present followers of Daniel Dae Kim. Critics simply are not universally all-in on the brand new sequence. Screenrant’s Grant Hermanns will get into some mild spoilers with this overview:
Regardless of its efforts, Butterfly performs it too protected. The primary half of the season is extra of a fugitive sequence, whereas the second half is a correct spy thriller. But, even because it strives for some large twists, they’re too straightforward to foretell forward of time. What’s worse is that not one of the characters ever felt like they have been in any actual hazard. Aside from one scene through which David is injured by Gun, performed by Cash Heist: Korea’s Kim Ji-hoon, he and Rebecca aren’t put in conditions the place they can not speak or struggle their means out of.
ScreenRant
All in all, it appears like critics en masse can all discover one thing to reward about Butterfly, and action-oriented tales are fairly protected bets for Amazon Prime Video after a few of its different hits. On the time of writing, Butterfly holds a good 72% on Rotten Tomatoes.
If you wish to test it out for your self, all six episodes can be found streaming now with a subscription to the streamer.