Premiered: May 15, 2020

On: Hulu

Starring: Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Sacha Dhawan, Charity Wakefield, Gwilym Lee, Adam Godley, Douglas Hodge, Belinda Bromilow, Richard Pyros, Bayo Gbadamosi, Sebastian de Souza, Danusia Samal, Louis Hynes, Florence Keith-Roach, Jamie Demetriou, Christophe Tek, Charlie Price, Alistair Green, Abraham Popoola, James Smith, Stewart Scudamore, Phil Webster, Adam Darlington, Dustin Demri-Burns & Christianne Oliveira

Noting its historical inaccuracy from the start, The Great is a hilarious historically based story on the rise of Russian Empress Catherine the Great (Elle Fanning) featuring incredible performances from its ensemble cast.

After realizing that her marriage to Emperor Peter III of Russia (Nicholas Hoult) is not going to be a harmonious one, Catherine tries to figure a way out. Noticing that Peter is an inept leader, she stages a coup with several of his top advisors.

Fanning and Hoult are fantastic in their lead roles and play to Catherine’s wit and Peter’s vulgarity with a seasoned grace. It’s fantastic to watch both of their characters’ development. Fanning also has fantastic chemistry with Catherine’s lover Leo Voronsky (Sebastian de Souza). In a sea of madness with the characters, Voronsky is a welcomed calm personality.

Final say: Truly great. ★★★★★