From ancient Rome to modern Hollywood, there’s a tried-and-true method for creating spectacle, and it starts with the fist. In hand-to-hand combat, an intimate, deeply human fascination with violence becomes a cheat code for instant, impossible-to-look-away television. Who can remember storylines or character development when they’re distracted by the sounds of flesh hitting flesh, bones breaking, and blood pouring? In “La Máquina,” Hulu’s new Spanish-language limited series about the life of a Mexican boxer, producers and stars Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal seek to harness the power of that fixation to guide audiences through “La Máquina’s” twisty twists and turns captivate a mystery – while indulging in navel-gazing ruminations on entertainment and the human experience. In “La Máquina” life is not a stage, but a boxing ring.

The show tells the story of Esteban “La Máquina” Osuna (Bernal), a Mexican professional boxer who struggles with the reality of retiring from his career. These are “realities” in the plural, as La Máquina suffers from hallucinations from being hit in the head for years. What begins as a predictable premise – a brain-damaged fighter’s final attempts to become relevant – is unraveled when his agent Andy (Luna) makes a deal with a shady, unknown underworld organization to secure a rematch between La Máquina and a Younger secure aspiring fighters.

The first few episodes lay the groundwork for several storylines: a rivalry between young and old fighters, a reckoning with the medical consequences of boxing, and the mystery of who is behind the shadowy organization that trapped them. If so many seeds were planted, a complex ecosystem of interwoven characters would surely take root. But the fruits of storytelling need care and attention. In “La Máquina,” quite a few storylines die on the vine unharvested. And it left me as a viewer feeling bad.

Let’s start with the main plot. Andy tries to shake off the consequences of his deal with the devil, but ends up entangling Esteban and their two families in a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse with an unknown criminal organization. They’re not Russians or Chinese or cartels – they’re just “them.” They are omnipresent and omniscient. They exist because there are always forces in life that force us to make panicked and counterintuitive decisions.

As a viewer, I can get over not knowing or understanding the motivations of a mysterious antagonist when the chaos they bring is worth watching. And of course there is more than one plot twist in this crime thriller that I didn’t expect, but these moments are fleeting and superficial. They did little to distract me from a number of unresolved subplots.

An example: Andy’s relationship with his mother, who is addicted to plastic surgery. Other than showing how unhealthy the obsession with beauty and youth is, there’s no real narrative value in spending so much time showing how incestuous and emotionally entangled they are. (Although I appreciated how Andy’s Botox and fillers became a storytelling device – the makeup work on Luna deserves praise.)

Another example: La Máquina’s ex-wife Irasema (Eiza González) is a sports journalist and begins an investigation into match-fixing, apparently to find out who is behind this mysterious criminal enterprise. After just one interview with a former boxer and searching for the answer to the question, she too has come no closer, but she too becomes another loose thread, never woven into the story again.

But what the story lacks in resolution, it makes up for in its dreamlike aesthetics and self-referential musings. The quality of the writing is very high and there is plenty of poetic dialogue to admire.

In an early scene, La Máquina’s trainer Sixto (Jorge Perrugoría) explains why an aging boxer is still a contender despite being older and in worse fighting shape. “We’re doing pure theater here,” he explains. “(La Máquina) knows that life gives and life takes away.” Sixto considers his boxer to be the best fighter because he brings something to the ring that he can be passionate about: a story of perseverance, rather than his boy’s arrogance Opponent: ““The arrogance versus the determination.”

Unfortunately, La Máquina’s pursuit of determination won’t go far. Unless you’re a fan of a “Sopranos” finale, this story will make you question what you just saw. This is not a story of determination, but of escape from consequences and a fully resolved conspiracy.

LA MÁQUINA

Cast: Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Eiza González, Jorge Perrugoría

On Hulu

Jazmin Aguilera can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @jazminaguilerax.