savageseraph (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
savageseraph) wrote2017-10-02 10:52 pm
savageseraph) wrote2017-10-02 10:52 pm
The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Marvel TV...
I like Marvel’s Inhumans. In comics form, that is. Which is why I’m so sad that ABC’s Inhumans is downright terrible. Not just bland. Not just mediocre. No, it’s flat-out bad. To be fair, I only watched the first hour, and I’ve heard that the second hour is better. But that’s a helluva low bar to get over.
What makes it bad? Well, the costumes and sets have a bargain basement look to them, as do a lot of the make-up effects. The Inhumans who appear on Agents of SHIELD look WAY better than any on the new series thusfar. Let’s not even discuss Medusa’s hair, which is a glory on the page and looks like cheap Halloween wig on the show. And the time they animated it, it looked equally bad.
The look of the show isn’t the only problem. The script is clunky and ham-handed in pacing, plot, and dialogue. I’m not sure how well it plays to those who don’t read the comics or watch Agents of SHIELD. The royal family also leaves something to be desired. The actor who plays Black Bolt looked like he was IQ-impaired in many of the shots. If you are going to play a character who can’t speak, you need to emote convincingly with your face. That didn’t quite happen. Oh, and when Maximus captures Medusa and shears off her hair, she just sat there and let it happen. She’s a queen, and the only fight she put up was to say, “If you do this to me, I’ll never forgive you.”
Not impressed.
If there were points of light, they would have to be Iawn KKKK’s performance as Maximus, Black Bolt’s treasonous brother and, well, Lockjaw. Because he’s awesome. And clearly an expensive CGI addition that they’ve literally knocked out for the moment.
###
However, the good news on the superhero front is that Fox’s The Gifted was pretty good. It had the obligatory Stan Lee cameo, loads of action, and interesting layers of conflict for the various characters and the world. If there’s a criticism it’s that there isn’t much new in terms of X-Men tropes and narrative, but it was totally more watchable and enjoyable than Inhumans. Also, there were a lot of characters to introduce in an hour-long show.
The mutants seem likeable enough, and their persecution gives us an emotional connection to them. The shadowy government agency is properly menacing. I liked their little deathbots quite a lot. I’m quite interested in seeing how their mutant prosecutor father is going to change now that his family are the “enemy.”
What makes it bad? Well, the costumes and sets have a bargain basement look to them, as do a lot of the make-up effects. The Inhumans who appear on Agents of SHIELD look WAY better than any on the new series thusfar. Let’s not even discuss Medusa’s hair, which is a glory on the page and looks like cheap Halloween wig on the show. And the time they animated it, it looked equally bad.
The look of the show isn’t the only problem. The script is clunky and ham-handed in pacing, plot, and dialogue. I’m not sure how well it plays to those who don’t read the comics or watch Agents of SHIELD. The royal family also leaves something to be desired. The actor who plays Black Bolt looked like he was IQ-impaired in many of the shots. If you are going to play a character who can’t speak, you need to emote convincingly with your face. That didn’t quite happen. Oh, and when Maximus captures Medusa and shears off her hair, she just sat there and let it happen. She’s a queen, and the only fight she put up was to say, “If you do this to me, I’ll never forgive you.”
Not impressed.
If there were points of light, they would have to be Iawn KKKK’s performance as Maximus, Black Bolt’s treasonous brother and, well, Lockjaw. Because he’s awesome. And clearly an expensive CGI addition that they’ve literally knocked out for the moment.
However, the good news on the superhero front is that Fox’s The Gifted was pretty good. It had the obligatory Stan Lee cameo, loads of action, and interesting layers of conflict for the various characters and the world. If there’s a criticism it’s that there isn’t much new in terms of X-Men tropes and narrative, but it was totally more watchable and enjoyable than Inhumans. Also, there were a lot of characters to introduce in an hour-long show.
The mutants seem likeable enough, and their persecution gives us an emotional connection to them. The shadowy government agency is properly menacing. I liked their little deathbots quite a lot. I’m quite interested in seeing how their mutant prosecutor father is going to change now that his family are the “enemy.”