I just started watching the second episode, and I'm already hearing lines being repeated that were rehashed ad nauseam in the awful first episode. "He's not even close to being ready." For the fifth time at least. And it's just one of many sentiments that keep being regurgitated. You'll never live up to his legacy, you'll never be good enough, we live by a code, respect the code, that's not the code, you broke the code, blargh. No wonder the critics thought this one a stinker.
To be fair, the pilot episode picked up a little towards the end. That's why I'm giving it 4 stars even though it felt like a 2/10 for the first 30 minutes. Here's to hoping the show picks up the pace a little more and stops endlessly ruminating on the same shallow thoughts and simplistic moral problems. We've all read and heard them a thousand times before. I mean, this is not exactly unexplored territory. Everyone tries to copy Watchmen or Red Son these days. Even Millar tries to copy his own best work, and fails because he only shines when he gets to work with well-established characters. His own original characters are paper-thin with the personality of an unripe avocado.
Bottom line: In this golden age of TV, superhero shows have to do better. This feels more like 2015's "Powers" than The Boys, also in terms of acting and costume design (seriously, what's with these square angular muscle suits? Who thought the low-polygon look was a good idea?). Above all, you can't make this subject matter too dry and serious. It needs at least a little self-aware humor. Several recent shows have gotten the formula just right, from The Boys over WandaVision to Invincible. Maybe the producers ought to take note, even if it means deviating from the dry source material.
To be fair, the pilot episode picked up a little towards the end. That's why I'm giving it 4 stars even though it felt like a 2/10 for the first 30 minutes. Here's to hoping the show picks up the pace a little more and stops endlessly ruminating on the same shallow thoughts and simplistic moral problems. We've all read and heard them a thousand times before. I mean, this is not exactly unexplored territory. Everyone tries to copy Watchmen or Red Son these days. Even Millar tries to copy his own best work, and fails because he only shines when he gets to work with well-established characters. His own original characters are paper-thin with the personality of an unripe avocado.
Bottom line: In this golden age of TV, superhero shows have to do better. This feels more like 2015's "Powers" than The Boys, also in terms of acting and costume design (seriously, what's with these square angular muscle suits? Who thought the low-polygon look was a good idea?). Above all, you can't make this subject matter too dry and serious. It needs at least a little self-aware humor. Several recent shows have gotten the formula just right, from The Boys over WandaVision to Invincible. Maybe the producers ought to take note, even if it means deviating from the dry source material.