If there's anything the world needs more of right now it's adaptations of comic books. Why, there are barely any films or TV shows being made nowadays that are based on the adventures of people from Super-Hero Land.
And so it is that, to fill this massive gap in the market, this September, ABC and Marvel are going to be giving us their TV version of The Inhumans.
As we all know, Marvel have been keen to make the Inhumans a thing for some time now, in an attempt to make them fit the hole created by the rights to the X-Men belonging to Fox. For the last couple of seasons, they've shoe-horned the concept into the Agents of SHIELD show, which is obviously a great idea, as so many people watch Agents of SHIELD.
This in mind, can the new show possibly replicate the success of Fox's X-Franchise?
I have to say that looks very very dull, with nothing at all in it that would make me want to watch it.
An obvious failing is that it presents us with nothing that even vaguely resembles characterisation from its cast. Only one character - who I assume is Maximus the Mad - even gets anything to say, while everyone else just sort of stands around.
This is possibly not a surprise. Admittedly, I don't know what the Inhumans are like in their comic book form these days but, back when I used to read their adventures, they basically had no personalities at all and were just a bunch of super-powers on legs. In fairness, the trailer gives the impression that that policy's been adhered to. I also have to say that, while I'm no expert on acting, the bloke playing Maximus doesn't strike me as being the greatest thespian that money can buy.
I've also seen criticism of the CGI and it doesn't exactly look epic but, let's face it, no one with any sense watches a drama for the CGI, so I don't care about that.
On the plus side, Crystal has the black, bandy, circle thing going on with her hair.
On the negative side, Medusa's hair seems to have no life in it whatsoever.
Come to think of it, do we even get to see any of the Inhumans, apart from Black Bolt and Lockjaw, use their powers?
So, having seen the trailer, I do fear the worst.
But who knows? Perhaps, in a groundbreaking move, they've brilliantly left out the good bits in order to surprise us all when it's finally broadcast. Only time and the Terrigen Mists will tell...
Yawn. Agreed and seconded. Plus, you really need someone with presence and dignity to play Black Bolt - I know it's just a TV show but I can already tell this guy ain't got it from the trailer.
ReplyDeleteIt really is asking a lot of themselves to build a show around a character who never speaks. I suppose it's not impossible to pull off but it's a serious challenge.
ReplyDeleteYawn indeed - seems like fairly standard tv drama.
ReplyDeleteWheres the bonkers ancient-to-the-future science fiction, the visionary Kirbymania?
-sean
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteI thought Fox had the rights to video Fantastic Four and that is why Marvel killed the FF comic book b/c Fox won't play nice with Marvel?
Unlike Sony, who I thought had the rights to the Xmen, but was willing to allow Marvel to craft the story to their liking so as to complement the comic book?
B.t.w. Frank Robbins was OK to me for the INvaders b/c they were a throw-back to WW2 and a lot of the comics from WW2 had scratchy art. However, I almost wept when he took over the Shadow after Kaluta and the Cap after Buscema and others (like I wept Heck after COlan on Cpt Marvel and on DD).
Yeah - I know Shadow was set in the 30s but after Kaluta... no way. (I know, you are probably sayin how I could put up with RObbins then on the INvaders after Kirby covers and other greats touched the series. I don't know... just me.)
I agree with Pete...why the heck didn't they get an older, experienced actor with some character and gravitas to play Black Bolt. This thing looks like a bunch of teenagers.
ReplyDelete90120 on the moon. You wouldn't get Justin Bieber to play Batman, would ya?
No. No you wouldn't.
That guy who appears to be playing Maximus is a good actor, though. He was that guy who liked torturing people on Game of Thrones. On a show where everybody is killing somebody his character was over the top. He ended up getting eaten alive by some starving dogs. Good actor. He played that scene well.
M.P.
I definately would not be writting the cast off.
ReplyDeleteIwan Rheon (Maximus) has experience playing supers from the first 3 seasons of Channel 4s Misfits. And was chew up the scenery good in Game of Thrones. (Anyone who watched it will never forget the sausage eating scene after Alfie Allens castration...)
Anton Mount (Black Bolt) is not some little kid. He's in his 40s. He has just finished 5 seasons of Hell on Wheels (buried on a random movie channel in the UK which meant it was overlooked over here). He can play the grizzled leader character.
Of the others Serinda Swan stands out as Medusa. She has had a few lead roles in series before. I assume they are saving the hair reveal for later. A TV show won't have the budget to CGI it in every scene.
I think the trailer is a bit lackluster. But I'll give it a shot. AoS had an awful 1st season but the last series was some of the best TV going.
Charlie, I believe that that is indeed what happened with the Fantastic Four.
ReplyDeleteAggy, The most recent season of Agents of SHIELD was indeed massively better than the previous ones.
Sean and MP, all we can do is hope that the show's better than the trailer suggests.
It is a huge shame the Inhumans didn't get their own big budget movie. Their partial isolation from the rest of the Marvel universe would be a great opportunity to see some full-on Kirby Kraziness up on the big screen.
ReplyDeleteCharlie, Steve - Lack of control over the film rights never stopped Marvel from publishing plenty of X-Men comics, so I'm sceptical thats the reason the Fantastic Four got cancelled.
ReplyDeleteThe FF hadn't been any good for ages, and no one was buying it. Surely that's a far more likely explanation?
-sean
Sean, the prevalent theory seems to be that Fox only make Fantastic Four movies to prevent the rights from reverting to Marvel/Disney and that Marvel's response has been to scrap the comic in order to not do anything that could possibly help promote interest in the movies. How much truth there is in any of this, I couldn't say.
ReplyDeleteTimothy, I fear you're right that only a movie could have the money to do the Inhumans properly. I saw a reaction video to the trailer last night which pointed out that all the Inhumans in the crowd scenes just look like normal people because the show clearly doesn't have the budget for the prosthetics needed to make them look like Inhumans.
That's what they want you to think, Steve.
ReplyDeleteI like a good conspiracy theory as much as anyone else - when it comes to Marvel, you have too look behind the comics...
www.comicsbeat.com/now-we-have-more-pictures-of-ike-perlmutter-than-we-ever-wanted
-sean
Aggy, i'll still be watching it, and hope to be proven wrong. I don't think Black Bolt necessarily needs to be played by an older actor ( in fact the guy looks like Neal Adams' version, which is nice ), and it's massively unfair to judge somebody's performance on a trailer, but right now I'm not 'feelin' it' ( as the kids say ).
ReplyDeleteWhile we're talking, I thought the latest series' of Agents Of SHIELD, Arrow and The Flash were all really dull, dragged out, and glacial in terms of the through plot, and eventually took a break from all of them ( and am in no real hurry to try them again ).
I'm in no way getting superhero TV / movie fatigue, and am still excited to see every one, but equally I'm not going to stick with something that isn't grabbing me, just because it's one of my favourite characters on the screen.