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Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated Dredd (2012) in Movies
Oct 2, 2019 (Updated Oct 2, 2019)
Welcome to peach trees
Welcome to Mega-City One, a self contained city, with over 400 million citizens where the only law enforcers are the Judge's who are Judge, Jury & executioner. Filled with mega-structures.
Peach Trees is a 200 Floor mega-structure housing tower, the block is home to more than 75,000 citizens & is Notorious for its crime rate.
Whilst investigating a homicide with rookie Judge with a powerful psychic ability legendary Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) becomes the Target of a vicious and violent Hunt by the Ma-Ma clan when she put the tower into Lockdown!
Karl Urban's portrayal of the comic book Legend and his decision to remain faithful to the character made this movie one not to miss and although the box office was not as successful as it should have been, it has become a cult Hit with audiences all over the world.
Dredd is dark, gritty, well thought out, with a great plot fantastic action and gave us a dredd who doesn't remove his helmet.
Highly recommended.
Peach Trees is a 200 Floor mega-structure housing tower, the block is home to more than 75,000 citizens & is Notorious for its crime rate.
Whilst investigating a homicide with rookie Judge with a powerful psychic ability legendary Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) becomes the Target of a vicious and violent Hunt by the Ma-Ma clan when she put the tower into Lockdown!
Karl Urban's portrayal of the comic book Legend and his decision to remain faithful to the character made this movie one not to miss and although the box office was not as successful as it should have been, it has become a cult Hit with audiences all over the world.
Dredd is dark, gritty, well thought out, with a great plot fantastic action and gave us a dredd who doesn't remove his helmet.
Highly recommended.
Nickg24 (492 KP) rated The Boys - Season 1 in TV
Jul 28, 2019
What can I say about this incredible tv show.Based on the comic book series this series does not hold back on the violence and language (dont think I've ever seen the C word used so much in a TV show) and other extreme stuff that you would never associate with superheroes.
I wont give much away because people may still be watching it or havent started it yet but it's one hell of show that everybody needs to see.
I wont give much away because people may still be watching it or havent started it yet but it's one hell of show that everybody needs to see.
The Boys is adrenaline fueled "shock" TV at its best. It is begging you to watch it, even if it sometimes makes it hard to watch. But what makes The Boys work so well is under all the drugs, sex and violence, it has a lot to say.
The show follows Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) as he recruits a team of people who have bern wronged by Superheroes. In The Boys universe, the superheroes tend to not care so much about callateral damage, and honestly, most of them are douchebags (think Captain Hammer from Dr Horrible's evil singalong blog) .
As we learn more about their word the show not only becomes an obvious satire on superhero culture, but the our society as a hole. The religion episode, is one that really stands out as not being afraid to take shots.
The effects, mostly work pretty well, and nothing was bad enough to take me out of the escapeism. The acting is a bit all over the place, but Karl Urban really commands the screen.
It should be said that this is not for everyone. It is one of the mist graphic (non horror) things I have ever seen, and if you're not used to it you may find yourself checking out early. If you can handle the violence, it's worth it
The show follows Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) as he recruits a team of people who have bern wronged by Superheroes. In The Boys universe, the superheroes tend to not care so much about callateral damage, and honestly, most of them are douchebags (think Captain Hammer from Dr Horrible's evil singalong blog) .
As we learn more about their word the show not only becomes an obvious satire on superhero culture, but the our society as a hole. The religion episode, is one that really stands out as not being afraid to take shots.
The effects, mostly work pretty well, and nothing was bad enough to take me out of the escapeism. The acting is a bit all over the place, but Karl Urban really commands the screen.
It should be said that this is not for everyone. It is one of the mist graphic (non horror) things I have ever seen, and if you're not used to it you may find yourself checking out early. If you can handle the violence, it's worth it
Sarah (7799 KP) rated Ghost Ship (2002) in Movies
Oct 26, 2019
Better than expected
I feel like Ghost Ship is a rather underrated horror film. It may be a little dated now and it definitely shows it in the special effects, but it’s a lot more enjoyable than current modern horrors. It starts off with a bang, and continues with a lot of gore throughout the film. It isn’t the scariest of films which is a shame, but at least it doesn’t rely on cheesy jump scares. It’s got a great cast, and I hadn’t realised Karl Urban was in this which was a nice surprised. The characters may be slightly underdeveloped and there are some characters that come to rather unsatisfying ends, but I found that the twist ending more than makes up for some of these short comings. Whatever you think this film might be, I’d be surprised if you could predict how it turns out. It reminds me a little of Event Horizon at sea, and if it had been a little creepier and satisfying, it’d actually be a very good film.
A refreshing take on superheroes
I’ve never read the comics, so took a punt on this as it’s been recommended by a few of my friends, and i absolutely loved it.
It’s the perfect antidote to the homely, suitable for kids superhero films like Marvel that bombard our screens every year. Instead The Boys is rude, crude, dark and downright hilarious at times. It’s full of blood and gore too that you’d never find anywhere near any Marvel films. There’s something beyond refreshing watching a show with superheroes behaving badly like villains, and the take on superheroes being owned and represented by a massive corporation is rather brilliant. You can almost imagine that this is how superheroes would turn out if they lived in today’s society.
This has a great cast too, and there are some wonderful performances in this. I adore Karl Urban and he’s good in this, although I feel like he’s let down a little by the fact that they’ve made him a cliched cockney. Antony Starr is seriously creepy and yet charming as Homelander, and he was great to watch. Although my favourite had to be Chace Crawford as The Deep. I feel like he was a little under-utilised in the main plot, but he provided some of the funniest scenes in the entire series and I really wanted to see more of him.
The ending was good and a nice reveal, although I wanted more and felt like it ended maybe a little too abruptly. Aside from Karl Urban’s English accent, the superhero names grate a little after a while because they are super cheesy and cringey (which I’m assuming they’re meant to be). And I felt like the character of Black Noir was a complete mystery and whilst this may be intentional, I do there has been a little bit more of him.
Aside from these little niggles though, this is a refreshingly entertaining series. So much so I’d love to watch a second series, like now.
It’s the perfect antidote to the homely, suitable for kids superhero films like Marvel that bombard our screens every year. Instead The Boys is rude, crude, dark and downright hilarious at times. It’s full of blood and gore too that you’d never find anywhere near any Marvel films. There’s something beyond refreshing watching a show with superheroes behaving badly like villains, and the take on superheroes being owned and represented by a massive corporation is rather brilliant. You can almost imagine that this is how superheroes would turn out if they lived in today’s society.
This has a great cast too, and there are some wonderful performances in this. I adore Karl Urban and he’s good in this, although I feel like he’s let down a little by the fact that they’ve made him a cliched cockney. Antony Starr is seriously creepy and yet charming as Homelander, and he was great to watch. Although my favourite had to be Chace Crawford as The Deep. I feel like he was a little under-utilised in the main plot, but he provided some of the funniest scenes in the entire series and I really wanted to see more of him.
The ending was good and a nice reveal, although I wanted more and felt like it ended maybe a little too abruptly. Aside from Karl Urban’s English accent, the superhero names grate a little after a while because they are super cheesy and cringey (which I’m assuming they’re meant to be). And I felt like the character of Black Noir was a complete mystery and whilst this may be intentional, I do there has been a little bit more of him.
Aside from these little niggles though, this is a refreshingly entertaining series. So much so I’d love to watch a second series, like now.
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Highwayman in Books
May 16, 2018
It's a bit hard for me to really talk about how I felt while reading Highwayman by Craig Saunders. To some extent, I feel that I may not know as much about old lore and mythology as I thought I did - and that's definitely a possibility. The concept behind the book is intriguing, but there are many elements of Saunders story that failed to satisfy me.
In the wake of a plane crash, Karl Goodman finds himself in-between life and death - a sort of limbo that I felt was reminiscent of an episode of Supernatural where Castiel and Dean are fighting vampires in purgatory. I say this largely because of the whole Fog-World/forest atmosphere. In this surreal world, a murderer from centuries past is able to cross the lines between the worlds of the living and dead to continue visiting his reign of horror upon unsuspecting individuals. Guided by the Deans, who appear to be a set of reapers, for lack of a better term (or maybe ferrymen), and a young, comatose girl named Imke, Karl finds himself seeking out this murderous highwayman so that he can exact revenge for his daughter's death.
While I have a strong love for the supernatural and paranormal, I couldn't help but find myself confused more often than not by several aspects of the story. I am, admittedly, ignorant of the White Hart and the Green Man, but I like to think I'm a bit more versed in the many varieties of spooks. In fact, Saunders portrayal of a barrow-wight did not stray unreasonably far from its native draugr. What does baffle me though is how Saunders introduces these supernatural elements into his book. When I received Highwayman, I was expecting something dark and macabre that dealt with... well, with highwaymen. The main villain of the tale is precisely that, but the book itself is largely a ghost story. That isn't necessarily a problem, but it simply did not sit very well with me.
To further complicate the telling of the story, there are far too many differing points of view - five or six, total. (I can't remember if there was a part told from Mr. Dean's perspective.) This makes it hard to keep track of the passage of time, and whether or not that is intentional, I found it bothersome. For instance, at one point Bethany, Karl's wife, does something. Then, for several chapters, the story does not return to her. In fact, the disparity between returning to her point of view was so great that I actually thought that Saunders had forgotten about her.
One of the other issues that bothered me was the circumstances of Karl and Bethany's daughter's death. At first it is explained as a drowning, but then later we learn it was not. Apparently her murder was so horrid that Karl conveniently blocked the tragedy from his mind with a far more "rational" explanation, and to me this felt more like slapping a bandaid on a forgotten plot element than something that was done naturally.
At no point during my reading of this book did I feel any sort of emotion or attachment to any of the characters, and I found that to be extremely disappointing. The cast of Highwayman are not, in any way, extraordinary (well, not depth wise), and that made it harder for me to get into the book.
Overall, I didn't care much for Highwayman; however I will not let that discourage me from reading more of Saunders' work in the future. As part of the DarkFuse Reader's Group, I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank DarkFuse, Craig Saunders, and NetGalley for this opportunity.
In the wake of a plane crash, Karl Goodman finds himself in-between life and death - a sort of limbo that I felt was reminiscent of an episode of Supernatural where Castiel and Dean are fighting vampires in purgatory. I say this largely because of the whole Fog-World/forest atmosphere. In this surreal world, a murderer from centuries past is able to cross the lines between the worlds of the living and dead to continue visiting his reign of horror upon unsuspecting individuals. Guided by the Deans, who appear to be a set of reapers, for lack of a better term (or maybe ferrymen), and a young, comatose girl named Imke, Karl finds himself seeking out this murderous highwayman so that he can exact revenge for his daughter's death.
While I have a strong love for the supernatural and paranormal, I couldn't help but find myself confused more often than not by several aspects of the story. I am, admittedly, ignorant of the White Hart and the Green Man, but I like to think I'm a bit more versed in the many varieties of spooks. In fact, Saunders portrayal of a barrow-wight did not stray unreasonably far from its native draugr. What does baffle me though is how Saunders introduces these supernatural elements into his book. When I received Highwayman, I was expecting something dark and macabre that dealt with... well, with highwaymen. The main villain of the tale is precisely that, but the book itself is largely a ghost story. That isn't necessarily a problem, but it simply did not sit very well with me.
To further complicate the telling of the story, there are far too many differing points of view - five or six, total. (I can't remember if there was a part told from Mr. Dean's perspective.) This makes it hard to keep track of the passage of time, and whether or not that is intentional, I found it bothersome. For instance, at one point Bethany, Karl's wife, does something. Then, for several chapters, the story does not return to her. In fact, the disparity between returning to her point of view was so great that I actually thought that Saunders had forgotten about her.
One of the other issues that bothered me was the circumstances of Karl and Bethany's daughter's death. At first it is explained as a drowning, but then later we learn it was not. Apparently her murder was so horrid that Karl conveniently blocked the tragedy from his mind with a far more "rational" explanation, and to me this felt more like slapping a bandaid on a forgotten plot element than something that was done naturally.
At no point during my reading of this book did I feel any sort of emotion or attachment to any of the characters, and I found that to be extremely disappointing. The cast of Highwayman are not, in any way, extraordinary (well, not depth wise), and that made it harder for me to get into the book.
Overall, I didn't care much for Highwayman; however I will not let that discourage me from reading more of Saunders' work in the future. As part of the DarkFuse Reader's Group, I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank DarkFuse, Craig Saunders, and NetGalley for this opportunity.
Sarah (7799 KP) rated The Boys - Season 1 in TV
Sep 21, 2020
A refreshing take on superheroes
Note: This is a copy of my review of the main series, as it was done solely on the basis of the first series.
I’ve never read the comics, so took a punt on this as it’s been recommended by a few of my friends, and i absolutely loved it.
It’s the perfect antidote to the homely, suitable for kids superhero films like Marvel that bombard our screens every year. Instead The Boys is rude, crude, dark and downright hilarious at times. It’s full of blood and gore too that you’d never find anywhere near any Marvel films. There’s something beyond refreshing watching a show with superheroes behaving badly like villains, and the take on superheroes being owned and represented by a massive corporation is rather brilliant. You can almost imagine that this is how superheroes would turn out if they lived in today’s society.
This has a great cast too, and there are some wonderful performances in this. I adore Karl Urban and he’s good in this, although I feel like he’s let down a little by the fact that they’ve made him a cliched cockney. Antony Starr is seriously creepy and yet charming as Homelander, and he was great to watch. Although my favourite had to be Chace Crawford as The Deep. I feel like he was a little under-utilised in the main plot, but he provided some of the funniest scenes in the entire series and I really wanted to see more of him.
The ending was good and a nice reveal, although I wanted more and felt like it ended maybe a little too abruptly. Aside from Karl Urban’s English accent, the superhero names grate a little after a while because they are super cheesy and cringey (which I’m assuming they’re meant to be). And I felt like the character of Black Noir was a complete mystery and whilst this may be intentional, I do there has been a little bit more of him.
Aside from these little niggles though, this is a refreshingly entertaining series. So much so I’d love to watch a second series, like now.
I’ve never read the comics, so took a punt on this as it’s been recommended by a few of my friends, and i absolutely loved it.
It’s the perfect antidote to the homely, suitable for kids superhero films like Marvel that bombard our screens every year. Instead The Boys is rude, crude, dark and downright hilarious at times. It’s full of blood and gore too that you’d never find anywhere near any Marvel films. There’s something beyond refreshing watching a show with superheroes behaving badly like villains, and the take on superheroes being owned and represented by a massive corporation is rather brilliant. You can almost imagine that this is how superheroes would turn out if they lived in today’s society.
This has a great cast too, and there are some wonderful performances in this. I adore Karl Urban and he’s good in this, although I feel like he’s let down a little by the fact that they’ve made him a cliched cockney. Antony Starr is seriously creepy and yet charming as Homelander, and he was great to watch. Although my favourite had to be Chace Crawford as The Deep. I feel like he was a little under-utilised in the main plot, but he provided some of the funniest scenes in the entire series and I really wanted to see more of him.
The ending was good and a nice reveal, although I wanted more and felt like it ended maybe a little too abruptly. Aside from Karl Urban’s English accent, the superhero names grate a little after a while because they are super cheesy and cringey (which I’m assuming they’re meant to be). And I felt like the character of Black Noir was a complete mystery and whilst this may be intentional, I do there has been a little bit more of him.
Aside from these little niggles though, this is a refreshingly entertaining series. So much so I’d love to watch a second series, like now.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated All the fiends of hell in Books
Feb 13, 2024
27 of 220
Book
all the fiends of hell
By Adam L.G. Nevill
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The red night of bells heralds global catastrophe. Annihilation on a biblical scale.
Seeing the morning is no blessing. The handful of scattered survivors are confronted by blood-red skies and an infestation of predatory horrors that never originated on earth. An occupying force intent on erasing the remnants of animal life from the planet.
Across the deserted landscapes of England, bereft of infrastructure and society, the overlooked can either hide or try to outrun the infernal hunting terrors. Until a rumour emerges claiming that the sea may offer an escape.
Ordinary, unexceptional, directionless Karl, is one of the few who made it through the first night. In the company of two orphans, he flees south. But only into horrifying revelations and greater peril, where a transformed world and expanding race of ravening creatures await. Driven to the end of the country and himself, he must overcome alien and human malevolence and act in ways that were unthinkable mere days before.
I did not put this down! Another brilliant novel from the mind of Adam Nevill. I was on edge the whole time completely invested in the story and the characters. This brought about one of those situations I think we have all thought about and how we would survive. Your heart is fully pumping constantly at the thought of these creatures. Absolutely brilliant!!! I’ll certainly be concerned next time I see the sky red!
Book
all the fiends of hell
By Adam L.G. Nevill
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The red night of bells heralds global catastrophe. Annihilation on a biblical scale.
Seeing the morning is no blessing. The handful of scattered survivors are confronted by blood-red skies and an infestation of predatory horrors that never originated on earth. An occupying force intent on erasing the remnants of animal life from the planet.
Across the deserted landscapes of England, bereft of infrastructure and society, the overlooked can either hide or try to outrun the infernal hunting terrors. Until a rumour emerges claiming that the sea may offer an escape.
Ordinary, unexceptional, directionless Karl, is one of the few who made it through the first night. In the company of two orphans, he flees south. But only into horrifying revelations and greater peril, where a transformed world and expanding race of ravening creatures await. Driven to the end of the country and himself, he must overcome alien and human malevolence and act in ways that were unthinkable mere days before.
I did not put this down! Another brilliant novel from the mind of Adam Nevill. I was on edge the whole time completely invested in the story and the characters. This brought about one of those situations I think we have all thought about and how we would survive. Your heart is fully pumping constantly at the thought of these creatures. Absolutely brilliant!!! I’ll certainly be concerned next time I see the sky red!
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Thor: Ragnarok (2017) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
Guaranteeing a “safe passage through the anus”!
I’m neither a Marvel fan, nor (in particular) a Thor fan….. but I have to admit “Thor: Ragnarok” was brilliant from beginning to end.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has been travelling the universe in search of… stuff… (I neither remember nor care)… but returns to his home planet of Asgard with a dire warning of impending ‘Raganrok’: this being the ‘End of Days’ for Asgard. But he finds the court engaged in serious leisure time!
ragnarok4
“Shave and a hair cut… two stripes”
Things go from bad to worse when Hela (Cate Blanchett, “Carol“) – someone with more than a passing relationship to Thor – arrives with a mission to assume the throne. Teamed uncomfortably with half-brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston, “High Rise”), the brothers get cast millions of light years away to a planet lorded over by a ‘grand master’ (a lovely performance, that I will leave anonymous here) who pits new gladiators in an arena against his latest champion. You’ll never guess who his champion is? Well, OK (cos the trailer gives it away)… he’s big and green!
ragnarok2
The grand master’s champion. Opponents are green with envy.
The film’s script is hilarious. It generates an enormous volume of entertainment with laugh-out loud moments throughout; the unforseen involvement of other Marvel characters; some startling cameos all mixed with the usual brand of spectacular fights and action. Some of the action is surprising: a real eye-opener you might say.
ragnarok3
Tessa Thompson as the Valkyrie in full flight.
The lead cast (Hemsworth, Hiddleston, Blanchett and Ruffalo) all perform admirably and are joined by heavyweight cameos from Anthony Hopkins (“Westworld”) and Idris Elba (“Bastille Day“) reprising their roles from “Thor: The Dark World”. Particularly impressive is Tessa Thompson (“Creed“) as Thor’s Valkyrie warrior side-kick and Karl Urban (“Star Trek: Into Darkness“) as the turn-coat Asgardian Skurge.
ragnarok5
The real McCoy. Karl Urban as the Skurge of Asgard.
Directed by young New Zealander Taika Waititi (behind last year’s successful indie hit “Hunt for the Wilderpeople”) it’s a breath of fresh air for the Thor franchise, more similar to the style of “Guardians of the Galaxy” rather than the previous films in the series. Waititi also saves all the best comedy lines for himself as the ‘rock warrior’ character Korg: his New Zealand twang delivering just side-splitting dialogue.
Hela (Cate Blanchett)
Hela may be a super-villain, but she still hasn’t learned to hold a hammer by the right end.
As with most Marvel films, its a little bit flabby in places, running to 130 minutes: some of the dialogue, particularly scenes between Hemsworth and Ruffalo, feel like they needed tightening up in the editing suite. This time of course includes the scrolling of endless teams of visual effect artists in the closing titles which – naturally – 90% of the audience stay for to see if there are any “monkeys“. In fact,there are two: one fairly early on; the other right at the end. (To be honest, I thought neither of them was particularly worth waiting for).
However overall the movie is highly recommended for a fun night out at the cinema.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has been travelling the universe in search of… stuff… (I neither remember nor care)… but returns to his home planet of Asgard with a dire warning of impending ‘Raganrok’: this being the ‘End of Days’ for Asgard. But he finds the court engaged in serious leisure time!
ragnarok4
“Shave and a hair cut… two stripes”
Things go from bad to worse when Hela (Cate Blanchett, “Carol“) – someone with more than a passing relationship to Thor – arrives with a mission to assume the throne. Teamed uncomfortably with half-brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston, “High Rise”), the brothers get cast millions of light years away to a planet lorded over by a ‘grand master’ (a lovely performance, that I will leave anonymous here) who pits new gladiators in an arena against his latest champion. You’ll never guess who his champion is? Well, OK (cos the trailer gives it away)… he’s big and green!
ragnarok2
The grand master’s champion. Opponents are green with envy.
The film’s script is hilarious. It generates an enormous volume of entertainment with laugh-out loud moments throughout; the unforseen involvement of other Marvel characters; some startling cameos all mixed with the usual brand of spectacular fights and action. Some of the action is surprising: a real eye-opener you might say.
ragnarok3
Tessa Thompson as the Valkyrie in full flight.
The lead cast (Hemsworth, Hiddleston, Blanchett and Ruffalo) all perform admirably and are joined by heavyweight cameos from Anthony Hopkins (“Westworld”) and Idris Elba (“Bastille Day“) reprising their roles from “Thor: The Dark World”. Particularly impressive is Tessa Thompson (“Creed“) as Thor’s Valkyrie warrior side-kick and Karl Urban (“Star Trek: Into Darkness“) as the turn-coat Asgardian Skurge.
ragnarok5
The real McCoy. Karl Urban as the Skurge of Asgard.
Directed by young New Zealander Taika Waititi (behind last year’s successful indie hit “Hunt for the Wilderpeople”) it’s a breath of fresh air for the Thor franchise, more similar to the style of “Guardians of the Galaxy” rather than the previous films in the series. Waititi also saves all the best comedy lines for himself as the ‘rock warrior’ character Korg: his New Zealand twang delivering just side-splitting dialogue.
Hela (Cate Blanchett)
Hela may be a super-villain, but she still hasn’t learned to hold a hammer by the right end.
As with most Marvel films, its a little bit flabby in places, running to 130 minutes: some of the dialogue, particularly scenes between Hemsworth and Ruffalo, feel like they needed tightening up in the editing suite. This time of course includes the scrolling of endless teams of visual effect artists in the closing titles which – naturally – 90% of the audience stay for to see if there are any “monkeys“. In fact,there are two: one fairly early on; the other right at the end. (To be honest, I thought neither of them was particularly worth waiting for).
However overall the movie is highly recommended for a fun night out at the cinema.
Never meet your heroes is the succinct tag line of this Amazon original series, dealing with the notion that all superheroes are morally good… but what if they weren’t…?
Filmed in Canada, and starring New Zealand actors Karl Urban and American Gothic’s Antony Starr, this violent and very adult take on the costumed hero mythology is enough removed from standard American sensibilities to allow it to explore itself boldly and largely uncensored. It is definitely not a show for kids!
From the opening scenes it is evident that The Boys is not afraid to use gallons of blood and gore, nudity and colourful language to emphasise its point of a world corrupt, corporate and cruel, where the falacy of the powerful being there to protect you is shown up as pure money-spinning political and media manipulation.
We follow Jack Quaid’s naive victim Hughie Cambell, as he comes to realise the true nature of the self-centred and entirely flawed “heroes” that make up The Seven – an elite collection of super-powered “freaks”, led by Starr’s superbly vain and ego-maniachal Homelander; yet ultimately controlled by the Vought corporation and its unethical CEO Madelyn Stillwell, played with nervy relish by Elizabeth Shue.
There is Translucent, who can turn his skin invisible, but has to be naked to do so, and uses it largely to lurk in women’s bathrooms… The Deep, who can speak to sea creatures, but manifests a poisonous macho air, driven by massive insecurity… and A-Train, the world’s fastest man, who is a self-serving junkie with big issues.
Into the mix comes, the newest member of The Seven, Erin Moriaty, as Annie January, aka Starlight. Who may or may not have what it takes to join the ranks of well publicised fame, if she can turn a blind eye to the sinister workings of Vought and fit in.
Meanwhile, Hughie, looking for justice and perhaps revenge, meets Will Butcher (Urban), a man with a shady past, a terrible London accent (hilariously brought to attention whenever possible), and a reason to despise and hunt The Seven to extinction. The narrative progresses through this hunt, and the revelation of many secrets, into a cat and mouse game between the powerful “heroes” and the mere mortals determined to stop them.
Arch humour presides; nothing is handled with any sense of realism, favouring spectacle over believability. The tongue is firmly in cheek throughout, and the fun comes from the inventive ways the “Supes” use and misuse their powers, versus the resourcefulness of the essentially powerless methods employed by The Boys to chase them down and bring them to justice.
There are moments when the idea overshadows the actual script, for sure. Other times when the density of characters becomes confusing and unfocused. Without spoilers, it does all go in some very interesting directions, and by the end of episode 8 and the season finale it reaches a point suggesting a tactic many new shows seem to favour. Namely, to leaves things open enough, and on a cliff edge enough, to lead it anywhere it wants to go in a second series.
I have to admit, I wasn’t always comfortable with the tone of it… but, perhaps, that is the point. I did, however, find it very entertaining, fascinatingly post-modern and allegorical. As with many of the “Supes” it could have the ability to fly… but isn’t quite there yet!
Filmed in Canada, and starring New Zealand actors Karl Urban and American Gothic’s Antony Starr, this violent and very adult take on the costumed hero mythology is enough removed from standard American sensibilities to allow it to explore itself boldly and largely uncensored. It is definitely not a show for kids!
From the opening scenes it is evident that The Boys is not afraid to use gallons of blood and gore, nudity and colourful language to emphasise its point of a world corrupt, corporate and cruel, where the falacy of the powerful being there to protect you is shown up as pure money-spinning political and media manipulation.
We follow Jack Quaid’s naive victim Hughie Cambell, as he comes to realise the true nature of the self-centred and entirely flawed “heroes” that make up The Seven – an elite collection of super-powered “freaks”, led by Starr’s superbly vain and ego-maniachal Homelander; yet ultimately controlled by the Vought corporation and its unethical CEO Madelyn Stillwell, played with nervy relish by Elizabeth Shue.
There is Translucent, who can turn his skin invisible, but has to be naked to do so, and uses it largely to lurk in women’s bathrooms… The Deep, who can speak to sea creatures, but manifests a poisonous macho air, driven by massive insecurity… and A-Train, the world’s fastest man, who is a self-serving junkie with big issues.
Into the mix comes, the newest member of The Seven, Erin Moriaty, as Annie January, aka Starlight. Who may or may not have what it takes to join the ranks of well publicised fame, if she can turn a blind eye to the sinister workings of Vought and fit in.
Meanwhile, Hughie, looking for justice and perhaps revenge, meets Will Butcher (Urban), a man with a shady past, a terrible London accent (hilariously brought to attention whenever possible), and a reason to despise and hunt The Seven to extinction. The narrative progresses through this hunt, and the revelation of many secrets, into a cat and mouse game between the powerful “heroes” and the mere mortals determined to stop them.
Arch humour presides; nothing is handled with any sense of realism, favouring spectacle over believability. The tongue is firmly in cheek throughout, and the fun comes from the inventive ways the “Supes” use and misuse their powers, versus the resourcefulness of the essentially powerless methods employed by The Boys to chase them down and bring them to justice.
There are moments when the idea overshadows the actual script, for sure. Other times when the density of characters becomes confusing and unfocused. Without spoilers, it does all go in some very interesting directions, and by the end of episode 8 and the season finale it reaches a point suggesting a tactic many new shows seem to favour. Namely, to leaves things open enough, and on a cliff edge enough, to lead it anywhere it wants to go in a second series.
I have to admit, I wasn’t always comfortable with the tone of it… but, perhaps, that is the point. I did, however, find it very entertaining, fascinatingly post-modern and allegorical. As with many of the “Supes” it could have the ability to fly… but isn’t quite there yet!