Revolution (TV Series) Pilot (2012) User Reviews

The pilot of "Revolution" (2012) gets the high-concept sci-fi series off to a really good start

[ericrnolan · 8/10 · 14 February 2015]

— it's smart, interesting, and it's got a pretty original premise. (This is not a story about an electromagnetic pulse – the globe loses all electricity because of some other unexplained phenomenon.) I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

There's a nice amount of pathos and action, including a clever use of a bottle of liquor in the pilot. There's also some really good special effects depicting a post-apocalyptic world. (I can't tell what is CGI and what is a matte painting, but it all works.) The script is damned good, including an awesome surprise at the end that I never saw coming, but which makes perfect sense.

Two things worry me about the show's chances for success. One, the premise is interesting … for a miniseries. Or for one season of a television show. Or for maybe two seasons. After that, can we really remain interested in watching an agrarian society? Wouldn't it just basically be "Game of Thrones" with a few firearms thrown in and a lot of obsolete machines lying around?

Two, this is a character-centric "soft" science fiction show with an overarching mystery, obviously inspired by the success of "LOST.". Which is awesome. Except, since "LOST," shows like that rarely survive long on network television. "V" was deservedly short-lived, as was the superior "Flash-Forward." Yes, "The Walking Dead" is a big hit, but that's really more an episodic horror show, and it's free to do more things because it's not an a major network. For whatever reasons, programs like "Revolution" just don't seem to last very long.

By the way – if anyone recognizes the Dad, and can't remember where they know him from … the actor's name is Tim Guinee. He played the unfortunate hospital orderly in "Blade" (1998). That was bugging me like crazy until I looked it up.

No originality here.

[seweccentric · 1/10 · 18 September 2012]

Having read S.M. Sterling's Emberverse series, I was anticipating this premiere, in spite of it have no official connection to the series, the obvious similarities made me curious. Suffice to say, the premiere killed the curiosity...and I now know the only similarity to the Emberverse series is the underlying premise -- the lack of electricity.

The premiere did not make me want to watch another episode...because the writers haven't given us a reason to care about the characters. They wanted a Katniss Everdeen...they have a sulky brat brandishing a weapon that she can't reload fast enough to stay alive. They wanted mystery and intrigue regarding the original event...and so they borrowed from "Jericho"? There's nothing original here...I'll be very surprised if this lasts more than another couple episodes.

Where's Jericho when you need it?

[ctomvelu1 · 4/10 · 18 September 2012]

Jericho, anyone? How about The Postman? Or even Falling Skies? The electricity goes out all over the world. A few years later, those who have survived mostly live in small encampments, growing their own food and getting by as best they can. A few hardy souls still live in the cities, and there are bandits lurking everywhere. Unfortunately, and all too predictably, some tin horn general has set himself up as supreme commander of the U.S. and sends out waves of armed militiamen to enforce his wishes. Things heat up when a group of militia tracks down one of the folks who apparently was responsible for the loss of power. They kill him and take his son prisoner. A daughter is sent off to Chicago to track down her dad's brother, who for some reason may be able to help rescue the son. So what do we have in the pilot? A lesser Jericho, for one. Sets are minimal, so obviously NBC is not spending a lot on this possible series. The actors are a mixed bag, and the female lead is neither convincing nor particularly appealing. Anyhow, you've seen it all before. It's really tired stuff. Stick with Jericho reruns or watch The Postman again.

Awful

[findingdevotion · 1/10 · 18 September 2012]

To describe the premise as unrealistic would mean nothing as nobody should expect realism from what is essentially a post-apocalyptic sci-fi flick. Watching something like this should lead to "what-if" scenarios, help you identify with more or less complex characters that beg you to care for them. Making a series out of something like this would allow the writers to embed details that allow characters to grow and plots to capture the audience for at least a season. And much like it is with meeting a new person, the pilot of series is expected to offer a perspective of what is to come.

But we have none of that in "Revolution", which is a truly awful one at that.

The series would have us believe that a cataclysmic event left the world without electricity. This is fine, it is a bold premise that demands to know "how could this have happened", since it seems to defy any reason. The writers hint of a future answer and this is good.

What is bad? All that follows make no sense. We are given a 10-years after world, with decrepit ruins of the civilization.

Wait ... what, ruins? In my country we have blocks of flats that are over 50 years old and still stand strong without any maintenance whatsoever (sure, they look like crap, but they stand and are inhabited).

Next. Henchmen firing muskets? Why? You don't need complex technology to make bullets for the mechanical repeating rifles. They had those in the wild west before electricity. (FAQ on this is false: yes, making modern ammo is difficult without electric machinery but that doesn't equal revert to musket - in fact revert to musket poses huge problems because even if ammo can be anything, you need to first manufacture the weaponry as existing weapons have rifling bores, moreover to make simple rifle bullets you don't need the same process as the more modern ammo and they would still be compatible with a lot of modern guns).

Then. Can these characters be any less likable? A hot-headed teenager and her brother, a Justin Bieber-lookalike?

Halfway through the pilot I was truly hoping that at least the Bieber- double would die in agony and soon after came the simply horrible hotel fight where I saw the evil henchmen pause for almost an entire minute to give the wonder-soldier time to stare in disbelief at his teen niece. Almost a minute the brain-dead henchmen just stand there not taking a shot. Even in cheap C-movies they at least try to give something to do to the henchmen to give the good guy a break (eg: moan as they stand, pick themselves up, slow-motion take, etc), but not here!

And in the end we are fed the incredibly cheap cliffhanger of the doctor typing on a dismembered computer. Why dismembered, may I ask? If she simply didn't keep her old computer in one piece and was forced to build one from scrap, what exactly prevented her from finding/making a case too, just to keep those precious components that remind her of a more civilized time, safe?

Revolution Pilot

[tbmforclasstsar · 3/10 · 18 September 2012]

Maybe it's because I'm a sci-fi nerd. Or maybe it's because I'm spoiled by the beautiful complexity of Breaking Bad. But whatever it is, Revolution is Boring with a capital B. As weird as it sounds, it reminds me of 2011′s Green Lantern movie. There's a lot of talent behind the scenes, but in the end, there is nothing spectacular or interesting about it. Producer J.J. Abrams usually presents TV shows that involve a lot of "WTF?" moments as the show's intricate mystery unravels. Director Jon Favreau is usually able to bring forth exciting performances from his actors. Creator Eric Kripke is the man behind the much beloved Supernatural series. But if you didn't see their names in the credits, you'd never guess they were involved. Revolution is jam-packed with cliché characters, stilted dialog, and a premise that is surprisingly thin and uninteresting. Ugh, it only makes me angrier that Kings was canceled. Why do you hate good dramas, NBC? Let's start with the premise. Something mysterious causes all the power to go out in the world. All the power. Cell phones. Cars. TV remotes. Tickle-Me Elmos. All dead. Forever (OR SO IT SEEMS?). We jump fifteen years post-global blackout to find the survivors living in a court with farm animals. They do stuff like practice hunting and making herbal medicines, you know, post-apocalyptic stuff. Their world is essentially like life in the 1800s (gas lamps, horses, weird Southern drawls) except that there is formerly electricity-powered junk in the background (one thing I did learn was that a Prius makes an excellent flower bed). Militias run rampant, going after the simple folk who just want to get by in their surprisingly well stitched and amazingly preserved clothes. Governments are non-existent, cities are plant-covered death traps, and the Cubs won the World Series before the blackout hit. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world.

In this neighborhood, we meet Charlie, a girl who was only a wee lass when the blackout happened. She's all grown up now, and feisty as ever. Imagine a mix of Katniss Everdeen ("I like crossbows!") and Princess Ariel ("Dad, let me explore!"), except with zero personality, little to know real skills, and an attitude that makes you wish teenage girls ran on electricity so she wouldn't have to be around for this story. But alas, she is our protagonist, and we must follow her by-the-numbers Hero's Journey as she leaves for the far off land of Chicago (which it only takes them about a day to reach by foot) with her trusty fellowship of an over-weight bearded nerd (wait, I didn't know I was in this show?) and the doctor lady her dad was sexing just before he done got killed.

Oh yeah, Charlie's dad gets killed. Don't worry, it's not a spoiler because is doesn't really matter. Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito plays Captain Neville, a ruthless militia man working for the mysterious Sebastian Monroe. When he comes to take Charlie's dad to Monroe, Charlie's brother Danny raises his crossbow to ward off the bad guys, but ends up just inciting a shoot out which ends with him being kidnapped and his dad being dead.

To read the rest of the review (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/revolution-1-1-pilot/

Terrible Premise

[etdavenport · 1/10 · 17 September 2012]

I realize the media does not want to admit the fact that most of the US population owns guns and would never allow a despot to take them but even still, the premise is horrible.

If a post apocalyptic scenario ever came about, the vast majority of us ,a lot who are very well armed, would band together, remove any unlawful roving gangs very quickly and a somewhat normal life would return quite speedily. Everyone would be armed, and gun restrictions would suddenly be realized for how laughable and truly unreasonable they are. It wouldn't be weirdos with muskets and crossbows and despot like ambitions running the show...

I was waiting for this and I can hardly get through the season premier without laughing at their totally unrealistic premise.... Oh well...

Joke

[itripper · 2/10 · 20 December 2019]

Why are all the men weak stupid buffoons, and all the women portrayed as tough smart and extremely skilled fighters? I would have loved to see a realistic portrayel of a future without electricity, without pushing some pc agenda down my throat that goes against 1000s of years of humankind pre electricity. Where did all the guns and ammo go? There should be plenty still around, most Americans that have guns stockpile a decent amount of ammo, it is not that far in the future. In a real world scenario like this most of the big cities will kill themselves off while the rural areas will be just fine as they have food, weapons and good morals; basically what you see during a major blackout now, under cities go to chaos and rural areas are fine. What an utter disappointment this series is, what a great idea it could have been.