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vorlonspy
Reviews
Criminal Minds: True Night (2007)
Derivative but with an agenda
Reading the other reviews, some mention graphic novels, Frank Miller and Sin City (film). Yet none mention that this is basically The Crow: Guy is forced to watch his girlfriend being killed in front of him by a gang and visits bloody retribution upon them. For sure, Eric Draven is already dead, but that's the only difference between him and Johnny, both are unstoppable, highly efficient killers working their way to to the "kingpin", complete with taking on the entirety of those still alive in one go and saving the leader for last (who is killed elsewhere), whilst only sustaining minor flesh wounds.
It could also be framed as a "what if?" What if Jamie O'Barr had also gone on a vigilante spree against drink drivers as well as trying to find catharsis for his personal tragedy by writing about it?
Mixing in Frank Miller style artwork (excellently executed), Sin City styled retribution scenes with Fluke's "Atom Bomb" as the soundtrack (again, excellently executed) is an attempt to bring an audience of police procedurals into a world they are not that likely to have had much exposure to: the world of the classic graphic novel.
Since this episode first aired, there has been a huge increase in popularity for what was previously considered niche: the Marvel Cinematic Universe films and TV shows, DC's not quite so successful forays (including Watchmen, V for Vendetta and Batman, Superman, etc.), Lucifer and most recently The Sandman. That this episode back then decided to break the mould of the usual "there's some killer out there, let's do some analysis, fly in a Learjet, catch them and be back in time for corn flakes" which did get a bit repetitive, is to be lauded. It's a pity there weren't more episodes taking such a bold tack.