Change Your Image
eatingstaples
Reviews
Smallville: Checkmate (2010)
New director, new writer, but not a good change
This episode starts off with a very action-packed feel, leaving the viewer wondering what's going on. This is quickly killed with an over-use of slow motion and "witty" banter. Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman) is wearing a wig, although the reason is lost on me, because she is identified right away by people around her. She then proceeds to abuse the slow motion in a fight scene which can only be described as unnecessarily death-filled; practically half the characters in the scene are killed. The slo-mo is a good touch, but should be used much more sparingly, and only for moments that truly deserve it (as oppose to every kick, punch, and flip).
This episode features unnecessary "cool" action sequences with Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley) flipping off rooftops for no apparent reason, and one very annoying instance when Tess throws a knife at him: he bends over, picks up a book, and uses it to block the knife, rather than simply bending out of the way.
The extension of the Martian Manhunter's powers (Phil Morris) was well done, and not overused, although there is the scene where, rather than immediately destroying this cryptic blood sample, he walks around it until someone comes in. He then proceeds to talk to her, which would be fine for a human character, only that he is able to absorb thoughts and memories, which would have proved a much safer and more efficient method of getting the information he wanted.
A similar situation occurs later when Clark Kent (Tom Welling) bursts into a room as quickly as he can to save his friend from being shot, but before stopping the already-moving bullet, he punches every other occupant in the room (which would undoubtedly kill them).
These lapses in character intelligence are typical of Smallville, and of course, forgivable for the sake of tension & drama, but the final straw comes when the always proud, always cool, always intelligent Tess Mercer seems to break down for no apparent reason and begs Oliver's forgiveness, and tell him she's leaving Checkmate, the seemingly omniscient organization. Rather than having immediately fled and had reconstructive surgery and a new identity, she decides to hang back and talk to Oliver in a very public and wide-open space, where multiple people brush by her, any one of which could kill her.
All-in-all, although the episode itself was rather alien and disappointing, the director does seem to have potential, but the writing for this episode was really lacking.