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Reviews
Black Scorpion (2001)
Delicious trash.
Wow, this is the worst. That's why it's the best. But also the worst.
Imagine if someone took Schumacher's silly goof Batman, mixed it with Burton's darker Batman, then made it the worst and sprinkled sexism over it.
"Eat my shorts!" intimidates Black Scorpion's enemy.
"That goes double for me!" adds his buddy.
Like, REALLY dumb dialog and writing. It's super cheesy and very self-aware. Which makes it the worst. But also the best. And it's actually good at wrecking and exploding cop cars.
I appreciate that Prime tends to scrape those libraries clean and bring out this weird obscure stuff that would've otherwise been lost at the bottom of a barrel in some giant digital warehouse for all eternity.
Most of it is probably garbage, but this right here is an uncut cult classic trash gem.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024)
Not what I expected, and more interesting for it.
If you're coming into this expecting it to be like the 2005 movie, you'll be surprised, possibly positively so.
Similarities are contained to the base of a spy-themed action comedy about a married couple. But this is notably less carefree lighthearted fun, more grounded, serious with relatively sparse action, and comedy that verges more towards the dark.
But mainly, it has a notable relationship dramedy core. It kind of uses the shell of the JolPitt movie as a Trojan horse to do something different, its own, more distinct and interesting.
It's deliberately paced, takes its time, which may not be to everyone's taste as this at times perhaps can make it feel somewhat lethargic to some, but also gives it a pleasantly sedate vibe, time to breathe and settle into a more calming flow and allows it to expand on minute details, which gives it a distinct feel and personality I think.
Something that feels like it would absolutely not work at all without the two leads and their chemistry. Glover and Erskine are both great and work well together, providing an emotional and comedic core that pretty much drives the whole show.
Twisted Metal (2023)
Pretty fun ride
Better than a show based on a game like Twisted Metal has any business being. The Twisted Metal I'm familiar with is 2, which while featuring a fun over the top villain in Calypso, doesn't have a whole lot else going on, as it like with most of David Jaffe's stuff, is basically about realizing the ideas you thought were cool as a 14 year old.
So while you can certainly tell it's based on Twisted Metal, this show is mostly its own, focuses on the exaggerated characters and the comedic, goofy stuff, brings that to the forefront and is quite successful for it. It's often actually funny. Reminds me a little of Peacemaker.
The Rookie (2018)
High plateau with some valleys
I don't watch a lot of copaganda, but when I do, I make sure it's got Nathan Fillion in it. I don't know how creatively involved he gets exactly, but he has a tendency to find himself in projects that have a certain easygoing feel to them. I suspect he at least has control over his own character, which does gradually feel noticeably implausibly apt at everything and in the right all the time, but it's still nice when characters are nice. It's a generally well-produced and written show, but the characters is basically the main thing it does right. They're good.
That's why it's such a shame that two characters end up departing the show prematurely. Both the circumstances around the actors leaving, and how the characters were written out is just bad. From what I read, one left over alleged abuse not being satisfactorily addressed, one basically because they felt they/their character couldn't keep representing a cop in a climate where cops are murdering black people, without that racial aspect being addressed further. They just suddenly and unceremoniously disappear.
Around season 3 it starts painting outside the rigidly detached copwork stuff and gets more serious about incorporating aspects that ground it more to reality, making it feel more involved by adding a layer of complexity surrounding the nature and impact of the police system. I think it does well at both.
There have been ups and downs. Some episodes are better than others. Sometimes there's filler or stuff that doesn't really work, or it kind of dabbles in something and then drops it. In general it does tend to want to move on to the next thing, not linger, as while there are serious elements to it, it does mainly strive to be breezy and entertaining.
Overall it's a solid show that's sufficiently engaging for me to have kept watching through 50+ episodes so far. Or three seasons. American seasons are sooooo long.