Agents of SHIELD. ABC. Marvel.
The long awaited premiere of the spin off series from the Marvel movie premiered last night. The show promised thrills and a new look at the world the Marvel movies have created. Let's have a look if they managed to bring it.
The basic premise of the show is a team of hand picked individuals form a team to investigate and deal with strange incidents in the world post attack on New York shown the Avenger's movie. The team is lead by Phil Coulson from the marvel movies who is played once again played by Clark Gregg. Phil Coulson serves as the link to the movies to let the fans of the movies know the show is in the same universe.
There are plenty of nods to the film universe including characters like Phil Coulson and Maria Hill who were in Avenger's film showing up. Many people talk about the heroes from the films and even go as far to talk about the events of the final battle and the fall out from it. They even bring in the the Extremis treatment from Iron Man 3. The biggest selling point of this series is that it does connect to the movies and fans of the movies will want to see the connection to the films. Still all the nods aren't too distracting and fit well into the overall series.
The series just started so it's a little difficult to truly pin down all the characters and how they will fit in the series overall, still there are somethings we do know. Agents Leo Fitz and Agents Jemma Simmons are partners and form the science division of the team. Both Simmons and Fitz are highly intelligent and work so well together. The rapport between between them is really remarkable and how there character fit so well together. Skye is a civilian recruit and hacker that even super spy tech couldn't beat. Skye is a fangirl when it comes to heroes and has been on her own personal mission when it comes to the secrets SHIELD has been hiding. Skye is a bubbly but there are hints that she has a darker past as it has been hinted that she had to change her identity before. Skye is a fun character with hints at a darker past suggest make her even more compelling. Agent Melinda May is an experienced agent whose surrounded by mystery, there are hints that something happened in her past and she is trying to stay out of the action but Coulson manages to convince her to join the team. May is highly skilled agent in many fields including hand to hand fights and one fight scene in particular shows off how skilled she really is. May is not someone you want to have on your bad side. Agent Grant Ward is a tough no nonsense agent who himself claims is better suited to his usual Black OPs. Ward is pretty strict and doesn't have much in the way of people skills but still hold to a code of honor. There are hints that he has a few soft spots underneath that gruff exterior.
Phil Coulson lives, despite seeing him die in the Avenger's film. Coulson gives a short explanation as to why he isn't dead but in a conversation with a SHIELD scientist Maria Hill hints that there is something else to explain why Coulson is still around. This mystery promises to be something that will change what we think we know about him. Coulson stays true to the character that fans met in the films. Clark Gregg does a remarkable job playing Coulson and showing exactly why he's the only one to play Coulson. Coulson has some wonderful moments in the episode including giving a speech to talk down a human bomb and why the heroes are truly heroes. Coulson is one of the most loved characters to come out of the films and he is given a chance to truly shine in this series.
The writing was wonderful in the pilot. The whole set up was done in a brisk pace that didn't feel rushed. It was great to get the set up quickly and get to the story and just see how all of these people will work together. The dialogue was great, all the sarcasm and wit fans have some to expect from Joss Whedon. One of the best things was the wonderful dialogue from the characters that gave each a unique voice.One great element in this episode was that the opponent of the team wasn't played as a a world conquer but as a good guy whose had a streak of bad breaks. It gives the character a true relatable motive and makes him a more rounded character too. One of the last scenes does and incredible job to show the conflict he has been going through and where he stands and where the team ultimately stands. The writing in this one scene was spectacular and just shows what the writers can do.
The episode did bring the thrills starting off with a spy mission and ending with trying to disarm a human explosion. There was suspense, mystery and intrigue sprinkled throughout. There were even a few laughs through the show to ease the building tension. The overall feel of the show was well balanced especially for a pilot where everyone is still finding their sea legs.
The effects were pretty much on par of what has been seen in the Marvel films. The cinematography was done great, the camera took advantage of beautiful settings like Paris and Urban landscape that is LA to really give a a sense of that the world is big and just starting to open up.
Overall the pilot was fun to watch and the plot was easy enough to follow even for those who didn't watch the Avengers. It was like watching an hour long movie and you could just sit back and eat your snack. What was really well done especially for a pilot was that it makes one eager to watch the second episode. The writing was great, the actors were great and overall it was great. Out of Five the Pilot gets a five.
No comments:
Post a Comment