Captain Untouchable
Dec 8th, 2012, 01:59:58 PM
I don't think we have thread for this yet. :uhoh
This series, which is a CW adaptation of Green Arrow, airs on Wednesdays in the US. It's currently eight episodes in, and the last one before the holidays airs next week.
It was originally pitched as a Nolan-style "gritty" adaptation of the Green Arrow character, and while there are certainly echoes of the Dark Knight movies in there, it's actually doing a surprisingly good job of doing it's own thing.
*
Green Arrow is my favourite superhero. Cool as Batman is, his motivations make me uncomfortable: he wages a war on criminals, largely out of a desire for personal vengeance. Green Arrow on the other hand is (not surprisingly) a much more Robin Hood styled character, who fights crime because he wants to save the innocent people caught in the crossfire. He's also a much more "fun" character: while a lot of people compare Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark, Oliver Queen is much more of a Stark style character.
Arrow departs from that a little bit. Oliver Queen is fighting a Batman style crusade against crime: but the criminals he's fighting are people who've scammed money out of old ladies, ruined the lives of innocent people, and that sort of thing... so that Robin Hood signature is still there. Also, unlike the Nolan movies, they're paying a lot more attention to how difficult it is for Ollie to lead a double life. He hurt his friends and family with the way he lived his life before he was stranded on the island; he's now trying to keep up appearances by pretending to be the same person and is hurting them again; and the fact that he's constantly lying to everyone he cares about is a constant burden that he contends with.
On top of that, the writers aren't pulling their shots when it comes to using elements of the DC mythos. In eight episodes, we've already had versions of Constantine Drakon, China White, Deadshot, Deathstroke, the Royal Flush Gang, and Huntress; and the second half of the season has lined up Firefly and Vertigo. There's a really interesting mystery plot weaving through the story that Oliver knows nothing about: while Oliver Queen is definitely the main character, there's a really good ensemble feel as well. The casting is also superb: not only are some of the regulars inspired choices, but the guest cast so far includes the likes of Kelly Hu, John Barrowman, Tahmoh Penikett, Ben Browder, and Seth Gabel.
If you haven't watched this yet, I really recommend you give it a go. It isn't note-perfect (it's a brand new show, so it's still finding it's feet), but it is a much smarter, more mature, and more robust comic book adaptation than Smallville was, and it's setting the bar pretty high for S.H.I.E.L.D. If this is the way that DC wants it's characters to be portrayed moving forward, I'm a lot more optimistic about their future movie and television projects.
This series, which is a CW adaptation of Green Arrow, airs on Wednesdays in the US. It's currently eight episodes in, and the last one before the holidays airs next week.
It was originally pitched as a Nolan-style "gritty" adaptation of the Green Arrow character, and while there are certainly echoes of the Dark Knight movies in there, it's actually doing a surprisingly good job of doing it's own thing.
*
Green Arrow is my favourite superhero. Cool as Batman is, his motivations make me uncomfortable: he wages a war on criminals, largely out of a desire for personal vengeance. Green Arrow on the other hand is (not surprisingly) a much more Robin Hood styled character, who fights crime because he wants to save the innocent people caught in the crossfire. He's also a much more "fun" character: while a lot of people compare Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark, Oliver Queen is much more of a Stark style character.
Arrow departs from that a little bit. Oliver Queen is fighting a Batman style crusade against crime: but the criminals he's fighting are people who've scammed money out of old ladies, ruined the lives of innocent people, and that sort of thing... so that Robin Hood signature is still there. Also, unlike the Nolan movies, they're paying a lot more attention to how difficult it is for Ollie to lead a double life. He hurt his friends and family with the way he lived his life before he was stranded on the island; he's now trying to keep up appearances by pretending to be the same person and is hurting them again; and the fact that he's constantly lying to everyone he cares about is a constant burden that he contends with.
On top of that, the writers aren't pulling their shots when it comes to using elements of the DC mythos. In eight episodes, we've already had versions of Constantine Drakon, China White, Deadshot, Deathstroke, the Royal Flush Gang, and Huntress; and the second half of the season has lined up Firefly and Vertigo. There's a really interesting mystery plot weaving through the story that Oliver knows nothing about: while Oliver Queen is definitely the main character, there's a really good ensemble feel as well. The casting is also superb: not only are some of the regulars inspired choices, but the guest cast so far includes the likes of Kelly Hu, John Barrowman, Tahmoh Penikett, Ben Browder, and Seth Gabel.
If you haven't watched this yet, I really recommend you give it a go. It isn't note-perfect (it's a brand new show, so it's still finding it's feet), but it is a much smarter, more mature, and more robust comic book adaptation than Smallville was, and it's setting the bar pretty high for S.H.I.E.L.D. If this is the way that DC wants it's characters to be portrayed moving forward, I'm a lot more optimistic about their future movie and television projects.