Twisted Metal
NBC has dropped a binge release bomb on its Peacock streaming service today. Though not like, a critical bomb, it turns out. Despite a truly bizarre initial trailer, Peacock’s adaptation of Twisted Metal, of all video games, may actually be kind of…good? Fun? Well, that’s a nice surprise.
Reviews dropped for the series yesterday, which will air all ten episodes today on launch day. Critics were generally kind. The show has a 71% on Rotten Tomatoes right now. Perhaps not the highest but hey, better than Marvel’s Secret Invasion. And not everything can be The Bear.
These kind of critic scores for a goofy adaptation of a car combat video game are good because I feel like you also kind of have to grade on a curve here. I think I was the most curious to hear what actual video game sites said about the series and they quite liked it.
Here’s IGN, which gives it an 8/10:
“Twisted Metal is absurd and hilarious in exactly the ways you want a dystopian Cannonball Run to be. Yes, it matches the games’ crude humor but, mostly, it springboards from there and creates its own dark and warped wasteland sensibilities.”
Here’s Game Informer, which doesn’t have a score, but an article where the author claims the show “renewed my love of the franchise”:
“Firstly, it made me care about the people behind the wheel, something I never had outside of Sweet Tooth. John Doe, a man tasked with delivering a special package to earn permanent residence in New San Francisco, is a goofy idiot with a good heart. Pairing him with Quiet (Stephanie Beatriz), a mysterious loner on a revenge quest, leads to some fun expletive-laden bickering, not unlike the banter dominating the Guardians of the Galaxy films. In fact, the series’ tone is highly reminiscent of James Gunn’s work, particularly HBO’s Peacemaker.”
I already liked this cast (I am so-so on Mackie himself, as I can’t forgive him for Altered Carbon season 2), so a comparison to Peacemaker is a welcome one, given how much I liked that show. Apparently the combination of wrestler Samoa Joe as the body and Will Arnett as the voice of Sweet Tooth also works out pretty well too.
I think this is what it had to be, wacky humor, not making the concept bleak or self-serious (which a few of the games definitely were), and if they have some heart in there, as reviews claim, that’s great. One main thing I’m hearing is that there’s not quite enough car combat, but I will blame on the budget of a Peacock original series, I suppose.
I’m out of town now, but when I get back, I think I will sign up for Peacock for the first time just for this. I gotta see it for myself.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
