Revolution: S01E01 - Pilot.

As I'm a glutton for punishment, I thought I'd pick up another 2012 show to review on my blog. And yes, I am aware this has been airing since September but that is kind of the point, as I already have over a months worth of episodes to watch and review, I can relax and do them in my own time. Enjoy!

I don't know whether it excites me or terrifies me that Supernatural's creator created this show too and it's brought to you by the production company who gave you Lost. Either way, Jon fucking Favreau directed the pilot! And I'm at least far enough behind to go in with the safety of knowing this has been picked up for a full twenty two episode long season so I know I won't be left hanging half way through, like with so many other shows I enjoyed.

Despite all the ingredients in the recipe, the reaction from critics has been rather mixed. On the positive end, many were impressed with the acting and the production, claiming it feels almost like a blockbuster and on that most superficial of levels, the show is enjoyable. However those who praised the similarities this show has had to other things like the Hunger Games or Lost were also met by critics who thought that a negative, that the show itself was unoriginal. Other complaints were that the show has too much action and not enough thinking, when really science fiction is a genre that is supposed to be more about the brain than the brawn. And many complained that the action approach wouldn't be so bad, if the action itself wasn't so terrible. And what did I think? Well, let's dig in!

Revolution takes place 15 years in the future in a world where all electricity just simply stops and never comes back on again and no one knows why. I must say, the premise is really interesting, but after the first five minutes I was already having horrid Lost flashbacks. Lost had a really interesting premise and the first two seasons were for the most part pretty decent but after that the show had been dragged and stretched out so far it got more and more silly, 'til it started to become stupid until it eventually made no sense at all and I just had horrible predictions that five years down the line I'll've watched hundreds of episodes of Revolution and the central mystery is lost under a whole pile of new, smaller and more pointless mysteries and like...fuck that shit, I won't go through that again!

Plus, in itself, I don't really...get it, sure electricity stopped working and that really sucks, but why is the world like a dystopian future, there are no zombies right? So wouldn't the governments keep everything running as normal just without electricity? I just don't get why the whole world would collapse because of this, there was a time before electricity and that didn't play out like a zombie apocalypse, there were laws and leaders, so why can't there be here? I mean maybe I'd get it if it was like hundreds of years in the future and that maybe without all the tanks and fighter jets, groups could potentially overthrow the most powerful of people but fifteen years? Sure seems a short time for the whole world to go to shit.

The central plot of the pilot is about a girl called Charlie who is less of a character and more a series of annoying teenage tropes, God help us, hey look another show where the central character is someone I'd sooner punch than follow around. It probably doesn't help that Tracy Spiridakos is an absolutely terrible actress. She sure is nice to look at though and before you say anything, she clearly wasn't cast for her ability. Eventually the militia shoot her Dad and take her brother and she must go on a quest to find her Uncle, who can apparently help her get her bother back. She has her new step Mum in tow and some fat nerd guy who is scared of bees. That is right, the rescue party is made up of a whiny teenage girl and a nerd, best, rescue team, ever! About the only one who probably should be there is Maggie, I mean she is doctor so she has a place and she is a fucking badass. One twist and some lovely visuals later, they finally find the total badass Miles - Charlie's uncle. And you know what makes him even more badass? He is played by Billy Burke, awesome!

Favreau directs the pilot well, it's beautifully shot and the pilot has some insane visuals. The way the lights fade, the way the planes fall out of the sky, the dystopian cities - it just all looks fucking awesome. And although the CGI is pretty weak because it's a TV Pilot, it still all just feels so much grander than your average show and it plays for great effect.

That carries over to the action too, the combination of great direction, great cinematography and some excellent choreography makes for some great fight scenes. I mean that is how you close a fucking episode, guys, I mean I'm guessing the action will never be this good again throughout the series, just look at Arrow, but at least enjoy it while it's here. It is also surprisingly visceral for every moment that is oddly bloodless there is another that is surprisingly brutal. I also like the concept that guns are outlawed, so when a guy has a gun, it just completely tips the battle with everyone else wielding crossbows and swords.

Personally I felt the critics unfairly negative. I agree with basically everything they say but in a much less negative fashion because honestly, I found this an extremely entertaining pilot, stupid beyond words but well executed enough visually to make me not care. If it continues to be this fun then I honestly don't mind if it's silly. The reason I get so mad at shows like Arrow or Supernatural is that they are stupid...and they aren't fun either. I spend my days watching goofy Z-Grade cinema. Bad writing doesn't have to mean a bad show/movie and not even in an ironic sense. If it's visually executed well enough, nothing else really matters, not to me anyway. I will admit though, it is almost jarring how excellent it is visually and how poor it is linguistically. Like the central premise itself is great and there are other interesting ideas spotted throughout but it's really hard to understand why in the space of 15 years without iPhone's and Tumblr we've basically lost about several thousand years of evolution and civilisation. You do realise the world wasn't a dystopia before teenagers had phones in their bedrooms, right? Either way, if you can let you brain turn off with all the other electrical devices during the blackout, I think you can get a lot of fun out of the pilot.

Pros;

• At least right now, the central premise is really interesting. I just hope it isn't stretched out over more seasons than it ever could until it's completely lost under a heap of bullshit.
• If you hired a cheap actress for us to simply gawk at, you could have done worse than Tracy Spiridakos.
• Man people are badass in this show. 
• I love how Billy Burke is basically playing a swashbuckling Han Solo in this show. I don't think you can get much more awesome than that.
• Favreau is awesome.
• It looks great.
• Great action. 
• It's fun! I know it's stupid, but if I had to choose between switching my brain off and being entertained or keeping my brain on but being bored out of my skull I'd sooner choose the mindless entertainment, lighten up guys!

Cons;

• That this will just end up being the next Lost, one Lost is enough, thank you very much.
• Not a whole lot of this really makes any sense.
• Making your central character unlikeable and casting her with a really bad actress is not a combo you want at the heart of your show.
• Some pretty bad CGI.

Think About It!

-Locke