It's been quite a while since I've done a post that's not about a game, but it's time to discuss the latest TV adaptation of a classic gaming franchise: Twisted Metal.
Twisted Metal is a franchise I have a lot of love for, so much so that I dedicated an entire month to it on my blog. The reason for that coverage? The announcement of a new TV show, based on the long-dormant franchise. Well, that show is finally here. Not going to lie, I hated everything about this show when I first heard about it. I even talked in one of my reviews about how the initial plot synopsis sounded like it was written by someone who had never once played the games. But then the trailers started coming out. The first one I saw showed that someone, somewhere at the very least understood the darkly irreverent attitude of the series. That was good. Then the trailer with Sweet Tooth dropped, and you could tell right away they nailed everything about him. That got me really interested. But I still had to temper my expectations, especially after the disaster that was the Resident Evil series. One of the biggest problems with that series was they took almost nothing from the games. But Twisted Metal is not The Last of Us, it doesn't have a super concise narrative or consistent lore. So it's not like they could go that route either. Regardless, this week was the moment of truth. I finally finished the Twisted Metal show and I wish I could tell you that it was good. But I can't. Because Twisted Metal wasn't good...it was great.
I said during the Resident Evil review that these TV adaptations need not follow the games scene for scene, it was nice to see they tried to do that with The Last of Us but it's not necessary. But what is necessary is respect for the source material, and Twisted Metal absolutely respected the source material on which it was based. It may not have followed TM2 or Black or TM 2013, but it included elements of games throughout the series and gave us characters and locales that fit the TM universe. TM tells the story of John Doe, a milkman in post-apocalypse America with no memory of his early life. Milkmen are the lifeblood of the new world, taking on the incredibly dangerous task of transporting goods between settlements. These settlements are small bastions of safety in a dangerous world and it's difficult for outsiders to get within their walls. So, John is shocked when he is invited inside Neo-San Francisco and given a proposition by its CEO Raven: pick up a package in Chicago and return it to her within 10 days. Should he complete this task, he will be given a spot within the city's walls. He agrees, setting off on the dangerous route East. On the way, he and reluctant partner Quiet will have to contend with all the dangers of the outside: vultures, butchers, holy men, corrupt lawmen led by the brutal Agent Stone and maniacs like the notorious Sweet Tooth. In a lot of ways, the events of the show feel like they could be the baseline for a new, upcoming TM game. At this point I tend to roll my eyes at anything "post-apocalyptic," but TM's world was so vastly different than what you would see in the more cookie cutter examples of the setting. It's packed with references to the game, both big and small, and has a good combination of characters who are like they are in the game (Sweet Tooth) and characters that have been altered but still have roots firmly planted in their origins (Agent Stone, Bloody Mary) and characters that have been overhauled or changed completely (Preacher). There are a lot of good things here, but I think there are two that Twisted Metal does nearly flawlessly.
The first was casting. Just about every single person that appears in this series, from the stars to the one-offs, gives a great performance. I have to confess I didn't know who Anthony Mackie was before this, but he absolutely nailed it here. Twisted Metal is listed as an "action comedy" and he gets the balance between the two perfect. He's believable in the more intense scenes and hilarious in the more lighthearted ones. Part of it is the writing, but his delivery and snarkiness is on point, he's relatable while also coming off as a larger-than-life kind of hero. Stephanie Beatriz does a great job as Quiet, her interactions with John are always entertaining and her quest to avenge her brother's death is compelling. He may not be a household name, but I've been watching Samoa Joe since he was wrestling in front of 500 people in rec centers in New Jersey. It's awesome to see him get this opportunity and he brings the excellent physical charisma and intimidating physical presence he is known for to Sweet Tooth, even if he's not doing the voice. On one hand, it would have been nice to see Joe get his shot at a speaking role, he was never the best on the mic but he was always pretty good, but on the other, that would have denied us an excellent performance by Will Arnett, who is in top form here. Thomas Haden Church is infinitely hateable as the villainous lawman Agent Stone, you really want to see him get his for all the horrible things he's done. Tahj Vaughans and Mike Mitchell are outstanding as the bumbling Mike and Stu, Neve Campbell is great in her limited but important role as Raven and Jason Mantzoukas is just incredible as Preacher. What it all comes down to is that they put the right people in the right roles and everyone puts on strong performances. I just called out the main cast, but that goes for just about everyone involved, even the extras here look like they are going above and beyond.
The next was music. My goodness is this an excellent soundtrack featuring just about every genre you could think of. How many shows, movies, games or whatever media could incorporate "Thong Song," "(Rock) Superstar," "Champagne Supernova," "The Distance," "Steal My Sunshine" and "MMM Bop" and have it all make sense? It's nice that they have great music, but it doesn't matter if it isn't used correctly. Twisted Metal is masterful in this regard, using it's tunes to convey emotions and also subvert expectations, something that is very important in an action comedy. When John rolls up to rescue Quiet from a tense situation while he's blasting Hanson, you can help but laugh despite the serious situation. While the licensed music is great, the original soundtrack is also strong. Again, this goes beyond the quality of the music as the placement of these tracks goes a long way in creating the show's outstanding atmosphere. If there was one issue I could find with the soundtrack, it's that they didn't include any music by Rob Zombie, who was synonymous with the franchise for a long time and even appeared as a character in Twisted Metal 4. But that's a minor detail, the music in TM is phenomenal.
Again, the respect for the source material is key. The Twisted Metal series' cannon is all over the place and there are a lot of inconsistencies between entries. There are so many reboots and side stories and fan theories that it would have been almost impossible to create something that followed the game exactly. So instead, they packed the show full of references to the games that showed some level of adherence to the TM universe while also adding tons of new stuff and deeper dives into characters. John Doe, for example, retains the amnesia aspects of his character from Twisted Metal: Black and his primary vehicle Roadkill, but changes his backstory. Outlaw has had so many drivers over the years but they managed to include them all, with original drivers Carl and Jamie Roberts serving as lackeys for Agent Stone, who drives a version of the vehicle found in TM:B. Stone is another great interpretation of his in-game character, he has a very similar backstory with a near-identical motivation for his actions, but this version of the character is pushed to the side of evil rather than good. Stone is probably the closest thing to an almost "good guy" in TM:B (though that's not saying much), so to see him made into such a great villain while still retaining much of his story from the game was awesome.
You have a good balance between more well-known characters and deeper cuts. Miranda Watts and her Indy car Twister are here, as are Hammerhead's drivers Stu and Mike (though, small spoiler, Hammerhead itself is not in the show) from Twisted Metal 2. Raven and Bloody Mary from TM:B are also featured, though their characters are a little different. But they also found a way to include Flower Power from TM3, Juggernaut from TM 2012 and a whole bunch of others via brief cameos, like Mr. Slam, Pizza Boy, Petunia and Pit Viper. Yeah, they even included Pit Viper, who to my knowledge is the only character in the series' history to appear in only one game (the first one, for the record). They even keep her primary motivation of being a narc intact. Some other characters make appearances too, though revealing who would give away some major plot points. But it's more than just the characters, references to the game are everywhere. Raven's bar in Neo-San Francisco is called Kelly's, a reference to her friend who was drowned by bullies in TM:B. John performs the invincibility code from TM2 on his gear shift during a particularly intense chase scene. When he and Quiet argue about speccing out Roadkill, he talks about how they need to consider speed, handling, armor and weapons...the four categories TM characters are always rated on. I could go on and on about these references, but that would spoil half the fun of the show. But again, stuff like this demonstrates respect for the source material or, at the very least, that the writers and producers actually took the time to learn about the games, from the first all the way up to 2012. They even included Sweet Tooth's best friend Harold the Wacky Lunch Sack, that's the kind of thing that I would have never expected to see.
That's not to say Twisted Metal is perfect, because there were most definitely some issues. I have mixed feelings about 30-minute episodes, on one hand I appreciate it as a busy individual trying to attain work life balance. I also feel like it kind of fits with the short, chaotic vibe of Twisted Metal in general. But it also sometimes makes the show feel rushed and characters feel like they could use more development. I like the conclusion that they were building to and it's incredibly logical, but I feel like it might take away from some potential world building in the next season. They really built a unique and interesting world and I kind of want to see it explored more. Characters make various references to the east coast being far more dangerous and I would love to see what New York or Philly are like in this world. We get a brief look at Quiet's former home in the OC, which the show doesn't explore much but the show establishes is incredibly messed up. I kind of want to learn more about it. How bad is Topeka under Stone's martial law? What kind of weird stuff is going on at the Preacher's base of operations? I am actually kind of surprised how curious I ended up about this stuff and it's a shame it couldn't have been explored more. My last issue is that a few of the middle episodes kind of start to fall into the same basic cadence of John and Quiet bond, they fight, they make up, rinse and repeat. Mackie and Beatriz are so good in their respective roles that it's still compelling, but I did notice it starting to happen and it became a bit formulaic.
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