Review: Marvel's 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Pilot
Man, sometimes there’s a perfect storm of nerdy goodness and the stars align and everything just seems to fit perfectly into place to give something that would have seemed a pipe dream even a couple of years ago. Joss Whedon spearheading a Marvel tv show based in the movie-verse of the Avengers films he is also spearheading is one of those things. We all know Joss, right? Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Cabin in the Woods, The Avengers – chances are at least one of those five is pretty beloved to you on some level, and he has an integral roll in the creation and ongoing story-lines of them all. Long story short, dude knows his way around a good series/movie. This new venture is definitely something a little intimidating however, even by Joss’ standards. It’s Marvel’s first big budget jaunt into the serious tv world. Not only that, but it being set within the movie-verse and using one of the movies most beloved characters, one Agent Coulson, means that there’s already a lot of parameters the show must obey, and there’s a LOT of fans who want to love it as much as they would tear it apart if it wasn’t up to scratch. But, in Joss we trust – so, is the pilot any good?
Yes. It is. The opening, showing an altogether too familiar Jaime Augusts Richards (Gunn from Angel) playing an out of luck dad as he plays superhero to save a woman from a burning building, sets the tone of the show very nicely. This feels familiar, it feels like a Joss Whedon show. The whole package has a serious, but tongue-in-cheek tone that has always given Whedon’s work an edge over his contemporaries. The premise is simple, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is a task force designed to tackle strange new anomalies and superhumans as they come out of the woodwork, post-Avengers. Think X-Files, but for superpowers, and less David Duchovny.
The special effects are obviously more noticeable than they would be in a movie, but that’s because the budget is a fraction of a movie’s, and honestly I’ve always preferred that, it means the shows production team and actors have to work harder to get and keep your attention. And grab and keep your attention they do. The whole premise is very well delivered; within moments of the opening scene we have ridiculous technology, sudden fight scenes, humorous dialogue and characters that work together on screen. Everything we’ve come to expect from Joss and co.
That’s not to undersell the rest of the team in favour of Joss, however. Joss has always made a habit of surrounding himself with worthwhile writers, actors and production members whom he can work with repeatedly and get repeatedly good results, and there are a lot of familiar faces in this cast and crew. The episode was co-written by Joss, his brother Jed (Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, Dollhouse) and Maurissa Tanchareon (Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, Dollhouse), who do a very solid job with the story-lines in this episode. Nothing is overstated, the dialogue is comfortable and witty, and the information given is well delivered and doesn’t prove to under or overwhelm the viewer. David Boyd, of Firefly fame, takes on the cinematography roll, while Bear McCreary produces a solid while wait-for-a-few-more-episodes-to-see-how-memorable-it-is soundtrack. The cast includes of course Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, and features Joss-verse veteran Ron Glass (Firefly/Serenity) as Dr. Streiten, amongst returning Avengers star Cobie Smulders, who reprises her role as Maria Hill, Ming Na-Wen (ER, Kingdom Hearts series) as Agent Melinda May and Brett Dalton as Agent Grant Ward as well as a few total newcomers to the silver screen – all of which blend together very well. This is a show that will rely heavily on on-screen chemistry amongst more than a few people, and from the outset, things look very well indeed.
Overall, I can find very little to really complain about for this pilot. The premise works very well for a tv show, the tone is light but still gripping and there are enough familiar faces to keep it cohesive to what Marvel are creating with their movie-verse. The only real qualms I have with it are the outro scene is a touch far-fetched compared to the rest of the episode, and I would like to see more major Marvel characters being introduced into the show, ala The Flash in Arrow season 2. That said, plenty of room for those to still happen, and plenty of room for the show to expand it’s own corner and expand on things that would only get a small look in in the movie world. This is genuinely something to get very excited about if you are a fan of good ol’ fashioned ridiculous superhero tv, and definitely something to keep an eye on.
[easyreview title=”The Arcade Verdict” cat1title=”Story” cat1detail=”Well paced, well thought out and exciting premise.” cat1rating=”9″ cat2title=”Cinematography” cat2detail=”Very well shot, looks and feels just like it should.” cat2rating=”9″ cat3title=”Music” cat3detail=”Good, if forgettable. Hopefully proves more hummable as season progresses.” cat3rating=”7″ overall=”true”]
